Today The Hollywood Reporter published a fantastic interview with Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall which talked the industry, particularly managing franchises like Jurassic Park and Star Wars. It’s a fantastic, candid piece that explores the creative processes of these amazingly talented individuals which I recommend reading in full, however below are some choice excerpts that pertain to the Jurassic franchise.
On Steven Spielberg’s involvement with Jurassic World, and hiring Colin Trevorrow:
SPIELBERG I was very involved in breaking the story, working on the script with [director Colin Trevorrow] and [writer Derek Connolly]. I was not on the set, but I watched dailies every day. If I felt something about the dailies, I would send a note to Colin directly. But Colin was doing a great job; you could tell by the rushes. I didn’t even find Colin, Frank did.
KATHLEEN KENNEDY Well … I …
SPIELBERG Oh — Kathy. Sorry. Anyway, Kathy told Frank, and Frank told me.
KENNEDY I saw [Trevorrow’s debut movie] Safety Not Guaranteed when I was looking for who was going to direct [Star Wars:] Episode 7. Then when Frank and Steven were looking for a director, and I had already decided on J.J. [Abrams], I said, “Hey, I know this is going to be off the wall and you’re not going to immediately think this young director could do this movie, but I’ve come to the realization he is the real deal, and he could handle it.”
FRANK MARSHALL Then I cold-called him. I looked at his movie and thought he definitely knew what he was doing.
SPIELBERG I looked at his movie and thought it was really good, but I wasn’t convinced until the last scene ’cause that film could have gone two ways. When this [character] who I thought was certifiably insane actually invented something that could travel through time, that crystallized the choice that it had to be Colin to do Jurassic World.
On who’s ‘in charge’ of Jurassic now:
So when you have Jurassic World, I assume you feel pretty possessive?
SPIELBERG No, I don’t. I honestly don’t feel possessive at all. I think Colin feels possessive now — and he should. I passed the torch to Colin.
You really feel that way?
SPIELBERG I absolutely do. He’s the guy who has to feel possessive.
KENNEDY Don’t you feel that? I mean, I think it’s all about the joy that comes from the ability to keep it going and keep audiences entertained.
MARSHALL It’s what you did with Star Wars now.
On hiring Jurassic World 2 director Juan Antonio Bayona:
MARSHALL We spent a lot of time with Colin. We’re doing that on [the next] Jurassic, too, with Juan Antonio [Bayona]. Kathy and I have spent a lot of time with Juan Antonio over the years. We had talked about him doing Jurassic World, but he has a long process for production.
SPIELBERG We had been very impressed with his Naomi Watts movie about the tsunami [The Impossible]. You’ve got to pick the right directors, and that’s what Kathy has done so brilliantly on the Star Wars series. Rian Johnson and Colin are the two best directors who could be doing Episode 8 and 9. And that’s the whole key. I think Harry Potter had a huge infusion of a second life when Alfonso Cuaron did No. 3. He changed the paradigm of Harry Potter and gave it another six years just based on the art he brought to the third movie.
It sounds like the Jurassic franchise is in great hands! It’s fascinating to learn that JA Bayona was in talks to direct Jurassic World before Colin Trevorrow was chosen. If you haven’t already, be sure to give the full article a read, which goes into more detail and talks Star Wars as well. As always, sound off in the comments below and stay tuned for the latest news!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter