"Jurassic World: Dominion" stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing), DeWanda Wise (Kayla Watts) and writer/director Colin Trevorrow — In this interview with CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes on location in Malta.
Watch as they discuss which new scenes they’re most excited for fans to see and how they feel about being a part of the “Jurassic Park” legacy.
Watch as they discuss which new scenes they’re most excited for fans to see and how they feel about being a part of the “Jurassic Park” legacy.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 Heels, heels, heels, and heels, and heels, and heels.
00:02 They say, you know, they say, like, kill all your children.
00:04 Like, when you make a movie.
00:05 This is all my children.
00:06 You're going to make me cry under my sunglasses.
00:09 Oh.
00:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:13 A wise man once said, life finds a way.
00:18 And I, Mike Reyes from CinemaBlend,
00:19 somehow found my way to Malta for the Jurassic World
00:23 Dominion home video junket, an extended edition that adds
00:26 14 minutes back into the movie.
00:28 I'm here to talk to Bryce Dallas Howard, Colin
00:30 Trevorrow, and Dewanda Wise.
00:31 And believe me when I tell you, you're
00:32 going to want to watch it.
00:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:35 Don't move.
00:38 Bigger.
00:38 Why do they always have to go bigger?
00:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:44 Mike Reyes with CinemaBlend talking with Dewanda Wise
00:46 and Bryce Dallas Howard, apparently
00:47 the troublemakers of the Jurassic World junket.
00:49 Yes.
00:50 I like to call them the exciters of the Jurassic World
00:52 Dominion junket.
00:53 How are you today?
00:54 Doing really well.
00:55 We're so good.
00:56 I'm great, especially because we're
00:57 here to talk about the extended edition, which
00:59 I am blown away how much 14 minutes adds to the film,
01:02 because I loved it theatrically.
01:04 - Thank you. - But OK.
01:05 Yeah.
01:05 Owen and Claire's relationship gets to breathe more with Maisie.
01:07 Yes.
01:08 And then we get to see more of Kayla.
01:10 And just, I love that throne--
01:12 she gets her Star Wars throne moment
01:14 in the underground dinosaur market and the listrosaurus.
01:18 Yes.
01:18 And besides all that, I wanted to ask you
01:21 both what you're most excited about seeing back in the film.
01:25 I mean, the opening.
01:26 The opening.
01:27 The opening!
01:28 Right?
01:29 And the way in which it pays off, the ending.
01:33 That small tweak at the end.
01:34 Yes. Yes.
01:35 I had to rewind and be like, wait a minute,
01:36 was that in there? - Yes.
01:37 Yes.
01:38 I mean, I was always saying--
01:39 I remember Colin is a very transparent director.
01:43 And when they were editing the film, I was team three hours.
01:46 Yes.
01:47 Like, I was like--
01:48 I was like, I mean, people haven't been in the movies
01:51 for like two years.
01:52 We are combining Jurassic World and Jurassic Park.
01:56 Like, I felt like I was ready to sit in the theater
01:58 for three hours at least.
02:00 I'm very happy that, you know, the film that we shot
02:04 is the film that people get to see.
02:06 Everybody hold on to somebody.
02:08 When did you know it was a reality
02:10 that you were going to get to do the extended cut?
02:13 Well, very late in the game, because the extended cut
02:15 was the movie until very late in the game.
02:18 And then we just reached a point we were really
02:19 almost in the mix.
02:21 We were in the mix, actually.
02:22 And we realized that we needed to make a movie less than,
02:26 you know, two and a half hours.
02:28 And that, you know, when you're--
02:30 if anyone wants to be a filmmaker out there,
02:32 like, you know, it's just one of those things
02:33 that's a part of the job.
02:34 Like, there's a level of kind of negotiation and collaboration
02:37 that needs to happen with, you know, what a studio needs.
02:40 Here we have a movie coming out during COVID.
02:41 We're not sure if people are going to go back
02:43 to the theater to see it.
02:44 You know, we want to make sure they can, you know,
02:45 we can get people in for a streamlined experience.
02:48 And so, you know, I had to do something
02:51 kind of complicated, which is I had a movie
02:53 that I had to streamline to a certain amount.
