Razzie Nominations For ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Instead Of Academy Awards

An Academy Award… a Golden Globe… a BAFTA…

NONE of these prestigious film awards were possible for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’, thanks to zero nominations. While fans of the film weren’t expecting any “Best Picture” nods from any of these venues, many will perhaps be surprised it didn’t even get nominated for the technical categories from the Academy Awards, such as “Visual Effects”. To be fair, it was a good year for visual effects ranging from the impressive aerial flights in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to the mind-blowing world of ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’. It’s just such a shame ‘Dominion’ won’t be recognized in any more awards venues from last year’s films, and—

—what’s that? Sorry, I am getting new information. Everything is fine. ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is indeed nominated, but not for a prestigious award. No, instead the latest entry from our beloved franchise is being put on a rocky pedestal by none other than The Razzies. For those not in the know, The Razzies is a decades-old awards venue that showcases what they believe to be the worst films of the year.

Here are the damning nominations for ‘Dominion’:

Worst Actress (Bryce Dallas Howard)

Worst Remake/Rip-Off/Sequel

Worst Screenplay: Screenplay by Emily Carmichael & Colin Trevorrow, Story by Colin Trevorrow & Derek Connolly

However, what’s even more damning is that The Razzies couldn’t even be bothered to spell “Trevorrow” correctly (which I have corrected for this article) and called the film ‘Jurassic Park: Dominion’ in one of the categories. Oops! Looks like The Razzies will be getting nominated for “Worst Website Editorial” from the “Me Awards”.

What are the chances ‘Dominion’ has at winning any of these three nominations? Here are the other contenders in these categories that you can judge for yourself:

Other Worst Actress Noms: ‘Mack & Rita’ (Diane Keaton), ‘The King’s Daughter’ (Kaya Scodelario), & ‘The Requin’ (Alicia Silverstone)

Other Worst Remake/Rip-Off/Sequel Noms: ‘Blonde’, Both ‘365 Days’ Sequels, ‘Disney’s Pinocchio’, & ‘Firestarter’

 Other Worst Screenplay Noms: ‘Blonde’, ‘Disney’s Pinocchio’, ‘Good Mourning’, & ‘Morbius’

This isn’t the first time a ‘Jurassic’ film has received Razzie nominations. ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ received three, ‘Jurassic Park 3’ received one, and ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ also received one. Thankfully, none of them ever won. Hopefully ‘Dominion’ won’t as well (I personally believe there are far more deserving films to win, such as ‘Disney’s Pinocchio’ and ‘Morbius’).

Thankfully, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ has already been recognized with nominations from better awards venues. These include the Annie Awards, CinEuphoria Awards, Motion Picture Sound Editors, Visual Effects Society Awards, People’s Choice Awards, and The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. While it didn’t win any of these nominations, it is still clear that the film isn’t some “dumpster fire” just because it is listed on the Razzies. The visual effects and production design were exceptionally done and stand as some of the best the franchise has ever seen.

‘Dominion’ is still a winner, even without any awards. It is one of the top 3 grossing films of 2022 that made over a billion dollars worldwide, outgrossed only by ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’. That’s right: none of the Marvel films managed to reach that milestone. So even if it does win a Razzie, ‘Dominion’ still won the only prize that actually matters in the filmmaking business: it made a lot of money. This was only achievable by having a film that people wanted to see, whether they ended up liking it or not. It is the “Filmgoer Award”, nominated by fans and general audiences with their money as the ballots. Fans of the film should be happy knowing they still managed to strike a win for it after all.

In related awards news regarding talent from the franchise, Steven Spielberg’s latest film ‘The Fabelmansreceived several Academy Award Nominations, including “Best Picture”, “Best Director” by Steven Spielberg, “Best Production Design” by Rick Carter, and “Best Music Score” by John Williams. So if you still want to root for people related to the ‘Jurassic’ franchise this year, give this film the love it also deserves.

Do you think ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ deserved its Razzie nominations? Do you also think it got snubbed by the Academy Awards? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, stick around with Jurassic Outpost for the latest.

‘Generation Jurassic’ Event Lookback – A Beyond The Gates Special Episode

It has been a fantastic year for Jurassic World collectors and in this year’s final episode of Beyond The Gates, Chris takes a look back at the Generation Jurassic event, held earlier this year at Universal Studios Hollywood!

Chris was joined on stage by Mattel’s Rafael Bencosme, Funko’s Ashley Anderson, and NBCUniversal’s Erick Solorzano! Not to mention a very special guest from Jurassic World Dominion… DeWanda Wise!

You can watch all of this year’s episodes in the playlist below:

There was so much to see and do at Generation Jurassic and we hope you enjoyed this lookback! What has been your favourite Beyond The Gates reveal this year? Let us know down below in the comments.

Don’t forget to check out last month’s episode which featured a new Legacy Collection set reveal!

Jurassic World Dominion Makes Oscars Shortlist for Visual Effects

Shortlists for multiple categories for the 2023 Oscars were announced today, revealing a list of eligible contenders including Jurassic World Dominion, which has landed a position in the Visual Effects category.

Now, the entire Oscar voting body will vote to choose the winners from these lists. The films that made the Visual Effects shortlist are as follows:

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”
“Jurassic World Dominion”
“Nope”
“Thirteen Lives”
“Top Gun: Maverick”

Colin took to Twitter to congratulate the visual effects team:

The 2023 Oscar nominations will be revealed on January 24, 2023

“Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History” Book From Insight Editions Dazzles With Fantastic Images & Recollections!

