EXCLUSIVE: Jurassic World: Dominion is still on course to shoot at Malta from the end of the month, but will scale back its presence due to the increasing number of COVID-19 infections on the island.
Stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Neill will be among those who no longer travel to the country.
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Per local reports last week four Jurassic World crew members have tested positive for COVID-19 on the island. They are now self-insulating.
Malta has seen a spike in coronavirus cases this month and the UK last week added the country to its list of places where arrivals must be quarantined for 14 days. There are currently about 600 active cases on the island, almost half of the total number of infections recorded since the epidemic broke out in March. As of today, Malta will close all nightclubs, bars, concert halls and sports clubs in a bid to arrest the growing number of cases. Public meetings are limited to 15 people.
A spokesman for Universal Pictures told us, “Jurassic World: Dominion will have a significant presence in Malta with a second unit crew shooting there from the end of August until September. Working with an abundance of caution, as we have done throughout production, first unit will no longer be shooting in Malta to keep our presence on the ground to a minimum. We would like to thank the Maltese Government and Film Commission for all their support and we look forward to a successful shoot in this beautiful country. ”
Studio sources tell us that about 200 crews will be working on the multi-week second unit shoot, which is about a 50% reduction in the forecast team. The crew will consist of local professionals and crew arriving from the UK, where the film is based and will continue to shoot to Malta. Testing will be frequent. The Malta Film Commission told us yesterday that it responded that nearly 1,000 people committed to the shoot in the country, which offers generous tax breaks for foreign films.
Per article in New York Times last week, four Jurassic World crew members in the UK have been testing positive for the virus since early July. They were isolated and no one became seriously ill, the studio said.
The $ 200M film had to stop filming for two weeks earlier this year, however, it was the first blockbuster to return to production after lockdown. As we first reported, Universal implements comprehensive and effective route protocols to ensure a safe environment. According to the Times, the issue stretched to $ 9M, 18,000 tests and renting an entire hotel for some cast and crew. It has been an impressive, if precious, feat.
The studio last week posted a series of behind-the-scenes footage of production on the film’s Instagram account.
The Malta Film Commission told us that it expects to host other major films this year, but could not reveal which ones.
Film and TV production is slowly being resumed in Europe. Sony’s Cinderella and Warner Bros. ‘ Matrix 4 are one of the newest to return to in the UK and Germany respectively. However, cases of coronavirus are generally on the rise again, so productions will tread carefully.
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