02:54 I had to choose what had to go.
02:56 I did feel everything was necessary.
02:58 And what's different about this is it's not
03:00 a traditional director's cut.
03:01 And it's also not something where
03:02 we added a bunch of footage.
03:04 It's just that we got to go back to that previous file
03:06 and print it.
03:08 It's the little tweaks that really added up
03:10 to a sort of richer film.
03:12 Yes.
03:13 They say, you know, they say, like, kill all your children.
03:15 Like, when you make a movie.
03:16 This is all my children, this movie.
03:19 See, not so bad.
03:23 Again, I loved it theatrically.
03:24 But it just felt like maybe it moved a little too
03:27 quickly in the beginning.
03:28 And then once seeing the new cut, it's like,
03:31 that added-- like, especially with Owen and Claire,
03:33 the added scene after the big Malta chase.
03:35 And it's just like, are you OK?
03:37 Are you OK?
03:38 Just like, wow, there are humans and dinosaurs in this movie.
03:42 I'm so happy to hear you say that, because that's
03:44 exactly how I feel.
03:45 I watched the extended edition yesterday
03:49 with my 15-year-old son.
03:50 And he's seen Dominion in theaters four times.
03:54 And he was able to, like, instantly spot them.
03:56 And every single additional moment, additional scene,
04:00 additional bit of dialogue, he was like, oh my gosh,
04:04 this is so meaningful.
04:05 I love this.
04:06 I love this.
04:07 So if you are a fan of Jurassic movies, more is more.
04:13 More is more.
04:13 Come back.
04:14 I always come back.
04:16 What was the one piece of the extended edition
04:19 that you were most excited to put back in?
04:21 Oh, there's a lot of things.
04:22 I felt like there were little moments, you know,
04:25 even a bit of Alan Grant's performance, I feel like.
04:27 I think he actually gets the most, you know,
04:30 new richness and new nuance.
04:33 I really like that moment.
04:34 You know, with Maisie, I like the fact
04:35 that there's moments when you feel like the characters
04:37 are, like, running to catch up with the movie,
04:39 because it's going to leave without them, you know?
04:41 And I like the way that that breathes.
04:43 My-- personally, what was most important to me
04:45 was the scene with Mamadou Ache and Louis Dyson,
04:49 played by Campbell Scott.
04:50 And that scene really encapsulates
04:52 a lot of what I wanted to say with that story.
04:54 And I really felt it missing.
04:55 And it's two actors just being incredible together.
04:59 And so for me to be able to get that back into the film,
05:02 that meant a lot.
05:05 Creation is an act of sheer will.
05:10 Life will find a way.
05:14 So we're obviously coming up on 30 years
05:16 of Jurassic lore in general.
05:18 And there's always been this theme of strong female
05:22 characters with Dr. Ellie Sattler, with Sarah Harding--
05:24 I love that you said that.
05:25 --and now with Kayla and with Claire.
05:27 I mean, especially Claire's character
05:29 just has evolved so wonderfully through this trilogy.
05:32 And I'm sorry, Kayla was an MVP from day-- from moment one.
05:35 Moment one.
05:36 It's just so amazing that these characters are here
05:38 and representing so much.
05:39 And I got to talk to Laura Dern.
05:41 And I asked her, what was the best moment of recognition
05:45 you've had with people because of that character?
05:47 And I wanted to throw that question back to both of you.
05:49 What was the best moment of recognition
05:51 you've had for your character just
05:52 being another strong female elite in this increasingly
05:55 diverse franchise?
05:57 It keeps evolving for me.
05:59 I mean, I just-- I think from the very moment
06:01 that the first images of Kayla Watts
06:04 dropped online and the reception from the fans, which
06:06 was always loving, like they wanted Kayla to be great.
06:10 Everyone wanted Kayla to be great.
06:13 And I don't think you necessarily
06:14 get that with every franchise.
06:16 It's just such a special, iconic, inclusive--
06:21 everyone loves dinosaurs.
06:22 Everybody wants you to win.
06:24 So every step of the way, I continue
06:26 to have those experiences.
06:28 And I look forward to 30 years from now seeing
06:32 what comes of it.