Last year, ‘Jurassic Park’ fans were gifted with the “Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History” book from Insight Editions. While it may not have entirely lived up to what die-hard fans were hoping for, it was overall a great summation of the behind-the-scenes stories for the original ‘Jurassic Park’ trilogy. The entire book was also illustrated with loads of pre-production artwork & rare photographs from all three films, making it a beautiful (but deadly?) addition to any fan’s collection. They also produced a very cool cookbook & children’s book that are also worth checking out.

On October 25th, Insight Editions will release a brand-new book showcasing the making of the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy with “Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History“.

Celebrate one of the most thrilling franchises of all time with this in-depth look at the making of the Jurassic World trilogy. Following the release of director Colin Trevorrow’s smash hit Jurassic World in 2015, the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar once again dominate the public imagination. Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History is the definitive account of the franchise – and a companion book to Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History (released in 2021) – delivering a comprehensive look at the making of the first hit film as well as its thrilling sequels Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). Through rare and never-before-seen imagery and exclusive interviews with key creatives, the deluxe volume explores the entire creative process, from the films’ stunning dinosaur designs to the epic location shoots and the creation of the films’ incredible visual effects.

The book also includes sections on the DreamWorks Animation animated series ‘Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous’, various games, toys, theme park attractions, and even the short film ‘Battle At Big Rock’. This is the first time any of the ‘Jurassic World’ films have received a behind-the-scenes book, which already makes it vital for this reason alone. But is it truly a “definitive account of the franchise” for this trilogy of films, or is it met with some the same (perhaps nitpicky) issues found in the previous book? Let’s have a look!

WHAT’S GOOD?

               VISUAL & WRITING STYLE

Just like in the previous ‘Jurassic Park’ version, this book is visually pleasing. It’s filled with as much colorful artwork and photographs as possible. The text is neatly placed within it all, and nothing ever feels too crammed or out of place. The previous book had more going on with the borders around each page, whereas this ‘Jurassic World’ version has a more barren approach. It simply features gray tabs on the sides with gray/amber-tinged headlines for each new section. This simpler approach feels appropriate with the sleeker look of the films themselves, particularly the first ‘Jurassic World’ and its park’s design.

The writing itself is clear and precise, which is vital in stitching together different information from different sources. James Mottram, who also penned the previous book, weaves the information into a distinct fabric to tell its story.

               EXCLUSIVE INTROS/OUTROS

This book includes a foreword by Bryce Dallas Howard (“Claire Dearing” in the trilogy), introduction by Colin Trevorrow (director of ‘Jurassic World’ & ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’, writer of the trilogy), preface by J.A. Bayona (director of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’), & an afterword by Frank Marshall (producer of the trilogy). Mysteriously absent from this list is Chris Pratt, but I suppose he is too busy voicing Mario these days. These exclusive passages are great bookends for the entire presentation, with each person adding their own personal tribute. They even reveal fun information, like J.A. Bayona as he details Michael Giacchino‘s fantastic music score for ‘Fallen Kingdom’:

One of my most cherished memories from making Fallen Kingdom was working with composer Michael Giacchino. We spent hours talking about film music and listening to soundtracks. There was one specific piece of music we paid attention to: Bernard Herrmann’s work for Mysterious Island (Cy Endfield, 1962). Our common goal while venturing into the musical tapestry of our movie was expressing our love for this kind of film. When I listen to Michael’s music for Fallen Kingdom, I sense our mutual desire to travel back in time and bring back the same unparalleled fascination and heartwarming happiness that those movies gave us.

               FANTASTIC COLLECTION OF IMAGES

While many of the book’s images have been revealed online over the years by various concept artists who worked on the films, it is still great to have them all cobbled together in one book as the trilogy’s history is told. Even better, there are some art and photographs that have never been seen before! Here is just a tease of what to expect!

               NEW & OBSCURE INFORMATION

Making a book like this requires many sources for quotes, stories, and other information. Website articles, television interviews, Blu-Ray bonus features; everything was sifted through to collect the data. While some, maybe even a lot, of the details could be considered “old news” to people deeply invested in this trilogy’s history, it is all well-arranged while even including new details sprinkled throughout. [NOTE: I will be honest and admit I am not as familiar with the history of the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy as I am with the ‘Jurassic Park’ trilogy, so forgive me if any of this is not truly “new”.]

For ‘Jurassic World’, some of these fun new details include Derek Connolly never having seen a ‘Jurassic Park’ movie before when he was tasked with co-writing the script with Colin Trevorrow; production designer Ed Verreaux had sent his art department team to the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood to photograph everything (including signage) to see what they wanted their fictional park to resemble; and concept artist David Lowery came up with an unused idea for a “Pteranodon Terrace” where guests traveled in glass gondolas hanging from a huge cable that stretched across a vast expanse of jungle (and included “food Frisbees” that would be shot out of the gondolas and snapped up midair by the flying reptiles.). However, one of the most exciting new details for me was a little more about the script written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver right before Trevorrow & Connolly were brought in to pen their draft.

Spielberg also wanted to revisit the idea of a hero character capable of training and commanding dinosaurs. These ideas manifested in the character Vance who, in the Jaffa/Silver draft’s opening scene, is seen jumping out of a helicopter with a pack of trained raptors and landing in a compound belonging to a Colombian drug dealer. Although [John] Sayles used the bipedal Deinonychus in his draft, Spielberg felt that the physically similar Velociraptors, first seen in Jurassic Park, would be a better fit for the role. The story also focused on a Chinese paleontologist who visits the now-open Jurassic Park with her sons. The scientist has a secret agenda, believing that the park’s owners have stolen DNA from bones she unearthed of a previously undiscovered dinosaur—the Malusaurus. The corporate side of the park is run by Whitney, a female manager who views the dinosaurs as commodities and nothing more. Inevitably, the Malusaurus created using the stolen DNA escapes from its enclosure, and Vance must use his raptors to hunt it down.

