'Jurassic World: Dominion' Interviews With Colin Trevorrow, Bryce Dallas Howard And DeWanda Wise
"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.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 How are you today?
00:00 Doing really well.
00:01 How are you?
00:01 We're so good.
00:02 I'm great, especially because we're
00:03 here to talk about the extended edition, which
00:05 I am blown away how much 14 minutes adds to the film
00:09 because I loved it theatrically.
00:10 Thank you.
00:11 But OK.
00:11 Owen and Claire's relationship gets to breathe more with Maisie.
00:14 Yes.
00:15 And then we get to see more of Kayla.
00:16 And just I love that throne.
00:18 She gets her Star Wars throne moment
00:20 in the underground dinosaur market and the listrosaurus.
00:24 Yes.
00:25 And besides all that, I wanted to ask you
00:27 both what you're most excited about seeing back in the film.
00:31 I mean, the opening.
00:32 The opening.
00:33 The opening!
00:34 Right?
00:35 And the way in which it pays off, the ending.
00:39 That small tweak at the end.
00:40 Yes.
00:41 Yes.
00:41 I had to rewind and was like, wait a minute,
00:42 was that in there?
00:43 Yes.
00:44 Yes.
00:44 I mean, I was always saying, I remember
00:47 Colin is a very transparent director.
00:49 And when they were editing the film, I was team three hours.
00:53 Yes.
00:54 I was like--
00:55 I was like--
00:55 I mean, people haven't been in the movies for like two years.
00:58 We are combining Jurassic World and Jurassic Park.
01:02 Like, I felt like I was ready to sit in the theater
01:05 for three hours at least.
01:06 So I'm very happy that the film that we shot
01:10 is the film that people get to see.
01:12 Everybody hold on to somebody.
01:14 When did you know it was a reality
01:16 that you were going to get to do the extended cut?
01:19 Well, very late in the game because the extended cut
01:21 was the movie until very late in the game.
01:24 And then we just reached a point where we were really
01:26 almost in the mix.
01:27 We were in the mix, actually.
01:28 And we realized that we needed to make a movie less than 2
01:33 and 1/2 hours.
01:34 And that, if anyone wants to be a filmmaker out there,
01:38 it's just one of those things that's a part of the job.
01:41 There's a level of negotiation and collaboration
01:43 that needs to happen with what a studio needs.
01:46 Here we have a movie coming out during COVID.
01:48 We're not sure if people are going to go back
01:49 in the theater to see it.
01:50 We want to make sure we can get people
01:53 in for a streamlined experience.
01:55 And so I had to do something kind of complicated,
01:58 which is I had a movie that I had to streamline
02:00 to a certain amount.
02:01 I had to choose what had to go.
02:02 I did feel everything was necessary.
02:04 And what's different about this is it's not
02:06 a traditional director's cut.
02:07 And it's also not something where
02:09 we added a bunch of footage.
02:10 It's just that we got to go back to that previous file
02:13 and print it.
02:14 It's the little tweaks that really added up
02:16 to a sort of richer film.
02:18 Yes.
02:19 They say, like, kill all your children
02:21 like when you make a movie.
02:22 This is all my children, this movie.
02:26 See?
02:26 Not so bad.
02:29 Again, I loved it theatrically.
02:31 But it just felt like maybe it moved a little too
02:33 quickly in the beginning.
02:34 And then once seeing the new cut, it's like, that added--
02:38 especially with Owen and Claire, the added scene
02:40 after the big Malta chase.
02:42 And it's just like, are you OK?
02:43 Are you OK?
02:44 It's like, wow, there are humans and dinosaurs in this movie.
02:49 I'm so happy to hear you say that because that's
02:51 exactly how I feel.
02:52 I watched the extended edition yesterday
02:55 with my 15-year-old son.
02:57 And he's seen Dominion in theaters four times.
03:00 And he was able to, like, instantly spot them.
03:03 And every single additional moment, additional scene,
03:07 additional bit of dialogue, he was like, oh my gosh,
03:10 this is so meaningful.
03:11 I love this.
03:12 I love this.
03:13 So if you are a fan of Jurassic movies, more is more.
03:19 More is more.
03:20 Come back.
03:21 I always come back.
03:23 What was the one piece of the extended edition
03:25 that you were most excited to put back in?
03:27 Oh, there's a lot of things.
03:28 I felt like there were little moments, you know,
03:31 even a bit of Alan Grant's performance, I feel like.
03:34 I think he actually gets the most new richness
03:39 and new nuance.
03:39 I really like that moment.
03:40 You know, with Maisie, I like the fact
03:42 that there's moments when you feel like the characters
03:43 are, like, running to catch up with the movie
03:45 because it's going to leave without them, you know?
03:47 And I like the way that that breathes.
03:49 My personally, what was most important to me
03:51 was the scene with Mamadou Ache and Louis Dijon
03:55 played by Campbell Scott.
03:56 And that scene really encapsulates
03:58 a lot of what I wanted to say with that story.
04:00 And I really felt it missing.
04:02 And it's two actors just being incredible together.
04:05 And so for me to be able to get that back into the film,
04:09 that meant a lot.
04:11 Creation is an act of sheer will.
04:16 Life will find a way.
04:20 So we're obviously coming up on 30 years
04:22 of Jurassic lore in general.
04:25 And there's always been this theme
04:27 of strong female characters with Dr. Ellie Sattler,
04:30 with Sarah Harding.
