Gareth Edwards is aboard the next ‘Jurassic World’ movie.
He’ll kick off filming in June.
The movie has a July 2025 release date on the books.
As Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm once said in ‘Jurassic Park’, “must… go… faster!” It’s a maxim that Universal is taking to heart with the next evolution of its dino-franchise, even if it’s one that doesn’t actually include Ian Malcolm.
Still, the studio hit a road block recently when, after entering talks with ‘Bullet Train’ director David Leitch (whose new movie based on 1980s series ‘The Fall Guy’ has been earning praise with those who at the company have seen the footage), it saw him step away, concerned that the fast pace of the ‘Jurassic’ development meant he wouldn’t have enough say in its creative direction.
What’s the story of the new ‘Jurassic World’ movie?
Chris Pratt in 2015’s ‘Jurassic World.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Universal is mostly keeping the details of the new movie trapped behind fences and concrete barriers for now. What can we predict? Big-toothed beasts causing trouble for the humans that foolishly interact with them.
A bigger question, though, is which humans… It’ll reportedly be set in the ‘Jurassic World’ era, but won’t directly connect to the previous three movies, so an appearance from characters such as those films’ Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) or Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howards) appears unlikely for now –– though we won’t rule anything out at this point.
From the sounds of it, this new movie would take the franchise in a fresh new direction, so we’re also not predicting (for now) the return of ‘Jurassic Park’ trio Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Goldblum’s chaotician Malcolm.
David Koepp, who is slightly knowledgeable in the ‘Jurassic’ arena, having written both the 1993 classic ‘Jurassic Park’ (directed by Steven Spielberg) and its 1997 sequel, ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ (also directed by Spielberg, to less critical praise, but still healthy box office), is crafting the new movie’s screenplay.
Koepp, of course, has worked a lot with Spielberg, but is also a much sought-after writer beyond those collaborations (he has two movies on the way via Steven Soderbergh) and is a filmmaker in his own right.
Longtime producer Frank Marshall, who worked on all three of the ‘Jurassic World’ movies is on board this one also, and the studio seems bullish about the progress so far. And of course, Spielberg will weigh in since he helped birth the franchise.
Edwards seems like a good choice for the project –– he certainly knows his way around big franchise entries (though ‘Rogue One’ ultimately proved to be something he’d probably rather forget, even as it crossed a billion at the box office) and has worked smoothly with effects teams. Plus, he’s a thoughtful, creative director adept at finding the humanity in big concepts.
Yet he’ll be hitting the ground running (if not from Raptors) on this one, since production is scheduled to start in June.
When will the new ‘Jurassic World’ movie be in theaters?
The studio has planted a flag in July 2nd, 2025 release slot, which explains the rush.
Monica Barbaro and Tom Cruise on the set of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Paramount, and particularly star/producer Tom Cruise, look like smart people right now in their decision to delay releasing ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ until theatrical conditions within the ongoing pandemic improved.
Because the high-flying sequel has now shot to the top of the domestic box office chart. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ has passed the likes of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ and ‘The Batman’ to earn an impressive $409 million, and the cash altimeter just keeps on climbing.
While ‘Multiverse of Madness’ had been sitting top of the domestic earner list, scraping close to $400 million itself, Cruise and his team have moved past them, with Strange unlikely to catch the pilots now that the Marvel movie is headed to Disney+ on June 22. ‘The Batman’, meanwhile, sulks in third with $369 million. We’re sure Warner Bros. is happy with that result – Batman just sulks because he’s always sulking.
Don’t go shedding any tears for Disney and Marvel, though: given their seemingly rock solid superhero brand, the latest ‘Doctor Strange’ movie is still ahead internationally, earning $932.5 million worldwide compared to ‘The Batman’s $770 million and ‘Maverick’s $763 million. That said, expect ‘Top Gun’ to keep earning, with a few markets still to open.