‘Fallen Kingdom’ includes interesting tidbits, such as Benjamin Lockwood originally having very little connection to John Hammond and the past of ‘Jurassic Park’; in its original draft they went from Isla Nublar to England where a small village gets destroyed by dinosaurs (until Steven Spielberg told them there was no credible way to make that journey happen); and the film’s fantastic opening sequence was originally just over a single page in the script, with Bayona fleshing it out further with an extended climax on the helicopter ladder while also adding Jurassic staples (like the pouring rain and the yellow raincoat worn by the tech that resembles Nedry’s apparel from Jurassic Park). The film’s title itself (along with the next film’s) proves to also have its own unique history:

“I wanted to call [the first film] Jurassic World. And the second one was Jurassic Earth, and then the third Jurassic Kingdom. The studio was like, ‘You can’t keep changing the title of the movie. You already did it once.’” Taking Universal’s feedback into consideration, Trevorrow decided to combine the overall franchise name with a subtitle, taking the word kingdom from his proposed third film and adding it to fallen, suggesting the decline of the dinosaurs’ domain.

Even the small section on the short film ‘Battle At Big Rock’ gets a nice detail on its inspiration: a YouTube video titled “Battle at Kruger“, in which tourists witness a water buffalo being attacked by lions and an alligator.

The section on ‘Dominion’ reveals that a scene featuring Daniella Pineda (Zia Rodriguez) had to be recast with another actor, Varada Sethu, when COVID restrictions kept her from being able to leave another production she was on; production designer Kevin Jenkins ensured that the equipment seen in BioSyn’s abandoned amber mines displayed 1990s-style Biosyn logos, a detail reminiscent of the old rivalry between the company and InGen (although I suppose footage containing it must have been cut, because I can’t seem to spot it in either version of the film); and animatronic creature effects artist John Nolan took inspiration from Frontier Developments’ 2018 video game ‘Jurassic World: Evolution’ to get a better sense of the Dilophosaurus’s locomotion for the film. In fact, Nolan’s team had created a device that would allow the animatronic version of the dinosaur to travel on a dolly track with eleven puppeteers following behind it using levers, rods, and cable controls to create the dinosaur’s walk. However, Trevorrow was not happy with the result. But perhaps one of the biggest pieces of interesting information involved our favorite clone girl, Maisie.

When it came to casting the role of Maisie’s mother, Charlotte Lockwood, Trevorrow considered using digital tools to graft Isabella Sermon’s face onto a body double and age her features appropriately. However, during a casting section for the body doubles, he made a remarkable find. “I had been given a set of faces whose bone structure was similar enough to Isabella Sermon’s,” says Trevorrow. Among those faces was Irish-born Elva Trill. As Trill began reciting lines with the director, he quickly came to realize that she would be perfect as Charlotte and abandoned the digital augmentation idea. “I’ve never seen an actor come in and just grab a role by being so good,” says Trevorrow.

The section near the end of the book that details ‘Camp Cretaceous’ scored some of its own interesting details, such as the showrunner’s original plan to feature Owen Grady and Claire Dearing; there was an early version of the story where Ben doesn’t survive past Season 1; and most interestingly how the originally intended final shot of the film trilogy was instead used as the final shot for this series:

Camp Cretaceous also brought Trevorrow full circle, back to his early meetings with Steven Spielberg when he pitched the arc of the Jurassic World franchise, which would ultimately lead to dinosaurs entering our everyday lives. Specifically, the image of a child looking out his window on a suburban street and seeing a traffic jam caused by a Brachiosaurus at an intersection. “We actually ended up making that the very last shot of the entire [Camp Cretaceous] series,” says Trevorrow. “After nine years, that idea found its way back into the story.”

               THE INSERTS

As usual with Insight Edition’s Visual History books, there are numerous “inserts” on certain pages that feature unique items. While some are still applied with an adhesive per the previous book, many of the inserts this time are more technically “part of the book” and not meant to be removed entirely. Some are just meant to be unfolded beyond the confines of the book’s dimensions, while a few are even in the form of actual booklets to flip through. The only real negative is that it is focused more on the first film than the rest. Here is a complete list of what you will find:

From ‘Jurassic World’: Poster art advertises Jurassic World’s Gyrosphere ride; Storyboards by David Lowery from an early iteration of Jurassic World’s evolving storyline; A map of Isla Nublar showing the island’s topography and the location of Jurassic World; Dr. Wu’s Jurassic World security pass; Concept art by Glen McIntosh for Jurassic World’s petting zoo; The sketches that Steven Spielberg drew for Colin Trevorrow to illustrate his feedback on the Indominus rex breakout sequence; A tourist map of Jurassic World highlights the theme park’s attractions; & Storyboards by Glen McIntosh for the scene in which the raptors pursue a pig in the Raptor Research Arena.

From ‘Fallen Kingdom’: Raptor movement study by Glen McIntosh; A sticker sheet featuring production design art created for the Dinosaur Protection Group; & Production design art for the jacket of Dr. Ian Malcolm’s book, God Creates Dinosaurs (not actual size).

