Desde Hollywood recently participated in the global press conference of the anticipated new blockbuster JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION.

Writer-director Colin Trevorrow, original star Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic World protagonists Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, and newcomers Mamoudou Athie and DeWanda Wise.

Read below some highlights from the conversation with stars and filmmakers.

JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Bryce Dallas Howard & Chris Pratt

On returning to their roles.

Pratt: So exciting.  It’s been an incredible journey. 9 years and 3 great films.  It truly is a grand finale.  It’s a magnificent ending to, really, two trilogies – both Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.  With Colin back to direct it, we knew we were in safe hands.

Howard: I feel exactly the same. Because we started filming in February and then got shut down in March in 2020, there was this moment where we thought we might not even be able to make the movie.  And everyone in the world was dealing with some form of that question (too), so when we did come back, what eclipsed the concern was the excitement and gratitude that we could go back to work.  (The movie) was meant to come out last year, but as we were shooting the decision was made for this year, and I’m so glad for that because it really feels like it’s time to go back to the movies.  We would’ve been excited no matter what, but because of the circumstances of the last couple of years, we take none of that for granted.

On working in movies with a lot of special and visual effects.

Pratt: I once heard that every time an actor refers to his work as a craft, an angel gets kicked in the nuts, so forgive me angels for saying that, but what we do is a craft, is a trade. Yes, experience does make it easier.  You develop tools on one job with effects that you may rely on for the next job.  Ultimately, we are piecing together a motion picture, and working with effects requires various techniques that are unique to the creations but don’t necessarily have an impact on the ending.

When you have a performance that’s driven by puppeteers, it will change who you are and what you’ve become prepared to do.  Doing this over and over again definitely makes it easier, because it is… What? A craft! (laughs)

Howard: Poor angel!

Mamoudou Athie

On how the opportunity came about for him, and what appealed to him the most about Dominion.

It was kind of a head-scratcher for me, it was just one of those out-of-the-blue calls.  My agent was like “This director wants to talk with you.”  I met with (Colin Trevorrow), had a great 3 hour conversation over lobster rolls in Malibu (laughs)…I love the guy! I appreciate his intrepid spirit.  His willingness to go beyond and, more than anything, his collaborative nature.  All those things felt like I was in safe hands, no matter what.

On interacting with the original Jurassic Park trio.

It was mind-blowing! Frightening (laughs) but really heart-warming.  They were so generous and so incredibly supportive. Everyone in this cast was.  We all tried to bring the best out of each other in a really beautiful way.

Jeff Goldblum

On reuniting with Sam Neill and Laura Dern.

I was so excited.  This franchise.  These movies.  Back in ’93 (Jurassic Park) was so spectacularly enjoyable for me to work on.  To work with Steven Spielberg (who was) forever creatively changing.  And then to work with Laura Dern and Sam Neill back then was life-changing.  I was a different person for working with them.  It was Colin who told me, during the shooting of a commercial, who told me “I think we’re going to do a third Jurassic World, and I think there’ll be something great for you, Sam and Laura.” “What? What? What?” says I, and then it came to fruition and we’re there on set in England, in Pinewood Studios where they shoot the James Bond movies, and I am out of my mind with gratitude.

On the difference between shooting Jurassic Park and Dominion.

We didn’t know it at the time, at least I didn’t, but we were intersecting with a breakthrough in cinema technology that could bring dinosaurs to life in a way that they had never been brought to life before.  It changed cinema.  Some people compare it to the beginning of sound in movies.  It really was a moment.  When it was new, there was a lot of looking at tennis balls and imagining where the dinosaurs were going to be.  In this one, there were more dinosaurs (built) that you could touch and work with.  It was really, really amazing.

DeWanda Wise

On the Spielbergian influences of her character. 

Honestly, early career Harrison Ford.  Both of those roles had such a swagger and a magnetism that drew audiences to him. He wasn’t the type of hero who announced himself.  He wasn’t loud.  He just had a very unassuming, understated energy.  Everything about him was “You come to me”, and that was something Colin and I spoke about.  How she was constructed I can attribute to Colin.

On ad-libbing or improvisation.

It was a gift that Colin gave us. It was quite an atypical experience for a role of such magnitude.  I love a director, and a writer too, who understands that once a role reaches an actor, they are now the authority.  That’s just how it is.  It doesn’t matter if it’s theater, TV, or film, by the time that actor reaches the set, they are the trusted authority, and (Colin) really gave us that degree of ownership.  That’s the way I like to work.  I like a lot of freedom.  Like Kayla, I’m not good with constraints.  It is what it is.

Colin Trevorrow

On bringing together two generations and closing an iconic franchise. 

I had to approach it from a place of respect. We all started as fans, and as fans we tend to hold such things very tightly, but we have to make sure we don’t hold it too tight. You have to make sure there’s room for these characters to breathe.  I just did a lot of listening.  I listened to Laura, Sam and Jeff about where they thought their characters would be and where they should go.  There’s a real sense of ownership amongst the cast and I.

On navigating the balance between many lead characters.

In the process of working with the actors, we made sure that each of them felt like they had a beginning, middle and an end to their story.  That gave me a guide.  By the time we get to the end of the film, I hope when you look at them lined up together you feel they have all been respected, represented and cared for over the course of the film.

On having an idea, as a writer, of what the endgame was going to be.

There’s a series of images at the end of the film that I did see as a place that we could reach.  That dinosaurs could co-exist with humans on this planet.  How we got there was something that evolved over time.

 

Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.