Made for a budget – at least the one that was reported – of $170 million (not factoring in the huge amounts of money that the studio poured into a promotional tour that has included a kick-off at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, a special event honoring Cruise at the Cannes film festival and the return of the star’s usual whirlwind tour of different countries), ‘Maverick’ opened to $126.7 million when it opened on May 27.
And though the considerable PR campaign spend means it’ll need to keep earning, Cruise’s star power and interest in the legacy sequel concept has meant that crowds are turning out for it.
Most importantly, they have kept turning out for it everywhere the movie is playing, and ‘Maverick’s worldwide totals are all the more impressive given that it isn’t playing in Russia or China, usually huge earning drivers for big blockbusters.
Plus, while ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ knocked it from the top of the weekend charts, ‘Maverick’ boasts better reviews and will likely enjoy longer legs than even the giant dinosaurs.
It’s a far cry from the days of the 1986 original, which was made for $15 million (much of that was on jets and baby oil) and, adjusted for inflation, has earned $440 million worldwide.
This latest release also marks a big success for Cruise, whose biggest movies before this were two of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ entries. Paramount is no doubt thrilled that two more are on the way to ride the Cruise wave next year and in 2024.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
O4JnepzWxR6VN8UGckHE45
‘Dominion’ takes place four years after the events of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ and the destruction of Isla Nublar. Dinosaurs now live and hunt alongside humans all over the world. The result is an absolutely incoherent movie lacking any fun or excitement, that completely waists the talents of the returning legacy franchise actors.
The movie begins by showing us the destruction and chaos that living among dinosaurs has caused since the events of the last film. Owen (Pratt) and Claire (Howard) are living in seclusion, raising the cloned Maisie Lockwood (Sermon) as their own daughter, as well as keeping an eye on Blue and her new baby Velociraptor. However, Dr. Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott) of Biosyn Genetics, has hired a team of mercenaries to hunt down and retrieve Maisie and Blue’s baby. After they are taken, Owen and Claire go on a mission to save the missing children.
Meanwhile, giant locust is destroying the food chain, which will eventually result in the extinction of mankind if something is not done about it. Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern) discovers the locust’s destruction and realizes that it is somehow connected to Biosyn. She visits her old friend and partner, Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) seeking his help to expose Biosyn. He agrees, and the two head to the company’s secret headquarters but they will need help from the inside to gain access.
Enter Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum), who is a guest lecturer working for Dodgson at his facility, but secretly working with Sattler to expose Biosyn for creating the giant locust. As the two groups converge on Biosyn, they will soon meet for the first time and have to work together to take down Dodgson and save Maisie and Blue’s baby.
Chris Pratt in Universal Pictures’ ‘Jurassic World Dominion.’
While I did enjoy the first two Steven Spielberg directed movies in the franchise, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park,’ I’ve never been a huge fan of the series. ‘Jurassic Park III’ did very little to continue the magic of the original two, and I thought the franchise would go extinct after that. Just about fourteen-years later the series returned with ‘Jurassic World,’ which was sort of a fresh start with a new cast but became derivative of the original by about halfway through.
Then came ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,’ which I thought “jumped the shark” with its introduction of human cloning to the franchise. I was hoping that ‘Dominion’ would ignore that plotline and redeem itself in this “so-called” conclusion to the franchise, but unfortunately it doubled down on it and delivered an even worse movie than the last one. Completely gone is the magic and wonder that we felt the first time we saw dinosaurs in ‘Jurassic Park,’ now replaced with CGI monsters that terrify the human characters but can actually leave the audience nauseated and even bored at times.
I really thought that if they were going to continue the cloning plotline, that they’d find a way to clone Dr. Ian Malcom, so we could have double Goldblum this time around, which would have actually been kind of genius. But alas that did not happen, in fact, Jeff Goldblum’s role is rather small. Not as small as his cameo in ‘Fallen Kingdom,’ but he is relegated back to a supporting character, as he was in the original, and not the lead that he was in ‘Lost World.’ I would have preferred the actor had a larger role, but I understand that the filmmakers wanted to focus on Owen and Claire, and Alan and Ellie’s relationships instead. That being said, Goldblum’s talents were once again wasted in this film.
