BY MIKE YOUDS
Special to the News
A movie production unit for the next Jurassic World sequel captured aerial scenes amid the giants of Cathedral Grove last week while letting no moss gather underfoot.
Word of the location shoot spread quickly after notices were posted in the park Wednesday advising that some trails might be briefly closed to the public “if a drone is in use.”
Gramercy Film Productions has begun shooting scenes for Jurassic World 3 in various B.C. locations over the next few weeks. One of the company’s mobile units had a two-day park use permit for the Vancouver Island provincial park.
“They’re here,” a Nanaimo fan tweeted. “Not much to really take pics of. Saw the drone. Would love to fly one of those.”
Gramercy maintains what is known in the industry as a “closed set,” meaning no media coverage is allowed anywhere near production activities. Evidently, the shoot also had a tight time frame because crew and signs were gone without a trace by Thursday morning.
Starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World 3 goes by the working title of Arcadia on Creative B.C.’s list of all current film and TV projects in the province.
This will be the sixth sequel in the long-running Jurassic Park franchise. The Jurassic World series began in 2015 and this last film in the trilogy is headed for release in June 2021.
In an interview Wednesday with Ellen Degeneres, Pratt revealed three members of the original 1993 Jurassic Park cast — Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum — reprise their roles in this sequel. Colin Trevorrow returns as director and executive producer alongside Steven Spielberg.
Production moved onto the B.C. Interior on Thursday. An open casting call was issued earlier this month in Merritt for area residents to play “workers, fishermen and townsfolk.”
While Gramercy obtained a special permit, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are not normally allowed in provincial parks. UAV operators have to obtain permission to take off or land in any B.C. park or protected area.
Joan Miller, director of Vancouver Island North Film Commission, consulted with the movie’s publicist Friday and confirmed she cannot comment on the production at this time.