From ‘Battle At Big Rock’: Concept Art Booklet.

From ‘Dominion’: Storyboards by Glen McIntosh for Jurassic World Dominion’s prologue scene & Malta Concept Art Booklet.

From ‘Camp Cretaceous’: Concept Art Booklet.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER?

A fan wouldn’t be a fan without needing to nitpick, right? (Don’t answer that.) Despite being mostly pleased with this book, there are still a few areas that could have been improved upon (perhaps in a revised edition, which Insight Editions have done before).

               WHAT ABOUT ‘JURASSIC PARK 4’?

The opening of the book does briefly go into ‘Jurassic Park 4’ (the obvious working title before it eventually was named ‘Jurassic World’), mostly delving into some details on the John Sayles script and then eventually a little more about Jaffa/Silver’s script before Trevorrow/Connolly did their own version. But what about the rest? There were numerous versions of the film, by other writers, that were tackled in the 14 years between ‘Jurassic Park 3’ and ‘Jurassic World’. Given that it was such a long range of time where the studio kept throwing ideas around to try to make things happen, most of it shrouded in secrecy, this had been one of my most anticipated sections. Instead, it was only a few pages, and generalized.

Also, while they mention the dinosaur/human hybrids, it’s a shame that none of the wild concept art (that has been online for many years) was included at all. Perhaps they couldn’t get the rights to feature them?

Speaking of art from this period: where was John Bell‘s art? Last year’s book featured loads of art by Bell for the original trilogy, plus a tease of two pieces of artwork he did for ‘Jurassic Park 4’. And yet, this book didn’t feature any of it. This is another case where the art has been online for years, on Bell’s very own site. And there is some fantastic stuff, including his concepts for gyrospheres and even a version of the park’s map that perhaps coincided with the Jaffa/Silver script. This book even mentions Bell in the “special thanks” section, making the exclusions even more mystifying.

               OTHER OMISSIONS

Look, I get it: this book can’t be 1,000 pages long like all of us die-hard fans would like it to be. Putting the complex histories of three massive films into one book is a huge undertaking (just like it was in the previous book). Still, there were some things I wish had been mentioned or visually included in this book. Because when and where else would it be, apart from random online articles & videos that eventually get buried with the rest? Perhaps that’s why some of these details were possibly missed to begin with?

Seamus Blackley, the creator of the XBOX and the ‘Lost World’-related game ‘Trespasser‘, had pitched a video game that he titled ‘Jurassic World’ (before anyone else); which would later inspire several ideas for the new film trilogy. None of this important revelation is mentioned at all (although to be fair it wasn’t publicly known until very recently). Also for ‘Jurassic World’, there is no mention of the “Stegoceratops“: a second hybrid dinosaur that was originally planned to be in the film, and even had a toy made for it!

The previous book had spent a lot more time detailing most of the different scripts for the films. This book does this at times but to a lesser degree. While it was nice to learn a little more about the Jaffa/Silver script for example, it still just grazed the surface. And since this script can’t be found anywhere online currently, a more detailed summary would have been amazing. For example, was the concept art that was shown in one of the Blu-Ray bonus features (and not in this book) of the Indominus attacking a robotic T-Rex coming out of a waterfall (ala ‘Jurassic Park: The Ride’) something from this script?

               MORE LOVE FOR THE SEQUELS

This is another reoccurring issue, but it just feels like more focus is given to the first film of the trilogy (despite me just complaining I wanted more from it!) with less invested in the sequels; ‘Fallen Kingdom’ and ‘Dominion’. More details about their different scripts, more inserts related to them (A pull-out Hammond painting from ‘Fallen Kingdom’ would have been awesome!), or even the mention of certain deleted scenes we know were filmed thanks to still images (that aren’t in this book): such as Iris’s death from the Indoraptor & a dead/decayed Stegosaur that Owen and his team come across as they search for Blue on Nublar.

According to more “hush-hush” behind-the-scenes stories, we also know that ‘Fallen Kingdom’ was going to originally involve Isla Sorna, a ‘Gene Ship’ for Wu’s experiments, and more of Ian Malcolm. He was going to try and sabotage the rescue mission on the Arcadia! ‘Dominion’ was originally going to be two films that would have been filmed at the same time. But again, none of these details are brought up.

In an ideal world, each film in the series would have gotten its own book. This would have allowed much more breathing room to fully explore all these things, and more. Perhaps that is just not economically feasible anymore, even for a big franchise? Especially when, let’s be honest, the sequels in each trilogy are not as popular or well-regarded as their first entries. While a slew of die-hard fans would have clamored for a ‘Fallen Kingdom’ making-of book, for example, is it really something that would sell well? Especially now? Sometimes these sorts of “package deals” are the only way to at least get what we are able to.

SO, SHOULD I GET IT?

I think ‘Jurassic World’ fans should absolutely get this book. My complaints, as you’ve read, only really dwell with what isn’t in it. While the omissions are disappointing, it isn’t so egregious that it takes away from what is included. There’s a wealth of information, concept art, photographs, and nice inserts (the “concept art booklets” being my favorite) that are all woven together wonderfully. In most ways it improves upon their ‘Jurassic Park’ book, and in retrospect I may have originally been a little too critical on it. But if being a little harsh helped make this book better, well, that’s why I still felt the need to point some things out this time, too.

What I didn’t expect to feel while reading and looking through this book was how much nostalgia it gave me. The first film in this trilogy is nearly a decade old, and it’s crazy how time flies. Books like Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History help preserve these films beyond the screen, along with all our memories that come with them.