The same can be said for Laure Dern and Sam Neill, who deserved a better film to mark their return to these characters. Dern has the largest role of the two and does her best to make the most of it but is ultimately crippled by the screenplay’s lack of originality. There are some nice character driven moments between Dern and Neill, and it is sweet seeing the couple from the first film reunite all these years later. But again, like Goldblum (who gives an uninspired nod to his shirtless scene from the original), Dern and Neill are mostly used for fan-service and unfortunately, have their talents wasted too.
(L to R) Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
Among the new characters, DeWanda Wise gives a strong performance as Kayla Watts, a helicopter pilot who helps Owen and Claire. The actress creates a compelling character that unfortunately would be best served in a different movie. Campbell Scott plays Dr. Lewis Dodgson, who was seen briefly in the first film but was played by a different performer. Scott, who is a veteran actor, is absolutely ridiculous as the movie’s big bad, and plays the role like a terrible Bond villain. Also awful is Scott Haze (‘Venom’) as probably the world’s dumbest assassin who also happens to be wearing the worst wig I’ve ever seen!
As for Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, I love them both as performers and they both do their best with the limiting material. Their likability as actors carries them through a lot of the film’s plot holes and most ridiculous moments and you are rooting for them throughout, not just to survive as characters, but you are also hoping that as actors they might be able to save the movie. Ultimately, they can’t, but it’s through no fault of their own.
Pratt’s at his best in the action scenes, but also in the quieter moments with Claire, Maisie, Blue and “Baby Blue,” who is super cute! While Howard had a more pivotal role than in the previous movies and is featured front and center in one of the film’s most compelling sequences.
In the end, the ‘Jurassic’ franchise was bound to go extinct eventually, and ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ seems like the asteroid that will kill this beloved series of films. With an incoherent script by Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow, and uninspired directing from Trevorrow as well, not even the likability of Pratt and Howard, or teaming them with legacy actors Dern, Neill and Goldblum was enough to save this prehistoric mess!
(L to R) Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
‘Jurassic World Dominion’ receives 1.5 out of 5 stars.
(L to R) Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
Directed by Colin Trevorrow, ‘Dominion’ takes place four years after the events of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ and the destruction of Isla Nublar. 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.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard about their work on ‘Jurassic World Dominion.’
rGJLvc3Y
You can read our full interview with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Pratt, Howard, Laura Dern, Isabella Sermon, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, and director Colin Trevorrow.
Moviefone: To begin with, how do you feel about ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ releasing in movie theaters on the big screen?
Chris Pratt: It’s fantastic. I think the world is ready to get back to the movies and this is the perfect film to kick that off. It was made for the big screen. It is the epic grand finale of this beloved franchise. People love ‘Jurassic Park,’ people love ‘Jurassic World’ and the two franchises converge in a finale that’s really unlike anything that’s ever been filmed before. So, it’s perfect for the big screen.
Bryce Dallas Howard: It’s a spectacle. It’s absolutely a spectacle and it’s a ride. I think when you go to the theater, it eventizes whatever you’re seeing. The fact that what you’re seeing here is ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ like what Chris was saying, it’s the sixth movie in three decades. So, I think that if you’re going to go to the theaters this summer with your family, this is definitely the movie to see in a theater.
CP: Especially since it’s like the farewell film, you know? You always want to catch the big act on their farewell tour, and I think that’s what this is. So, you definitely don’t want to miss it.
MF: Finally, the movie also features the return of original cast members Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. What are your memories of watching the first ‘Jurassic Park’ back in 1993?
CP: The whole world was waking up to this idea that, first of all, this Jurassic pandemonium, everybody loved it and loved the dinosaurs, but it was successful for many reasons. It was this merging of science, imagination and cinematic techniques that essentially allow us to see what we could have only up until that point imagined.
