'Jurassic World: Dominion' tests cast for coronavirus three times a week

Bryce Dallas Howard

American actress Bryce Dallas Howard poses for the media during the premiere of the film ’Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' in Madrid, Monday, May 21, 2018. Picture: AP Photo/Francisco Seco

Published Aug 14, 2020

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“Jurassic World: Dominion” bosses ordered 18 000 coronavirus tests in order to resume filming, with cast members are screened for the virus three times a week.

Work on the blockbuster resumed in London last month and extensive safety protocols are in place, with cast members - which includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - and others involved in filming screened for the virus on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and crew members who have less interaction and the ability to wear protective equipment tested less often.

In total, additional safety costs - including 150 hand sanitiser stations, an antiviral mist to fog the sets before use and renting out an entire hotel - have added around $9 million to the production bill, sources told the New York Times newspaper.

One doctor is working on the production full time, as well as four nurses in temperature-taking stations at the entrance to the set, and a number of other medics.

Those working on the film were quarantined for 14 days on arrival to the hotel and then can move freely throughout the building and use all facilities, with no social distancing required and masks optional.

And director Colin Trevorrow has admitted the "bananas idea" of having everyone live together has been beneficial.

He said: "For Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and all our actors, they were very cautious.

"But knowing that we would all be safe together is what really moved the needle. If they hadn't been willing to come, nothing could have happened.

"We rehearse on Sundays after Frisbee, every scene that we're going to shoot that week. We work dialogue together. All of those questions that usually come up on set -- 'Why would my character say this?' -- all of that is addressed before."

Bryce compared the experience to working on a "closed set" because only essential cast and crew members are around during filming and admitted she thinks the changes have been an "improvement".

She said: "After being on set, all of us actors hope that these protocols stay in place.

"Because they are improvements. Nothing feels like a redundancy, nothing feels annoying. It is in a sense a safety reckoning that still feels like a good idea in a post-Covid-vaccine world."

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