Something has survived, and it looks a lot like the Jurassic World: Dominion production. About one month after Universal Pictures resumed production in the UK’s fabled Pinewood Studios on the film, we are getting a new behind-the-scenes look at the production, which is still centered around stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Clearly the studio wants audiences as well as their filmmakers to know safety is an urgent and primary concern for all involved.
Hence the release of the below images from the continuing film production, which was the first major Hollywood blockbuster to be announced as returning to work (the Avatar sequels are also resuming filming in New Zealand). While California film production continues to be indefinitely paused to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s a testament to the government response of other nations that some form of normalcy or production can continue. Indeed, these photos come as part of a report published by The New York Times on Hollywood film productions around the world trying to find their feet.
In the case of Jurassic World: Dominion that means 107-page safety manual that explains procedures as varied as infrared temperature scanners the cast and crew must be checked with every day upon arrival to a cafeteria with a plastic partition where masked workers prepare vacuum-sealed food. According to The Times, the $200 million production has a crew of about 750 people, who’ve been returning to work since July 6.
“We are able for this little moment to be in the world that we’re creating and leave the rest of the world behind,” director Colin Trevorrow told The Times.
This is in keeping with the safety procedures Universal previously announced for the production in June. With the studio spending $5 million on COVID-19 precautions, safety procedures include a private medical facility called Your Doctor to deal with employees’ entire medical needs via on-site doctors, nurses, and isolation booths, as well as nightly anti-viral “fogs” being spread across Pinewood Studios. The areas where cast and crew actually shoot scenes are also being referred to as “Green Zones.” The door to the latter can be seen in the above photos.
Jurassic World: Dominion is among the first productions to be up and running, but as it stays on track to meet a 2021 release date, the sequel is also paving the way for the rest of the industry. As an entertainment though, the movie is intended to be a finale for the previous two Jurassic World films that star Pratt and Howard. Trevorrow, who directed the first movie and co-wrote both of the previous films, is back in the director’s chair while working from a screenplay by himself and Emily Carmichael (Derek Connolly is still credited with a story credit).
In addition to the returning two leads of the last several movies, Jeff Goldblum is also reprising the part of Ian Malcolm for hopefully more than one scene while Sam Neill as Alan Grant and Laura Dern as Ellie Sattler are also returning. B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu is likewise back, as are new additions to the series Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, and Jake Johnson as Cruthers.
The next dinosaur adventure roars (hopefully) into theaters on June 11, 2021.