We live in a world that just generally feels more dangerous than it used to. Things you never thought you had to be afraid of before are now quite real threats. Such is the case with COVID-19, and also the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Dominion. The movie, which will continue the newest chapter of the Jurassic Park franchise is now back at work filming the movie, but the production is trying to do so in the safest possible way, and now we have an idea what that actually looks like.
As part of a feature on how film productions are adapting to the new safety protocols in place, a few images of the new Jurassic World production are included. They show the crew in masks and in one case of a dude who is not messing around, a mask under a face shield. And distance is being kept between everybody. Check it out.
The Jurassic World: Dominion production has built a bubble for themselves by renting out an entire hotel where the production team is staying while filming is underway. COVID-19 tests of both the production staff and the hotel staff are conducted on a regular basis. According to the story from THR where the images came from, it's already cost something in the neighborhood of $3 million for the film to keep everybody tested. This certainly wasn't money in the original budget but it seems clear that Universal understands this is now the cost of doing business.
This falls in line with how other studios have handled production in the COVID-era. When Warner Bros. had to close down the filming of The Batman after a positive COVID-19 test, reportedly from star Robert Pattinson, the response from the studio was that the shutdown, while unfortunate, was not unexpected. There's a feeling that this sort of thing is going to happen and that what's important is having the procedures in place to deal with it when it does.
The bubble idea showed a lot of success when the NBA implemented it at Walt Disney World and Jurassic World: Dominion isn't the only film production reportedly using it. It's been reported that Tom Cruise personally covered the cost of renting a large ship so that the cast and crew of Mission: Impossible 7 could remain together while filming in Norway and reduce the risk of outside contamination. And it appears to be working. It seems that there have been no positive tests for Jurassic World, something which has become a source of pride on the set.
Making movies in this way is likely to be the way things will be for a long time, possibly until there's an actual vaccine. Even if the pandemic starts to get under control, you can expect these productions would rather spend the few million upfront for testing and safety than manage the cost of a major shut down.
