Imagine growing up on a specific filmmaker’s movies, and because of those amazing stories, you decided to become a filmmaker too. Then imagine you ended up making a film for your cinematic hero, and got to soak up all of that wisdom directly from the source.
That’s exactly the scenario Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) found himself in after accepting the job offer from producer Frank Marshall to direct the seventh chapter of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise, executive produced by said hero, Steven Spielberg.
Directing a screenplay developed by Spielberg himself (and written by original Jurassic Park scribe David Koepp), Edwards was able to live out the thrilling and terrifying prospect of delivering a new Jurassic film to the man who originated the whole film franchise.
With Jurassic World Rebirth now in theaters (get tickets here!), SYFY WIRE got on a Zoom with Edwards, where we asked what it was like to get notes from Spielberg, and if he was given any specific advice that made the film better.
Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards on waiting for notes from Steven Spielberg
By the end of 2024, Edwards had started post production on Rebirth with his long-time editor Jabez Olssen. Asked what it was like to get a notes call from Spielberg, the director remembered it in detail.
“It’s a nerve wracking moment when you know Steven is about to call you to give you feedback on a film that you’ve shown him,” Edwards said of the first cut they discussed. “It’s kind of like the moment you dream of and fear all your life. I remember the phone just sat on the coffee table of the edit suite, and my editor and I were just looking at the phone, just waiting for it to light up.”
Edwards said it was surreal to receive Spielberg’s feedback because a typical notes call with executives is usually a bit more tense. “When someone gives you some notes, you can’t help it, but in part of your brain, you go, ‘Yeah, but what do you know? What have you ever done?'” he said of the natural defensiveness that comes up with a notes meeting.
“But with Steven, if you go, ‘What have you done?’ the answer is, every masterpiece you’ve ever loved,” Edwards chuckled. “So, you sit there a bit like, ‘I’m just gonna do everything you say. Every single note you give, I’m doing it,'” he said of Spielberg’s suggestions.
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“You kind of hope that you agree and love all of them because you know you’re going to do them anyway,” Edwards said with candor. “And then you go through them, and you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a good idea. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Oh, thank God you said that! Oh, fantastic, I agree with that.'”
Edwards added that Spielberg was a great ally too, when it came to big decisions that he felt strongly about. “Me saying, I want it a certain way on some big decision will only get me so far with the studio,” he explained. “But Steven Spielberg saying it, or getting to say, ‘I’m doing this, as Steven said…,’ It’s kind of like a bulldozer in the note world that just goes, this is what’s happening. It was really, really useful as a filmmaker to have him on your side like that.”
Steven Spielberg’s ultimate Jurassic World Rebirth advice: “The audience has to leave hungry”
So what specific advice did Spielberg give Edwards that made Rebirth better? Edwards said there was lots of great advice, but specifically, Spielberg gave him a metaphor that has stuck. “He said, ‘Making a film for the cinema, it’s like being a chef and making a meal. The only difference is that when you’re a chef for the cinema, the audience has to leave hungry. If they leave full, you’ve kind of failed.'”
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Edwards continued: “It was an interesting thing, because it goes against your instincts. You’re trying to please the audience and make them happy. And the audience — especially in a test screening — they’ll tell you what they want to be happier. But it’s not about that. It’s about creating anticipation and surprise and, in a weird way, having them leave and want to go back and watch it again. Obviously, that’s where you have the big success like he has. And so I really took that to heart. It was super interesting. And it’s that piece of advice where, the second you hear it, you go, ‘Oh, of course!’ Retrospectively, it’s obvious. But I’d never really thought about it like that. And so yeah, that was super useful.”
Jurassic World Rebirth opens exclusively in theaters today! Get tickets here. You can also check out Jurassic World Rebirth: The Making of a New Era streaming exclusively on Peacock right now, alongside the original Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies.