There were bad Claymation versions of this that had been done. Bad stop motion animation versions of this that had been done. This is the first time that people looked and actually feasted their eyes on a living, breathing dinosaur. It was a promise to audiences like, “Hey, everything you could have possibly imagined, you will now be able to see.”
It was a great story. Michael Crichton’s amazing book adapted by Steven Spielberg had an incredibly poignant themes about life, technology, corporate greed, hubris and nature. So, it was just the perfect storm of wonderful things. I remember it very clearly and the fact that we’re sitting here next to each other, talking about the finale and we’re a part of that, it’s surreal. We’re both very blessed.
(L to R) Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. Universal Pictures ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ opens in theaters on June 10th.
mVbQpboiYpfBdNtl9SqgQ6
Wrapping up Universal’s sprawling presentation at CinemaCon yesterday, ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ is naturally a huge priority for the company. And now, to mark tickets going on sale for the latest dinosaur-filled movie, the latest full trailer is online.
In keeping with the scale of other footage from the movie, this is suitably epic and sweeping, promising new vistas and settings as the story expands far beyond Isla Nublar or even the locations of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’.
And ‘Dominion’ also follows up the plotline of that move – with dinosaurs now on the loose in America and around the world, humanity is having to adapt to living among the giant reptiles.
This naturally causes some major problems; as Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm says, “the doomsday clock might be about out of time” – and it’s partly been up to the likes of Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to help keep track of it all.
One big story point here is that “trained” (you know, as far as raptors can be) velociraptor Blue has had a child, Beta. It’s not long before the kid is dino-napped, and Owen and Claire must team up with classic ‘Jurassic Park’ trio Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Goldblum’s Malcolm to find it. Cue much mockery of Owen when he admits he “made a promise” to Blue that he’ll bring back the baby.
There’s also plenty of nostalgia fuel besides the presence of Neill, Dern, and Goldblum – shots that offer callbacks to the ‘Jurassic’ movie that kicked off the entire franchise.
k6WpleMa
And if you, somewhat naturally, come to these movies expecting all the dinosaur encounters you can handle, ‘Dominion’ certainly appears to deliver, with the Mosasaurus snacking on ships in the ocean, Pratt trying to outrun Atrociraptors that are hunting him down as he speeds through the streets of Malta on a motorcycle.
Among the other critters we can expect to see? The flying Quetzalcoatlus, the huge Dreadnoughtus, the feathered Pyroraptor and, of course the big new carnivore, the Giganotosaurus.
On the human front, the cast also features the returning likes of Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, and Omar Sy. Then there’s franchise veteran BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, who appears to be having some regrets about his part in all the genetic tinkering.
Campbell Scott plays the scheming Dr. Lewis Dodgson, employee of rival company Biosyn, who was seen in ‘Jurassic Park’ assayed by someone else. DeWanda Wise and Mamoudou Athie are among the new faces here.
‘Jurassic World’ director Colin Trevorrow returns for this trilogy capper, having written the script with Emily Carmichael and overcoming all manner of pandemic challenges to shoot the movie on several different continents.
Running to a suitably dinosaur-sized two hours and 46 minutes, ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ crashes its way into theaters on June 10th.
Universal talked a big game at its CinemaCon presentation on Wednesday afternoon – and specifically about big numbers in terms of releases.
The studio has more than 20 movies scheduled for release this year (yes, even more than production powerhouse Disney), and was ready to sell that idea to the assembled theater owners in the audience.
Pairing on-stage filmmaking talent with workers from the boots-on-the-ground cinema world, Universal kicked things off with Jordan Peele’s anticipated next horror, ‘Nope’.
Taking part in a Q&A with Anthony Fykes, co-owner of Next Act Cinema, the first-Black owned cinema in the Baltimore area, Peele outlined his movie-making policy. “I’m always attracted by my favorite movie I haven’t seen before,” said Peele. “My plan is to bring these new ideas and nightmares to the big screen.”
And about his latest? “This is definitely a ride. I like titles that are into how the audience is feeling and reflect on what they are thinking and feeling in the theater,” Peele told the crowd. “I’m going to personally thrive on the amount of times that we hear ‘Nope’ in the theater.”