The feelings we had in anticipation for these films, the news as details were revealed, the organized screenings every time they came out, and the events we attended where other people obsessed with this series finally felt like they belonged. Friendships made, perhaps even hearts broken, or miraculously the bond of marriage formed. We all have our stories. And when you go through these pages, I can almost guarantee that at least one image, maybe something obscure not literally in the film that you would never expect to elicit an emotion, reminds you of a time that once was. And you remember your place in that time, and perhaps realize just how different you are now; or the same.

This trilogy, and our time in it, is over. But like everything in nature, it will evolve. And so will you.

What are some of your favorite memories related to the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy? Did you go to a fun event, see any of the films with someone you loved, or make new friends because of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and may the joy you have for these films never go away!

ADDENDUM: In celebration of the release of “Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History”, Insight Editions presents author James Mottram in conversation with Jurassic World Animation Director/Paleoartist Glen McIntosh. Discussion moderated by Derrick Davis, Writer at Jurassic Outpost & Creator of Jurassic Time! Intro/Outro by Insight Edition’s Marketing & Publicity Strategist Amanda Hariri. Live Book Release Event via Crowdcast (10/25/22).

Jurassic World: Dominion Joins Billion Dollar Club!

Life found a way! The sixth installment of the Jurassic franchise, Jurassic World: Dominion, crossed the $1 billion mark globally today! It becomes the 51st film in cinematic history and the fourth film in the franchise to reach this coveted milestone. Dominion also becomes only the second film of 2022 so far to make $1 billion+ joining Top Gun: Maverick, which did so back in June. This is major accomplishment for any film to achieve.

Universal has confirmed that Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion has passed $1 billion in global theatrical grosses.

Four of the six Jurassic films have now joined the exclusive billion dollar club with 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($618,638,999) and 2001’s Jurassic Park III ($368,780,809) as the only two that did not cross. Also, with the success of Dominion, the franchise retains its current title of the only live-action movie franchise that averages $1 billion per film as the entire series is now north of $6 billion total. Though later this year Jurassic will be sharing that title with the Avatar franchise once 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water is released.

The success of this franchise is quite staggering once you realize that franchises like the MCU, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Fast and Furious average below $1 billion per film. Tyrannosaurus Rex translates to Tyrant Lizard King, but I am pretty sure in the land of Hollywood that Jurassic Park translates as Franchise King. 

Jurassic World Dominion will finish it’s domestic run as the 5th highest grossing film in Universal Pictures history only behind Jurassic World, E.T. the Extra-Terrestial, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic Park. Sense a theme? Worldwide, Dominion will finish as Universal Pictures 8th highest grossing film.

So what do you think of Jurassic World Dominion crossing the $1 billion mark? Also, what are your thoughts on the Jurassic franchise being the only live-action film franchise to average $1 billion per film globally? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Forbes

Seamus Blackley Reveals The Story Behind The Mysterious ‘Jurassic World’ Game Pitch Trailer & Its Inspirations For The Films

Several years ago, a trailer was leaked on YouTube that featured a Quetzalcoatlus wreaking havoc on a beach. After flying around, it eventually snatches a surfer on the waves, taking him into the air, then crushing him with its beak. Its then joined by another Quetzalcoatlus, as they bond for a moment before going their separate ways.

For years, this trailer confused many people. It was originally said to be for an unreleased game, but others claimed it was for a movie-pitch. The strangest thing of all was its title: ‘Jurassic World’. Was this an inspiration for the film of the same namesake, or something else entirely?

To learn the story behind this trailer, we must, appropriately, go back in time.

“Trespasser- The Lost World: Jurassic Park” was released in 1998; an early PC experience that was advertised as “the evolution of first-person 3D gaming”. You played as Anne, voiced by Minnie Driver: a woman who just wanted to go on a vacation to escape from the drama of her life. Unfortunately, Anne got more than she bargained for when her plane crash-lands on Isla Sorna. Also known as “Site B” – the abandoned island that was once used by billionaire John Parker Hammond to experiment with the extraordinary science used to recreate extinct dinosaurs. His success becomes Anne’s folly, as she must traverse through the island’s dinosaur-infested ruins alone to find any hope of rescue. Her only company are Hammond’s memoirs, voiced by Lord Richard Attenborough, that are recalled as the island’s myth becomes a reality.

Seamus Blackley produced and programmed “Trespasser”, introducing realistic environments, physics, and artificial intelligence that were ahead of its time for the gaming industry. Unfortunately, release dates and budgets were pushed, cutting off the game from reaching its intended potential. This led to an incomplete experience when it was released, ridden with technical bugs and an engine that ran sluggish on the lackluster 90’s graphic cards. It became a critical and commercial flop, despite a dedicated fan-base that was mesmerized with what the game still achieved and went on to inspire.

Thankfully, Seamus made a massive comeback in 2001 when he created Microsoft’s “XBOX” gaming system. To this day, it is the only true rival against Sony’s “Playstation”, spawning many classic games including the “Halo” series.

Then, a decade later, Seamus had the unexpected chance to revisit what he had explored with “Trespasser”. He was tasked to make a “gaming sequel” to the first three Jurassic Park films. It led to the creation of concept art, detailed documents, and even a fully-completed “pitch trailer” that was shown to executives. Sadly, the game never got made. But its remains were not left to fossilize…

That trailer was, indeed, the one that leaked years ago. Thankfully, Seamus Blackley was kind enough to speak with Jurassic Time and finally tell the story behind the game and its inspirations on the upcoming film series.