06:33 It's very special.
06:34 Do you have kids in your life that have seen it
06:38 and then they come to you like your nieces and nephews?
06:41 Girl, yes.
06:42 I mean, getting the-- you're going to make
06:45 me cry under my sunglasses.
06:47 Oh.
06:48 Just like quickly.
06:49 Just like-- I'm fine.
06:50 We can completely edit in post.
06:51 No, it's fine.
06:52 We're criers.
06:52 Everyone knows.
06:53 Common knowledge.
06:55 Yeah, getting text message from my brother, my niece,
07:00 just being like, she has the Legos.
07:01 We grew up on Legos.
07:03 We're always playing Lego Barbie.
07:06 So now, my niece, Aaliyah, now has an Auntie Lego.
07:10 That's wild.
07:12 That's wild.
07:13 Yeah.
07:14 For me, it's been so wonderful to play a character
07:20 that when you first meet her, you're basically like, oh,
07:22 that's the villain.
07:23 And she's going to get eaten by a dinosaur.
07:25 And then to watch her learn and grow and yet still make
07:31 mistakes and then realize that that was a mistake
07:34 and then not know what to do but to know that something
07:36 needs to be done.
07:38 Like, I just-- I really appreciate the kind of head
07:41 space that she's gotten into in her life.
07:45 And I've noticed-- because the first movie, when the first
07:48 movie came out, it was a lot of like, heels, heels, heels,
07:51 and heels, and heels, and heels, and heels, and more heels,
07:54 and heels, heels, and--
07:55 Which is so unfair because you had to train so hard for that.
07:58 I talked to Simon Watterson about that.
07:59 Those ankles.
08:00 No way.
08:01 You talked to my trainer.
08:02 Come on.
08:02 You have no respect about Bryce running--
08:04 To be able to do that, holding a flare,
08:07 and a 65 million year old, 30 year old dinosaur
08:09 is running behind you.
08:11 Yeah, yeah, these are high stakes situations.
08:13 And I think that the way in which this franchise has
08:19 evolved, the rich history and legacy that
08:23 comes with being a--
08:25 it being a Michael Crichton story,
08:28 and the kind of the more hard hitting sci-fi elements,
08:33 and the moral dilemmas, and all of that,
08:36 you know, it's a cautionary tale.
08:38 And the ways in which that storytelling
08:41 has affected audiences, and in particular children,
08:45 that has been so, so, so incredibly meaningful to me.
08:48 And the way in which this character represents
08:52 a person who can learn, who can change, who can grow,
08:56 and shows that that doesn't mean that they're perfect,
08:59 that they keep trying.
09:00 Like, I love that.
09:02 I really, really, really love that.
09:04 And I also love that I depicted a character who can totally
09:08 outrun a T-Rex in heels.
09:10 Because I feel like I probably would.
09:12 Yeah, I think you would too.
09:13 So--
09:14 I totally would.
09:15 I love it.
09:16 Where would you like to see the future of the Jurassic
09:19 franchise go?
09:19 Because it's very open ended.
09:21 Yeah.
09:21 Well, you know, whether I come back or not,
09:24 it would only be to help another filmmaker
09:26 realize their vision.
09:27 And I would love to be involved at that level.
09:31 And yet, I think that it's really--
09:33 I think it's important to have somebody new.
09:34 Because really, what I wanted to do with this
09:37 was take something that, in some ways, is unfranchisable,
09:39 is kind of the same story every time of dinosaurs on an island
09:42 that are trying to eat people, and turn it
09:43 into something that does have a wealth of stories that
09:46 could be told, like a world in which dinosaurs exist.
09:48 And that's what this was.
09:49 It wasn't a plot about dinosaurs.
09:51 It was a story about people and about genetic power
09:54 set in the context of a world where dinosaurs exist.
09:57 And I know that's a shift.
09:58 And I know it's a change.
09:59 But I do think that's what's going
10:00 to make it possible for us to move forward.
10:02 Because now, you tell me.
10:04 Like, what can happen?
10:07 If our world's going to survive, what matters is what we do now.
10:11 You coming or what?
10:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
10:17 (whooshing)