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Task 2: Film

Film chosen to research: Jurassic World

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Timeline of Pre-Production 

2013

January: 

On January 11, 2013, Universal said the film would be made in 3D and released on June 13, 2014.

February:

In February, it was reported that Kathleen Kennedy would not be producing the film in favour of focusing on Star Wars:The Force Awakens for 2015. Frank Marshall took over as the primary producer.

 

Shortly after, the director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, confirmed that Universal Pictures had reserved space there from April to November 2013, without specifying the reason.

 

Marshall was impressed by Colin Trevorrow’s first film ‘Safety not Guaranteed’ and at the end of February 2013, he arranged a meeting between himself,Trevorrow and Spielberg regarding the Jurassic park job. Trevorrow was subsequently hired without reading the Jaffa and Silvers script, which was still being written.

March: 

Universal announced Trevorrow as director on March 14, 2013 and Patrick Crowley as a producer.

 

A year had been spent searching for a director. Spielberg, Marshall, and Kennedy had previously considered Juan Antonio Bayona to direct Jurassic World, but he declined because he felt there was not enough time for production.

April: 

In April 2013, Jack Horner said a new, previously extinct creature would rise to stardom in the film.

 

After reading Jaffa and Silver's draft, Trevorrow insisted on completely rewriting the script with writing partner Derek Connolly, who had never seen any of the Jurassic Park films prior to that point. Trevorrow had told the filmmakers, "if I direct this screenplay, it's going to be a bad movie. I'm gonna do a bad job, because I just don't get it. Trevorrow and Connolly wrote their own draft of the script over a couple of weeks still retaing to Spielberg's three story ideas.

May: 

The studio received the draft on May 6, 2013, and found the script changes more large-scale than anticipated. On May 8, 2013, the studio announced it was pushing the release from June 13, 2014, to an unspecified future date.

 

Filming had been set to begin on June 24, 2013. Delaying the film allowed Trevorrow and Connolly more time to work on the script, as Spielberg felt that it needed improvement.

 

 Another reason for the delay was to allow time for the construction of practical sets for the fictional theme park; it was previously intended to add in these buildings using computer effects.

 

In May 2013, Trevorrow tweeted a picture of Kauai taken during location scouting with the caption "Nublar", the name of the island in the original film.

 

Later that month, Sam Neill said it was unlikely he would be a part of the film, stating, "I'm told it's a big reboot, a total re-jig." Trevorrow eventually tweeted that "Reboot is a strong word. This is a new sci-fi terror adventure set 22 years after the horrific events of Jurassic Park.

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June: 

In June 2013, a new release date of 2015 was announced, and it was reported that the film would revolve around a fully functional dinosaur theme park.

July:

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August:

In August 2013, Legendary Pictures was considering co-financing the film with Universal.

September: 

On September 10, 2013, Universal Pictures confirmed the film would be titled Jurassic World and would be released on June 12, 2015. Trevorrow chose to rename the film from its previous title, Jurassic Park IV, to differentiate it from previous films in the series Trevorrow also said that within the story, "if you named a theme park 'Jurassic Park' after the disaster that had happened it would be a horrible PR mistake."

2014

February:

By February 7, 2014, Legendary Pictures had agreed to co-finance the film,and provided about 20% of the budget. China Film Group has been reported as also having financed the film. Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures served as executive producer for the film with Spielberg.

Pre-Production in sections

Funding:

Who? How?

 

The making of Jurassic World (behind the scenes):

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Casting:

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  1. Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, a Navy veteran and ethologist, and a Velociraptor expert and handler at Jurassic World.

  2. Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing, the Jurassic World operations manager. Aunt to Zach and Gray Mitchell.

  3. Vincent D'Onofrio as Vic Hoskins, head of InGen's security operations, who wants to use the Velociraptors and the Indominus rex as military animals.

  4. Ty Simpkins as Gray Mitchell, one of Claire's nephews and the younger brother of Zach.

  5. Nick Robinson as Zach Mitchell, one of Claire's nephews and the older brother of Gray.

  6. Omar Sy as Barry, Owen's assistant who helps care for the raptors.

  7. BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, geneticist who heads the team that created the dinosaurs for Jurassic World. He is revealed to have an alliance with Hoskins. Wong is the only actor in the film to reprise his role from any of the previous movies.

  8. Irrfan Khan as Simon Masrani, CEO of the Masrani Corporation and the owner of Jurassic World.

  9. Jake Johnson as Lowery Cruthers, an employee in the park's control room.

  10. Lauren Lapkus as Vivian, an employee in the park's control room.

  11. Brian Tee as Hamada, the leader of the ACU (Asset Containment Unit), a group of security guards installed on Isla Nublar.

  12. Katie McGrath as Zara, Claire's personal assistant.

  13. Judy Greer as Karen Mitchell, Claire's sister and mother of Zach and Gray.

  14. Andy Buckley as Scott Mitchell, Karen's husband and father of Zach and Gray.

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Between 2003 and 2008, several cast members from previous Jurassic Park films were expected to reprise their roles, including Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, Richard Attenborough as John Hammond and Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler. Attenborough retired from acting following a fall at his house in 2008 but a statue of his character is featured in the film.

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Trevorrow and Connolly did not want to bring back the other characters unless there would be a good reason for them to be involved in the story; they considered Dr. Henry Wu, the scientist responsible for recreating dinosaurs, which was a logical choice.

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Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson were casted as the child characters in October 2013. Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt were cast in the lead roles. Vincent D'Onofrio and Irrfan Khan were already casted in early 2014 and BD Wong was announced to be reprising his role of Dr. Henry Wu, marking the character's first appearance since the original Jurassic Park film in 1993.

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Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World

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Why was the main cast chosen?

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Chris Pratt as Owen Grady - Chris Pratt was wanted for the leading man role in Jurassic World by Universal and Steven Spielberg and it was the director Colin Trevorrow who wasn’t initially sold on the choice for Pratt to be the lead.

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The problem was that Trevorrow didn't think Pratt would fit the role of the Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady however Pratt was the type of actor Trevorrow liked to work with.

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Trevorrow did eventually understand why Chris Pratt was a fit for the role, and told me that the two men proved to each other that it was the right direction to go in. This came out of really discovering who Owen Grady was as a character, and what Pratt could do with it. Said Trevorrow. It was also revealed that 

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Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing - 

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Ty Simpkins as Gray Mitchell -

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Nick Robinson as Zach Mitchell -

Bryce Dallas Howard,Chris Pratt,Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins in Jurassic World

Technology required:

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Scripts:

The Jaffa and Silvers script were still being written when they hired Colin Trevorrow in between January to March 2013. When the Jaffa and Silvers draft was released, Trevorrorw insisted on completely rewriting the script with his writing partner Derek Connolly - who had never seen any Jurassic Park films prior to that point. 

 

Trevorrow stated that he didn’t understand the script and decided to rewrite the script with his partner Connolly. The Jaffa and Silver’s draft was handed to the studio on the 6th of May 2013  and the changes in the script were bigger than first anticipated therefore the movie was delayed. The delay allowed Trevorrow and Connolly more time to edit the script as Spielberg felt that it needed improvement.

 

Locations:

How?

 

Sets:

The sets were previously intended to be added in with computer effects however because of delays, they decided to construct practical sets.

 

Legal issues:

The movie was delayed as Trevorrow and Connolly rewrote the script and the large changes meant the initial release date of the movie would have to be pushed back. The other reason for the delay was to allow time for the construction of practical sets for the fictional theme park as it was previously intended to add in these buildings using computer effects.

References:

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