Part One of the 3-part interview delves into the “Trials Of Trespasser”. Seamus goes into the details of that game’s inception, creation, and ultimate failure thanks to forces beyond his control with the studio. It’s an honest and dark look into the history of the game, but a necessary starting point to put the rest of his story in context. As he tells his story, footage of every level from the game plays to offer everyone a glimpse of the world he and his team created. Despite its flaws, it’s still impressive, even now.

In Part Two, Seamus reveals the “Origins Of Jurassic World”. What’s fascinating is that the origins of his unproduced ‘Jurassic Park’ game are also part of the origins of the ‘Jurassic World’ film series itself. Thanks to some extra sleuthing, Jurassic Time presents the game’s pitch trailer for the first time in HD, as well as some rare footage of the game’s early stages, and even some concept art. While Seamus tells it best, Steven Spielberg himself appointed him to come up with a game sequel to the original ‘Jurassic Park’ trilogy before a fourth film was truly underway. While great work was done that had been met with approval from everyone, including Spielberg when he saw the pitch trailer, its fate came before it got any further. Ownership in the company changed and focus on producing a game became dashed. Instead, the materials that had been made were carried over into the film’s production department for the fourth entry in the series. Various ideas clearly inspired the studio, including the title of the game itself: ‘Jurassic World’. Coincidence?

As a special bonus, the second part of the interview also has a brief appearance by his wife, Caroline Quinn. She was the art department coordinator for the original ‘Jurassic Park’, and she shares a brief story behind the film’s famous joke: Do-You-Think-He-Saurus! Included are several never-before-seen photographs.

The third and final part of the interview is where the gloves come off as Seamus delves into the “Remnants Of A Lost Jurassic World”. A story reel that was made of concept art from the game (featuring work by David Krentz, Iain McCaig, & Mishi McCaig) starts it off with a bang, leading into the reasons behind Seamus’s choice of the game’s protagonist: Billy Brennan from ‘Jurassic Park 3’. As pictured in all the artwork, Billy was meant to have a relationship with the raptors, and other dinosaurs, based on the same level of communication and respect that was seen in ‘Jurassic World’ with Owen and the “raptor squad”. The lead raptor also, just happens, to be “blue”. What’s awesome about the raptors in this game were that they were all feathered: an evolution of the creatures since we saw them in ‘Jurassic Park 3’, via DNA “correcting itself” on its own from generation to generation.

These revelations, and many more, can be found in the complete and extensive conversation with Seamus Blackley. While it is a shame that we never got this game, at least pieces of it lived on via the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy. Owen’s relationship with the “raptor squad”, a prehistoric reptile attacking a surfer on the beach waves, and a Quetzalcoatlus wreaking havoc in the skies were among the many inspirations drawn from this unproduced game.

Do you still wish this game could be made today? What do you think about its connections and inspirations for the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy? Share your thoughts below, and stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!

Dilophosaurus & Dr. Ellie Sattler Join The Hammond Collection in New BEYOND THE GATES Episode!

The Hammond Collection is expanding with this month’s brand new items! Last month’s Beyond The Gates unveiled a brand new dinosaur debuting in Jurassic World Dominion, the ridiculously sized Dreadnoughtus! This month, Mattel are winding the clock back all the way to 1993 with these two new items…

The Hammond Collection is pleased to welcome: Dr. Ellie Sattler and the Dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park!

This exciting episode is hosted by the one and only Chris “Highland Velociraptor” Pugh, who is joined by the Hammond Collection lead designer Gregory Murphy who walks us through the design process for these two new figures.

Not only that – legendary Matt Winston joins us from the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, to talk us through the incredibly animatronic that Stan Winston and his team created for the original film.

These two items are wonderful additions to Mattel’s Hammond Collection – be sure to check out the full episode for a deeper look and insight into the making of these Jurassic World toys!

Head to Target.com to pre-order now, and stay tuned for more Beyond The Gates!

And for an even closer look at these two items check out our extended playthrough of both Dr. Ellie Sattler and the Dilophosaurus:

Beyond The Gates SLAYS Another Episode With Unveiling of Jurassic World: Dominion Dreadnoughtus!

With Jurassic World Dominion now available on demand (and still playing in theatres!), the Beyond The Gates team are here to debut one of Mattel’s new dinosaurs featured in the movie… the long, lumbering Dreadnoughtus!

Last month we debuted the Epic Battle Pack which featured three electrifying slashing dinosaurs featured in the movie, but this month we’re slowing things down and taking a look at one of the (Jurassic) World’s most majestic creatures…

In this exciting episode your Jurassic host Chris is joined by the almighty Rafael Bencosme from Mattel’s design team, who walks us through the process of developing such a ginormous toy! He also discusses the other sauropods Mattel have made and shares insights into the design process.

Chris is also joined by lead visual effects supervisor from ILM David Vickery who talks us through the story of designing this dinosaur for Dominion, the development process with director Colin Trevorrow, and we see some never-before-seen renders of this dinosaur in the full!

This episode truly is not one to miss and we wanted to thank the team at Universal and Mattel, and of course the team at ILM for working with us to create this exciting behind the scenes look at one of Dominion’s new dinosaurs!

Watch the full episode for a deeper look at the making of this wonderful toy and if you haven’t already, head to Target.com to pre-order now!

There’s more very exciting items coming to Beyond The Gates in the coming months, stay tuned!

An Extensive Fan Review Of ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’

The following review was submitted to us by Neelis/Dinosaur Habitat.


