When the lockdown started back in March, we witnessed the effects of how businesses were hurting financially. Small, family owned restaurants and non-essential stores had to shut down. Even AMC Theaters was on the verge of bankruptcy and movies expected to release this year either had to be pushed back or released on VOD streaming platforms. Even movies that were still in production had to be shut down temporarily. However, we never heard anything else on how the coronavirus affected these movies still in production until now. In an interview with Al Horner from Empire magazine, director Colin Trevorrow states that the lockdown benefitted the production of Jurassic World: Dominion (the sixth film in the Jurassic Park series).
Recently, the UK government allowed production of Dominion under strict safety measures. These safety measures include installing 150 hand sanitizer stations, 1,800 signs around Pinewood Studios, and anti-viral fog machines deployed nightly to deep clean the set. "Dominion was already the biggest creative challenge of our lives, before the lockdown," Trevorrow says to Empire.
Trevorrow continues on how the lockdown benefitted the production for Dominion saying that the first four weeks of their shooting schedule were mostly scenes with the dinosaurs, which allowed the crew to get a head start on the VFX.
Later in the interview, while the director has been in constant contact with his development team, Trevorrow admits that the next few months will not be as simple. "I'm confident our guidelines will keep us safe," Trevorrow continues, "The hard part will be constructing a creative environment within all the precautions. Once the cameras roll, we have to forget our world and live in the world of the movie." Costume designer, Sammy Sheldon Differ, has stated her concerns as well on how she can do her job such as measuring and fitting the costumes without being up close.
Trevorrow resumed shooting for Jurassic World: Dominion on July 6th at Pinewood Studios. As of today, rumors are circulating that the crew have all been tested positive for the virus and production had to be halted again. Universal Studios broke the silence to Comic Book and Jurassic World Outpost debunking the claim:
These rumors were being spread by UK's The Sun. Ever since the official statement by Universal Studios, The Sun has not yet corrected or retracted their article.
Whether this is all rumor or Universal Studios just doing damage control is irrelevant. Movies can't get produced without having to be up close to the actors and the crew. So someone catching the coronavirus is inevitably bound to happen no matter the safety measures the UK government put in place. Even Sammy Differ shared her concerns that she can't do her job as a costume designer without getting up close to the actors. If Trevorrow manages to direct Jurassic World: Dominion without any of the crew members and actors catching the virus then great. He was able to find a way and hopefully the movie doesn't become a mess like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. I'm glad that the virus helped benefit the production of the film in some capacity.
Jurassic World: Dominion will star Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, Omar Sy, and Isabella Sermon along with Jurassic Park veterans Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, BD Wong, and Campbell Scott reprising his role as Lewis Dodgson. Jurassic World: Dominion is expected to release June 11, 2021.
What are your thoughts on Empire's interview with Colin Trevorrow? Do you think he made the right move to continue production or do you think he should have held off longer? Leave a comment in the comments section on your thoughts on the interview. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook, Twitter, and Minds pages to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.
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