Peele did ask that the audience not give away anything about the new teaser (which won’t be shown to regular audiences for a few weeks) but so far the story appears to involve workers at a ranch that caters to Hollywood productions being bothered by threats from the sky. Peele revealed that he’d been using new IMAX techniques to bring to the screen shots that no one has seen before.
Somewhere, you can just hear James Cameron muttering, “challenge: accepted!”
‘Nope’ is scheduled to land in theaters on July 2nd.
G8a49ufGYNF2LsFWk3rc14
Next up was Jamie Lee Curtis, there to promote ‘Halloween Ends’, and from the sounds of her comments, it’s also the big finale for her performance as victim-turned-badass Laurie Strode.
Yet before all of that, Curtis displayed her trademark sense of humor. “Two people got up?! Okay, whatever, it’s only been 44 f*****g years. I’m fine. I’m secure. Its’ fine. It’s really nice to be here again,” she announced upon arriving on stage (to a huge cheer and warm reaction from the audience).
Curtis went on to describe ‘Halloween Ends’, once again directed by David Gordon Green– as “Laurie Strode’s last stand.” The movie stars Curtis and Andi Matichak as Laurie’s granddaughter, Alysson, with the two working to stop stalking killer Michael Myers for good. It’ll wrap up the trilogy kicked off by Green in 2018’s ‘Halloween’ and continued via last year’s ‘Halloween Kills’.
Curtis visibly welled up as she confessed that, “It’s been the ride of my life to portray Laurie Strode,” adding that she knows now why horror movies matter: “Horror lets us confront what we can’t control.”
‘Halloween Ends’ stalks into theaters on October 14th, just in time for… well, you know the holiday it’s named for.
FQ9FaSClaOhebtHZK0SkW3
The horror vibes continued with techno terror ‘M3GAN,’ which like, the recent ‘Halloween’ movies is a Blumhouse production.
Produced by James Wan and directed by ‘Housebound’s Gerard Johnstone, it stars Allison Williams as Gemma, a brilliant roboticist working at a toy company who creates a lifelike doll. When she gains custody of her orphaned niece, she uses the prototype of the doll with unimaginable consequences.
Williams was on stage to introduce the footage – which, somewhat predictably shows the doll reacting badly when someone in the family starts tries to shut it down when it begins behaving oddly – and admitted that despite starring in the likes of this and ‘Get Out’, “I’m genuinely too scared to watch 99 percent of the films in the genre.”
‘M3GAN’ will find its way into theaters on January 13th next year.
EHoHneTp3nydUSOSsXuuw
Baltasar Kormakur’s latest, ‘Beast’, stars Idris Elba, and while it had a more muted presentation – really just a trailer – the footage showed Elba’s Dr. Nate Samuels on an African adventure with his wife and daughters when the situation turns desperate, and they are hunted by a lion. Samuels will have to survive and fight back to save his family.
The movie stars David Dastmalchian, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, Corey Hawkins, Javier Botet, Jon Briones and more in the story which follows the merchant ship Demeter on a voyage from Carpathia to London. Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage. Probably because a certain vampire is aboard, and takes a liking to some of his fellow passengers…
‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ sails in on January 27th next year.
kxLcLGLkbpWAu46k3AeSg6
The terror levels decreased significantly (well, depending on how you view stressful family gatherings) thanks to star and executive producer Jo Koy introducing ‘Easter Sunday’.
Bringing the laughs (and making references to Jamie Lee Curtis’ sweary schtick), Koy explained how he planned his outfit – he was clad in his 18-year-old son’s pants to be fashion forward. “But I don’t have my son’s balls. I have 50-year-old balls.”
He continues by saying that Steven Spielberg first caught his stand-up act, and invited the comedian in to pitch his story, a universal one (he’s at the right studio, then). “We all laugh at the same shit,” Koy explained.