Dinosaurs rule the world once more in ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’. Is it epic? Is it the conclusion to the ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Jurassic World’ franchises, as promised by the tagline? Does Giganotosaurus truly want to watch the world burn? And what does a gig at BioSyn pay when you are a swashbuckling mathematician?   

Originally slated for a June 2021 release, but postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ has been making its way into cinemas across the globe ahead of the US premiere on June 10, 2022.

Reception by audiences and critics has been mixed so far, though the early release has been a financial success; however, monetary profits do not equal quality, so how does ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ hold up?

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ – the story

Picking up four years after ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ (2018), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is still haunted by the past; trying to atone for her mistakes and feeling a deep sense of duty towards the dinosaurs, she has moved on from rallying the public and politicians to more radical measures, raiding illegal dinosaur breeding facilities to expose them and have authorities shut down the awful practices conducted there.

Despite their earlier romantic struggles, Claire and former Velociraptor-trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) have made a pretty nice home for themselves and rebellious Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), who they’ve taken under their wings after her grandfather’s death.

It isn’t long before their peaceful life is disturbed; Velociraptor Blue turns up at their cabin in the woods. And Blue is not alone; she has a baby, whose origins are a mystery.

Both the baby Velociraptor and Maisie are kidnapped by a bunch of nameless poachers, led by over-the-top bad guy Rainn Delacourt (Scott Haze).

Owen and Claire give chase; with the help of Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) they learn Maisie is headed to Malta, where illegal dinosaur fights are being held by more anonymous, unpleasant people, and dinosaurs are sold for excessive amounts of money, the trades conducted by delightfully devious, and criminally underused, Soyona Santos (Dichen Lachman).

Owen and Claire briefly reunite with Barry (Omar Sy) and find an unexpected ally in veteran pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise), who agrees to fly them to Biosyn Valley, a sanctuary for recaptured dinosaurs and other resurrected prehistoric creatures.

Parallel to Claire and Owen’s story runs another tale; the one of Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) investigating the mysterious appearance of swarms of gigantic locusts, feeding on crops throughout the United States, destroying harvests as they swoop down and gorge on anything the farmlands offer.

Believing Biosyn is responsible, she asks her former love-interest and old friend Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) for help with her quest for evidence; invited by a familiar acquaintance, Sattler and Grant journey to the dinosaur sanctuary located deep in the Italian Dolomites. 

Touring Biosyn’s facility under the guidance of Ramsay Cole (Mamoudou Athie), Grant and Sattler are welcomed by Dr. Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott), who seems more aloof than an evil genius. Alas, do not judge a book by its cover; as with ‘Jurassic World’ (2015) and ‘Fallen Kingdom’, shady stuff is going on right under everyone’s noses, including Dr. Ian Malcolm’s (Jeff Goldblum) who lectures at Biosyn for a handsome stipend, and who extended the invitation to Dr. Sattler.

Will the familiar trio manage to expose Dodgson before everything goes pear-shaped?

Through a series of high-adrenaline adventures, the two groups eventually come together in Biosyn Valley and must not only fight for their own survival, but for the chance to reveal the truth.

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ – the verdict

The story of ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ begins, of course, in 1993; Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park’, based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name, enthralled audiences of all ages and demographics. Never before had dinosaurs been so realistically and dynamically depicted on screen.

At the time, critics lauded the visual effects but quite a few were less complimentary when it came to the human characters; they were seen as somewhat two-dimensional, entirely in service of the spectacular animatronics and CGI.

‘Jurassic Park’’s success spawned two sequels; ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ (1997), based on another Michael Crichton novel, and ‘Jurassic Park III’ (2001).

After the third film, the franchise seemed to have been given up on by Universal. Rumors about a possible fourth film, and even a few announcements of it having entered active pre-production, swirled, but it would take fourteen years before the dinosaurs made a successful return in ‘Jurassic World’ (2015) and ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ (2018).  

What has endured most amongst fans, almost ironically, is a deeply rooted love for the original characters; Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler and Dr. Malcolm inspired generations to seek out careers in palaeontology and science.

Dr. Ian Malcolm in particular remains incredibly popular amongst film enthusiasts; and Jeff Goldblum delights in the character’s popularity, having reprised the role not just in sequel films, but a car commercial and the various ‘Jurassic World: Evolution‘ games.

This popularity only made it a matter of time before Grant, Sattler and Malcolm would return to the world of dinosaur escapades. But with five returning leading characters, three returning supporting characters (though two are really cameos), four newcomers, one renewed villain, and Maisie’s story continuing too, do they get a chance to truly shine?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ tries to squeeze in so much everyone’s individual stories are bogged down, even with the gargantuan runtime of two-and-a-half hours.

Most of the time it feels more as if the entire film’s a comedic approach rather than a serious continuation of the series and a re-introduction of beloved characters; Dr. Malcolm talks, but his words, unlike his dire warnings and razor-sharp analysis in both ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Lost World’, are hollow, meaningless; even his rivalry with Dodgson can’t reach the heights of the adversarial quips traded with Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) in ‘The Lost World’.

And so it goes on; Dr. Sattler and Dr. Grant have surprisingly little to add, aside from their own little mystery-espionage adventure, and are written rather abysmally.

A completely  ridiculous subplot is introduced, erasing things we learned (or thought we’d learned) in ‘Fallen Kingdom’ regarding Maisie’s origin story, which is now so muddled and contrived (the “Benjamin Lockwood – John Hammond fallout”-spiel makes no sense at all now), it defies any desire of exploring it further.

