Blog Archives
Salute the Short-Form Entrance into ‘Jurassic World’
Dinosaurs — or “dino-sawwwrrrsss” for ‘Jurassic Park’ fans — are amazing, whether discovered in fossil form or starring in cinematic blockbuster fiction.
Speaking of the beloved and entertainingly thoughtful and terrifying movie franchise, the creative folks at DreamWorks and streaming powerhouse Netflix have joined forces to bring the dinosaur-loving world an animated series it didn’t know it needed until right now.
Visually, animation studio DreamWorks has spared no expense in this teaser trailer for ‘Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.” The executive producers for the animated series coming to Netflix in 2020 are ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Jurassic World’ veterans Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Colin Trevorrow.
“Set in the aftermath of 2015’s Jurassic World movie starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, DreamWorks Animation’s Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous follows six teenagers stranded behind at an adventure camp on the other side of the island.”
–Piya Sinha-Roy, Entertainment Weekly, ‘Jurassic World reopens its gates for animated Camp Cretaceous Netflix series in 2020′
This camp with teenagers doesn’t appear to be too reminiscent of Nickelodeon’s ‘Salute Your Shorts’ from the ’90s, but instead something with a little more bite.
The success of a story focused on a group of teenagers stuck in a park with violent dinosaurs will rely heavily on the writing for this animated series. Similar to ‘Star Wars,’ the ‘Jurassic Park/World’ universe is multi-generational, which translates to a fan audience with a wide age range. And given the PG-13 nature of the five ‘Jurassic’ movies — which includes people being killed by dinosaurs — will ‘Camp Cretaceous’ incorporate the same tone just in a shorter animated form?
One of Spielberg’s storytelling rules (and it’s a good one) is that kids don’t get killed in his fictional movies. However, in order for suspense concerning a group of teenagers to be believable and engaging for multiple episodes and potential seasons for an audience expecting some degree of terrifying scares, the jaws of life and death in Jurassic World will need to be sharp and get razor-close to our new animated characters for proper thrills and proper respect to the ‘Jurassic Park/World’ universe built well before they arrived (or were left behind) on the scene.
Recall the pitch-perfect kitchen scene and that moment of pure, pulse-pounding suspense that had Lex (and us) hanging on for dear life from the 1993 masterpiece.
‘Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous’ needs to pay homage yet add onto the suspenseful cinematic ‘Jurassic’ brilliance that all began with the groundbreaking 1990 Michael Crichton novel. The new animated series should be rooted in intelligence that’s unceremoniously ripped out of the ground by a dinosaur hiding in the bushes or turning a door handle.
We’ll see if animated dinosaurs find a way to earn a blockbuster-sized audience inside ‘Jurassic World’ on Netflix in 2020.
A ‘Blockbuster’ Podcast Is Playing on a Streaming Service Near You
Podcasts, podcasts and more podcasts. They’re everywhere.
Then, when you’re done listening to all of those podcasts — takes about three lifetimes — there are even more podcasts to discover.
However, like in any industry and field of interest, there are pieces of work that rise above the rest. If the premise, coupled with an exclusive sneak peek is any indication, then the ‘Blockbuster’ podcast is one to be listened to for any movie fan generally and any fan of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and John Williams specifically.
io9 Gizmodo columnist Germain Lussier summarizes the exciting recreation of two cinematic pioneers and game-changers along with their equally dynamic and genius musical composer friend John Williams in their early years in the moviemaking industry beginning in the 1970s.
Created by Emmy winner Matt Schrader, Blockbuster is a six-part docu-narrative podcast dramatizing the friendship of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg as they were making their formative films, Star Wars and Jaws, with the help of composer of John Williams. Schrader has basically created a modern radio play, blending meticulous research with strong vocal performances, sound effects, film clips, and an original score, all into a highly entertaining audio experience. The show puts the viewer right there, with Spielberg and Lucas, for the moments when they changed movies forever.
The entertainment value of this kind of creative storytelling is a fitting nostalgic throwback (or flashback, since it’s Friday) that is something special. It reminds one of the Golden Age of Radio in America.
Below is an exclusive two-minute snippet (courtesy of Forbes) of the eight-part podcast involving George Lucas and then-wife Marcia Lucas during a possible a-ha moment for the listener (and perhaps George and Marcia at the time) that popular culture was about to change forever in some way with a far-out film that takes place in space. Interestingly, Marcia worked on the original ‘Stars Wars’ in 1977 — famously written and directed by her husband George — for which she won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing.
(Marcia and George Lucas)
‘Blockbuster,’ in just a couple of minutes, is intriguing (recreated) eavesdropping that is refreshingly simple and streamlined in its delivery. Ironically, it’s a must-see listen experience for movie fans.
Season 1 of the ‘Blockbuster’ podcast is available on iTunes and Spotify.
You Can’t Stream the Movie Theater Experience
Netflix and Oscars Update:
In concert with yesterday’s article here on Jimmy’s Daily Planet that focused on Steven Spielberg’s thoughts regarding the necessity for all Oscar-eligible films to remain within the traditional parameters of a traditional theatrical release, the Academy of Motion Picture and Arts and Sciences has determined that Rule Two — which involves a film’s eligibility for winning — will favor streaming services moving forward in so many words.