After Koy threw sweatshirts out to the crowd, he cued the trailer, which draws from his own life experiences and shows his chaotic Filipino family around the dinner table. The movie, despite its seemingly seasonal title, will be out on August 5, directed by Jay Chandrasekhar.
pfj87j507AWiLb0y5mX99
Koy was followed by ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ voice star Steve Carell, there to promote the latest chapter of the ever-expanding ‘Despicable Me’ franchise. He joked around with a cinema owner, who he challenged to mimic Gru and then introduced a clip from the movie, which arrives on July 1st after being pushed back more than once by pandemic concerns.
Animation was also represented by ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’. Introduced by one of the movie’s voice stars, Harvey Guillen (he’s Perro, a new character, who happens to be a chatty chihuahua), the story follows Puss’ (Antonio Banderas) attempts to secure more lives for himself after all his various scrapes. A new trailer was shown for the ‘toon, which debuts on December 21st.
Billy Eichner was on predictably comic form, arriving at CinemaCon for ‘Bros’, the rom com he wrote and stars in alongside Luke Macfarlane.
As is usual for the event, Eichner brought a clip from the movie, which showed Eichner as a podcast host who gets hired by a movie studio to write a gay romantic comedy in a very meta idea. Eichner’s character lays out his mission statement: “I don’t want any Hollywood bullshit, no scenes where two gay guys are about to hook up and all of a sudden the camera conveniently pulls away.”
‘Bros’ breaks new ground by featuring an all-LGBTQ+ cast, which Eichner talked about on stage. “You don’t believe a gay man can play straight but you suspend disbelief for Chewbacca,” he quipped, touting ‘Bros’ as the first gay rom-com ever to come from a major studio, adding he’s “not talking about the new Buzz Lightyear movie.”
Directed by Nicholas Stoller, ‘Bros’ will be out in theaters on September 30.
IsOnNIaxWFixUX3P3P4Mr2
Despite a comparative lack of star power on stage, ‘Ticket to Paradise’ boasts plenty of it on screen, with George Clooney and Julia Roberts as a divorced couple that reunites and travels to Bali to stop their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever), from making the same mistake they think they made 25 years ago by marrying someone she just met. Billie Lourd, Lucas Bravo, Amanda O’Dempsey, Rowan Chapman, Murran Kain and Vanessa Everett round out the cast for that one, which travels to theaters on October 21st.
On a more serious note, that was followed by the first look at ‘She Said’, the drama about the investigative reporters at the New York Times who helped to break the Harvey Weinstein story that kicked off the #MeToo movement.
Stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, who play reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor respectively, were on hand to introduce the film’s trailer, and they talked up the importance of the behind-the-scenes story and Kantor and Twohey’s book on which the film is based.
The trailer showed Twohey and Kantor starting small in trying to peel back the layers on harassment, only to go deeper down the rabbit hole and finding people unwilling to say anything on the record as it turned to accusations about Weinstein.
“The only way these women are going to go on the record,” Kantor says in the trailer, “Is if they all jump together,” Twohey responds.
Maria Schrader directs, with the screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz. The film opens in theaters from Universal on November 18th.
mM0Ags2BSgiezjvDsCTzG6
Universal’s Focus Features had its own section, to debut looks at several of its movies. They included ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’, due on May 20th, heartwarming comedy ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’ (July 15th), and ‘Little Children’ director Todd Field’s first film in 15 years, ‘Tár’, set in the world of classical music, starring Cate Blanchett as a conductor. ‘Tár’ will be in theaters on October 15th.
James Gray’s ‘Armageddon Time’ also received a first look of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream showcases a cast led by Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway. It has yet to score a general release date.
Following the relatively low-key, prestige Focus offerings, it was back to action chaos for ‘Violent Night’, introduced by star (and ‘Stranger Things’ regular) David Harbour.
Harbour raved about the experience of playing a hammer-swinging Santa who swears up a storm. The tone appeared to be a blend of ‘Die Hard’ and ‘John Wick’ and the movie arrives down theater chimneys on December 2nd.