Claire and Owen, by comparison, have a more straightforward and slightly more serious arc, and given their history there is a surprisingly touching moment between Claire and Owen on Kayla’s aircraft. Owen, having taken on the role as surrogate dad, is far less goofy, a welcome approach. Both Kayla and Ramsay are appreciated additions to the story, though they get far too little screentime (Ramsay’s character especially suffers from the bloated cast of characters).

The dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, too, feel underused. Most of them only appear once, dutifully carry out their parts in the story, then are gone just as quickly as Delacourt and Santos.

With the exception of the (very effective) reveal of the Therizinosaurus, the introductions of the dinosaurs are distinctly underwhelming; they aren’t helped by some unimpressive CGI work and highly disappointing animatronics. Not once do they reach the greatness of Stan Winston and his team’s work on the original ‘Jurassic Park’ films.

And though it was heralded as the new big bad dinosaur, Giganotosaurus turns out to be the chillest theropod in the franchise. It lumbers around a bit, and even gives half-hearted chase to our heroes once, but it mainly being absent from the larger part of the film is what stands out most.

By comparison, the mystery of the locusts, admittedly and pleasantly, feels as if it came straight out of a Michael Crichton novel. And some of the humour in the film (“he slid into my DMs”) truly works and draws hearty laughs.

For all its flaws, and Colin Trevorrow’s insistence of them not featuring when ‘Jurassic World’ entered production sometime in 2013, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ now introduces feathered dinosaurs, some of them first seen in ‘The Prologue‘ (2022); it’s a radical and deeply appreciated step forward for the franchise – the fierce Pyroraptor especially is a fabulously spectacular plunderer, echoing the memory of ‘Jurassic Park III’’s marvelous Velociraptors.

A tighter, more competently written story, shorter runtime and less filler-characters might have made for a better, more entertaining film. Even though the pace is high and everyone’s continuously horse-riding, driving, cycling, running and flying from set-piece to set-piece, I found myself bored at times because it was hard to keep up with the action, and also, about halfway, hard to care for what was going on. 

The absence of any tension and playing it safe to please a very wide demographic (of fans) takes away any edge it otherwise might have had.

At times the film’s more ‘Bourne’ or ‘Mission: Impossible‘ than ‘Jurassic Park’ / ‘Jurassic World’. As a friend described it; the film feels very much as if you’re watching a string of excellent video game levels.

Is it epic? No. Is it the conclusion? Also no. The open end, unfortunately, hints at more to come. I’m hoping Trevorrow and Universal Studios will hand over the reins to other writers and directors; preferably filmmakers who aren’t hardcore fans of the original films and therefore capable of taking a step back, critically evaluating what does and does not work, only then to come up with engaging, intriguing stories and characters.

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ has its heart in the right place, but the execution is dreadful. Though it will no doubt make an obscene amount of money over the coming summer, it’s not destined to become a classic. One thing is clear; dinosaurs will rule cinemas once again and they, unlike that tagline’s promise, are very much here to stay.


Do you agree with this fan review, or do you have a different view? Share your thoughts below, and as always stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!

Jurassic World Alive Celebrates Four Years of Gameplay!

Calling all Jurassic World Alive players, and in case you missed it: Jurassic World Alive is celebrating four years of gameplay this year! Read on for more about the milestone, four years of gameplay statistics, and a new sweepstakes for a trip to a Universal Studios resort!



From Universal, Jam City, and Ludia:

Jurassic World Alive, Jam City and Ludia’s award-winning geo-located game featuring the fiercest dinosaurs from Universal’s Jurassic World franchise, is celebrating its fourth anniversary this month! Jurassic World Alive has been downloaded by over 32 million players worldwide and played for over 20 billion minutes, equivalent to over 38,000 years!!

To celebrate this 4-year milestone and ahead of the Jurassic World: Dominion film release on June 10, we released a new live action trailer featuring just some of the iconic dinosaurs in Jurassic World Alive, including fan-favorite raptor Blue, Beta and the iconic T. rex as they inhabit the player’s world, wherever they are.

In addition to the limited-time thematic events always taking place in the game, players will be able to get up close to creatures found in the new theatrical release thanks to a free Jurassic World Dominion scent that will be waiting in players’ game mailboxes from June 8! When activated, scents attract select dinosaurs to appear near the player’s location. Players will also have the opportunity to capture and unlock new prolific dinosaurs through the month of June from the films including Giganotosaurus, the formidable big baddie from the new Jurassic World: Dominion film.

Additional Jurassic World Alive milestones players have achieved the past four years include:

Total Creatures Unlocked: Nearly 400 million

Total T. rexes Unlocked: 1.95 million

Total Darts Fired: 38 quintillion 

Total PVP Battles: 729 million

Total Supply Drops Spun: Nearly 6.2 billion

Universal, Jam City, and Ludia will also be hosting a sweepstakes where one lucky winner plus three guests will be invited to their choice of Universal Studios Resort, in either Hollywood or Orlando. Details can be found here.

The sweepstakes is open to age 18+ residents of the United States and Canada. Runner ups also have the chance to win Jurassic-themed Mystery Boxes and special in-game rewards.



Check out the Jurassic World Alive Dinosaur Day 2022 Trailer below!



Congratulations to Universal, Jam City, and Ludia on the success of Jurassic World Alive and four years of gameplay! What are your thoughts on Jurassic World Alive? Are you a regular player, and if so, how have you been celebrating the anniversary? Let us know in the comments and check out gameplay screenshots below!