04:31 I love that you said that.
04:32 And now with Kayla and with Claire.
04:34 I mean, especially Claire's character
04:36 just has evolved so wonderfully through this trilogy.
04:38 And I'm sorry, Kayla was an MVP from moment one.
04:41 Moment one.
04:42 It's just so amazing that these characters are here
04:45 and representing so much.
04:46 And I got to talk to Laura Dern.
04:48 And I asked her, what was the best moment of recognition
04:51 you've had with people because of that character?
04:53 And I wanted to throw that question back to both of you.
04:55 What was the best moment of recognition
04:57 you've had for your character just being
04:58 another strong female elite in this increasingly
05:01 diverse franchise?
05:03 It keeps evolving for me.
05:05 I mean, I just--
05:06 I think from the very moment that the first images of Kayla
05:09 Watts dropped online and the reception from the fans, which
05:12 was always loving, like they wanted Kayla to be great.
05:16 Everyone wanted Kayla to be great.
05:19 And I don't think you necessarily
05:20 get that with every franchise.
05:22 It's just such a special, iconic, inclusive--
05:27 everyone loves dinosaurs.
05:29 Everybody wants you to win.
05:31 So every step of the way, I continue
05:33 to have those experiences.
05:35 And I look forward to 30 years from now seeing
05:38 what comes of it.
05:39 It's very special.
05:40 Do you have kids in your life that have seen it,
05:44 and then they come to you like your nieces and nephews?
05:47 Oh, girl, yes.
05:49 I mean, getting the-- you're going to make
05:51 me cry under my sunglasses.
05:53 Aw.
05:54 Just quickly.
05:55 Just like, I'm fine.
05:56 We can completely edit and post.
05:57 No, it's fine.
05:58 We're criers.
05:59 Everyone knows.
06:00 Common knowledge.
06:01 Yeah, getting text message from my brother, my niece,
06:06 just being like, she has the Legos.
06:08 We grew up on Legos.
06:10 We were always playing Lego Barbie.
06:12 So now, my niece, Aaliyah, now has an Auntie Lego.
06:16 That's wild.
06:18 That's wild.
06:19 Yeah.
06:21 For me, it's been so wonderful to play a character
06:26 that when you first meet her, you're basically like,
06:28 oh, that's the villain.
06:29 And she's going to get eaten by a dinosaur.
06:31 And then to watch her learn and grow,
06:36 and yet still make mistakes, and then
06:38 realize that that was a mistake, and then not know what to do,
06:42 but to know that something needs to be done.
06:44 Like, I just-- I really appreciate the kind of head
06:47 space that she's gotten into in her life.
06:51 And I've noticed-- because the first movie, when the first
06:55 movie came out, it was a lot of like, heels, heels, heels,
06:57 and heels, and heels, and heels, and heels, and more heels,
07:00 and heels, heels, his, his, his, da, da, da, da, da, da.
07:01 Which is so unfair, because you had to train so hard for that.
07:04 I talked to Simon Watterson about that.
07:05 Those ankles.
07:06 No way!
07:07 You talked to my trainer?
07:08 Come on, have some respect about Bryce Vernon.
07:11 To be able to do that, holding a flare,
07:13 and a 65 million year old, 30 year old dinosaur
07:16 is running behind you.
07:17 Yeah, yeah, these are high stakes situations.
07:20 And I think that the way in which this franchise has
07:25 evolved, the rich history and legacy that
07:30 comes with being a--
07:31 it being a Michael Crichton story,
07:34 and the kind of the more hard hitting sci-fi elements,
07:39 and the moral dilemmas, and all of that,
07:42 you know, it's a cautionary tale.
07:44 And the ways in which that storytelling
07:47 has affected audiences, and in particular, children,
07:51 that has been so, so, so incredibly meaningful to me.
07:54 And the way in which this character represents
07:58 a person who can learn, who can change, who can grow,
08:02 and shows that that doesn't mean that they're perfect,
08:05 that they keep trying.
08:07 Like, I love that.
08:08 I really, really, really love that.
08:10 And I also love that I depicted a character who can totally
08:15 outrun a T-Rex in heels.
08:17 Because I feel like I probably would.
08:19 Yeah, I think you would too.
08:20 I totally believe that.
08:21 I love it.
08:22 Where would you like to see the future of the Jurassic
08:25 franchise go?
08:26 Because it's very open ended.
08:27 Yeah, well, you know, whether I come back or not,
08:31 it would only be to help another filmmaker
08:33 realize their vision.
08:34 And I would love to be involved at that level.
08:37 And yet, I think that it's really--
08:39 I think it's important to have somebody new.
08:41 Because really, what I wanted to do with this
08:43 was take something that, in some ways, is unfranchisable,
08:45 is kind of the same story every time of dinosaurs on an island
08:48 that are trying to eat people, and turn it
08:50 into something that does have a wealth of stories that
08:52 could be told, like a world in which dinosaurs exist.
08:54 And that's what this was.
08:55 It wasn't a plot about dinosaurs.
08:58 It was a story about people and about genetic power.
09:00 Set in the context of a world where dinosaurs exist.
09:03 And I know that's a shift.
09:04 And I know it's a change.
09:05 But I do think that's what's going
09:06 to make it possible for us to move forward.
09:08 Because now, you tell me.
09:10 Like, what can happen?
09:13 If our world's going to survive, what matters is what we do now.
09:17 You coming or what?
09:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:23 (dramatic music)