“We are genuinely very enthused, we are crazed about this movie,” Goldblum told the crowd, revealing that this will be the first movie his kids see in theaters.
And of course, there was room for a little banter after Goldblum mentioned his character Ian Malcolm’s warnings about messing with nature in the original ‘Jurassic Park’. “That wisdom was ignored through subsequent movies,” he pointed out. Said Howard, “What would these moves be if people made the right choices?”
Retorted Goldblum, “You may be on to something. Maybe that’s been the message all this time, that dinosaurs are clever and homo sapiens are ignoramuses, or is it ignorami?”
‘Jurassic World Dominion’ roars into theaters on June 10th.
The Super Bowl took place this Sunday, and whether you were rooting for the Rams or backing the Bengals, we hope you got the outcome you were hoping for. Go sports!
But what if you were more concerned with the trailers, TV spots and ads that traditionally look to exploit the massive viewing audience that the big event attracts? We’ve got you covered.
In one handy, convenient place, we’ve rounded up all the exciting footage that wasn’t on the field. Even if, as has been the tradition of late, several of these trailers and spots made their way online long before kick-off.
TV Trailers
MOON KNIGHT
v73KObXZ
While the superstar of the Marvel trailers from this year’s game was a certain magician’s multiverse madness, the MCU’s Disney+ TV arm still had something to show, as Oscar Isaac and ‘Moon Knight’ brought new footage from the show.
Isaac plays Steven Grant, an unassuming fellow working in the British museum, who discovers the reason he’s been experiencing such vivid dreams of late – he’s just one identity filling his head, which is primarily owned by that of Marc Spector, who becomes the Egyptian mythology-powered vigilante Moon Knight, whose brand of justice tends to be more violent than some of the other Marvel heroes.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Moon Knight is merged with the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, though at this point, Team Marvel has proved a dab hand at juggling a wide range of different characters.
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER
AG2YHFQB
Amazon has spent so much money on the rights to additional stories from JRR Tolkien’s canon (and on making the TV show) that we began to wonder whether the trailer would just be a 10-second shot of a ring.
But no, this is an all-action look at the series, which has cost nearly half a billion dollars to acquire and make so far. There’s no doubting the ambition on display, as the clock turns back to a time before Frodo and co. (and even Bilbo) from Peter Jackson’s movies when Middle-earth was under threat from dark forces and different races had to come together to save their various homelands. Yes, it happens a lot in Middle-earth.
Jordan Peele, who has established himself as a master of horror (and an Oscar winner) with ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’ is back on the terror beat with his latest. In this case, Daniel Kaluuya (who starred in ‘Get Out’), Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun lead the cast for the movie, which is still wrapped in some layers of mystery, even after this initial trailer.
We do at least know that Palmer plays a woman who works tangentially for the movie industry, wrangling horses in a business that has been passed down through her family. All seems to be going well until the power at a ranch mysteriously goes out and something horrible appears in the clouds.
What’s exactly going on? Is it aliens? Ghosts? Alien ghosts? We’ll find out when the movie arrives July 22nd.
Released a couple of days before the game, the new spot for the ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ sequel focuses a lot on Knuckles, the new threat for our hero, who boasts the vocal talents of Idris Elba. It’s a blend of footage we’ve seen in the first trailer and some new action, plus the likes of human co-stars Jim Carrey and James Marsden.
A slightly disappointing spot for Michael Bay’s new film, mostly because there’s little new following the main trailer, which was a while ago. Still, get ready for glimpses of Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul Mateen II as brothers who rob a bank but then need to hijack the titular vehicle, sparking a chase across LA.
Who is ready for Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum to go exploring jungle climes and far-flung temples? Plenty of us, it appears. The action-comedy, which also features Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt, looks like it could be a lot of fun.
0PwKXN5m
While a shorter version played during the game’s ad space, the first full trailer for the latest ‘Jurassic World’ entry arrived days before kick-off, bringing together two generations of ‘Jurassic’ casts and unleashing lots of the requisite dino action. Let’s just say it looks suitably massive.