The Academy’s Board of Governors voted to maintain Rule Two, Eligibility for the 92nd Oscars. The rule states that to be eligible for awards consideration, a film must have a minimum seven-day theatrical run in a Los Angeles County commercial theater, with at least three screenings per day for paid admission. Motion pictures released in nontheatrical media on or after the first day of their Los Angeles County theatrical qualifying run remain eligible.
That’s a major win for streaming services Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. Take ‘Roma’ by director Alfonso Cuarón that streamed on Netflix that won three Oscars at this year’s ceremony:
- Best Director
- Best Foreign Language Film
- Best Cinematography
The argument is not about quality — which ‘Roma’ has — but more about quality of experience. I am a fan of Netflix. It’s a great service for TV and film. But let’s face facts that most people multi-task (or are at least tempted to) with convenient streaming services like Netflix that very easily takes away from the pure movie watching experience. It’s also crucial that Hollywood ensures that all eligible films are having to play by the same rules for the same grand, life-changing prize. As Mr. Spielberg noted yesterday in the New York Times, the theatrical experience must be maintained for the biggest movies of the year. He is 100% right. The Academy’s progressive move towards the “future of TV” is a slippery slope that will exert pain on movie theaters in big cities and small towns alike in the short and long term.
Academy President John Bailey expressed sympathy for the theatrical experience yet fell short with a sanitized non-answer answer for his conclusion.
“We support the theatrical experience as integral to the art of motion pictures, and this weighed heavily in our discussions. Our rules currently require theatrical exhibition and also allow for a broad selection of films to be submitted for Oscars consideration. We plan to further study the profound changes occurring in our industry and continue discussions with our members about these issues.”
–Academy President John Bailey
In other words, Mr. Bailey supports counting the dollar bills from streaming services.
There is nothing wrong with movie studios and the Academy making lots of money. That’s a good thing if they put out a good product that people want to buy. However, the problem is refusing to take the right, principled stand of where we sit for the best films being released in the future:
Are we on our couch watching a summer blockbuster on our TV or cell phone or laptop? Or are we in a dark, crowded movie theater with strangers for an unforgettable movie experience that simultaneously defines our lives and popular culture with cinematic game-changers like ‘Jaws,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Inception’?
It costs a lot of money to invest, produce and ultimately release a major motion picture. Creating short cuts in this process will cut short what movies mean for us and movie studios moving forward.
Netflix contributed to the downfall of the Blockbuster movie store chain early in the 21st century, transforming the origin of the movie watching experience at home from an excitingly extroverted in-store search and interaction to the introverted in-house mail service. Now it seems the Academy and streaming services like Netflix have its eyes on revolutionizing the summer blockbuster by way of the information superhighway.
When it comes to the Academy of Motion Picture and Arts and Sciences debating issues like Rule Two, movie theaters are gonna need a bigger vote.
Steven Spielberg’s Theatrical (Ad)mission
Steven Spielberg has received criticism for comments he made related to Netflix and how films on the popular streaming service should not being eligible for an Academy Award. While the legendary director did not need to clarify because he is correct (this writer’s opinion), the Academy Award winner just added some clarity on the ever-relevant issue for films in this technologically evolving era through the New York Times.
“I want people to find their entertainment in any form or fashion that suits them,” Spielberg said in a written statement sent by email to The New York Times. “Big screen, small screen — what really matters to me is a great story and everyone should have access to great stories.” He added, “However, I feel people need to have the opportunity to leave the safe and familiar of their lives and go to a place where they can sit in the company of others and have a shared experience — cry together, laugh together, be afraid together — so that when it’s over they might feel a little less like strangers. I want to see the survival of movie theaters. I want the theatrical experience to remain relevant in our culture.”
–Steven Spielberg
As covered on Jimmy’s Daily Planet, Mr. Spielberg recently embraced the future of Apple via Apple TV+ as a directorial partner and storyteller. The more movies by Spielberg, the better. What’s equally important is that he has stated in the past how impressed he is with the quality of TV these days. And what’s most important for movie fans to hear — with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video — are the last three sentences of Mr. Spielberg’s statement above, with particular emphasis on the final two sentences.
“However, I feel people need to have the opportunity to leave the safe and familiar of their lives and go to a place where they can sit in the company of others and have a shared experience — cry together, laugh together, be afraid together — so that when it’s over they might feel a little less like strangers. I want to see the survival of movie theaters. I want the theatrical experience to remain relevant in our culture.”
–Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg — the man who brought the late Michael Crichton’s dino DNA to the big screen in innovative, entertaining fashion like the world had never seen before — is pragmatically nostalgic for the days when seeing a movie in a dark theater was a major public event on Friday and Saturday nights. There are a time and a place for watching TV shows and movies at home. And there are a time and a place for watching a summer blockbuster in a movie theater near you.
44 years after Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ became the first summer blockbuster and the movie theater in 2019 is still the only place where a film is projected larger than life.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 