Hollywood lore abounds with stories of fraught film shoots and technical difficulties.
A famous one comes from the 1976 “Star Wars” production in Tunisia. Costumes broke, sand ruined equipment and windstorms pummeled sets. Famously, early in the process, even rain became an impediment — something that would have seemed unfathomable to writer/director George Lucas because it was the first winter rain in that region in 50 years.
As the world begins to emerge from coronavirus-related shutdowns, “Jurassic World: Dominion,” filming in the United Kingdom, will be among the first to get back to business. Production stopped in March four weeks into a 20-week shoot.
We're excited to be welcoming back the?at Pinewood Studios as filming is prepped to restart on @JurassicWorld #Dominion https://t.co/5D4ij9c2dv pic.twitter.com/NGVdKbDqNj
— pinewoodstudios (@PinewoodStudios) June 15, 2020
But because of the pandemic, the filming under director Colin Trevorrow will require an additional layer of difficulty. And it will cost Universal about $5 million more, according to Deadline.
Stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard will have to be put into a two-week quarantine upon their return to the U.K. “per government regulations,” Deadline reports. Film and television projects got the governmental green light to restart last month. But that’s just the start.
A private medical facility, dubbed Your Doctor, will take temperatures, conduct antibody testing and manage safety measures, including testing all crew before the start of production. “Thousands of tests are expected to be carried out over the shoot period,” according to Deadline.
Everyone is to receive temperature checks every day at stations built on each end of Pinewood Studios. About 1,800 signs are going up throughout the studio space and on location, reminders of social distancing and one-way paths to enforce it, according to Deadline.
"Jurassic World: Dominion" is resuming production in the U.K. next month after spending $5 million on new safety procedures https://t.co/FdQ82qiCYC
— Variety (@Variety) June 16, 2020
An additional 60 sinks and 150 hand sanitizer stations are planned, along with a large cleaning team, antiviral fogging for common areas, a green zone for the shooting cast and crew and obligatory masks for anyone who’s not actively performing.
The production is expected to begin the second week of July, helped by the fact that “Universal’s previous insurance policy will remain in place without exclusions,” which is not the case with many productions, according to deadline.
The restrictions are unlikely to affect the film’s content, Deadline says, because “there are not many large crowd scenes remaining.”
Laura Dern, Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill will reprise their roles from the original “Jurassic Park,” released in 1993.
Release is planned for June 11, 2021.
Universal's plan to resume #JurassicWorld filming includes a $5 million safety plan, 150 hand sanitizer stations, and more. Details here: https://t.co/g6nksH4NQV pic.twitter.com/yUVNsfPl7M
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) June 16, 2020