TeDy1M3H
Like Universal and others, Netflix released its Super Bowl effort in advance, putting out a long clip essentially promoting the streaming service’s 2022 output which is, it must be said, laden with star names and anticipated movies.
‘Knives Out 2’ is among the biggest, but the trailer also offered another look at Ryan Reynolds’ time-travelling action-adventure ‘The Adam Project’.
Mike Myers brings back his scheming supervillain Dr. Evil, who realizes he must save the world from itself to control it. Cue electric cars! The likes of Seth Green, Rob Lowe and Mindy Sterling reprise their roles from the ‘Austin Powers’ movies for a spot that mostly makes us wish A) Verne Troyer was still around to be Mini-Me and B) that they’d make another movie.
A double dose of Jim Carrey this year, here returning to a role he hasn’t played since Ben Stiller’s 1996 crackpot comedy. That might have flopped, but it’s still fun to see Carrey doing his thing as the crazed cable tech, here confused by how the world has moved on to wireless internet, in this case from Verizon. He’s still got it, that Carrey.
Chris Pratt in Universal Pictures’ ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’
“Bigger… Why do they always have to go bigger?” whispers Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm in the new, full-length trailer for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’. We suppose the answer would have to be “because they can!” Also, dinosaurs.
Yes, the new look at the latest installment of the ‘Jurassic World’ movie series certainly appears to be going as big as possible as returning co-writer/director ups the stakes to wrap up the trilogy he started in 2015.
Picking up the story from 2018’s ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’, the world is a very different, dinosaur-impacted place. With the terrible lizards (we’re sure some are very nice, but it’s hard to get past the teeth) stomping all over North America (and elsewhere), Chris Pratt‘s Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire Dearing are doing what they can to wrangle the beasts to prevent human casualties.
The bigger selling point here, though – especially for fans of Steven Spielberg’s original ‘Jurassic Park’ – is the return of Sam Neill’s grumpy palaeontologist Alan Grant, Laura Dern’s palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler and, as mentioned, Goldblum’s chaos mathematician (and yes, we know he turned up in ‘Fallen Kingdom’, but that was only for one scene).
0PwKXN5m
Seeing the old gang back together and interacting with the newer faces of the franchise is something of a thrill, and the movie makes no (dino) bones about throwing in some call-backs to Spielberg’s 1994 movie which kicked it all off, including borrowing voice-over from Park financier John Hammond (the late Richard Attenborough) talking about his aims for the original site.
And the trio aren’t the only people back – B.D. Wong is of course here as fellow franchise veteran Dr. Henry Wu, while ‘World’s Omar Sy and ‘Fallen Kingdom’s Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda also show up. New to the story this time are Dichen Lachman, Kristoffer Polaha and DeWanda Wise. Finally, while Campbell Scott hasn’t appeared in any of the movies before now, he is playing someone we met way back in ’Jurassic Park’ – Lewis Dodgson, the scheming Biosyn executive whose plan to use tech nerd Dennis Nedry to steal dino embryos led to much of the trouble in that first movie. What he’ll be up to in this movie is anyone’s guess, but we doubt it’ll be good.
Of course, the humans are only part of the equation – this is ‘Jurassic World’, after all, so there are plenty of new creatures to menace our heroes. And an old pal in the shape of Blue, the Velociraptor once trained by Owen. It appears she’s since become a mother – keeping her and her child safe will be part of the plot.
Director Colin Trevorrow and his team have certainly crafted some epic visions here: dinosaurs being herded like horses, Blue stalking through a snowy tundra, Pratt’s Owen dodging Atrociraptors on a bike on Malta, a feathered example of the toothy terrors more in keeping with modern thinking of their biology, and, of course, Jeff Goldblum’s hair!
Like life, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ finds a way into theaters on June 10.
Bryce Dallas Howard in Universal Pictures’ ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’
mVbQpboiYpfBdNtl9SqgQ6
