Shot on location - Films and TV-series: December 2018

31 December 2018

O'ahu HI, USA

In JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, the sequel to Jurassic World and the fifth in the Jurassic Park series, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) return to Isla Nublar. They want to save the dinosaurs before an erupting volcano will destroy the island.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 0:43:29

According to the end credits, the movie was filmed on location in England and on three Hawaiian islands: O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i. We visited all islands but watching the movie I only recognized O'ahu. It is hard to miss the Ka'a'awa Valley, part of the Kualoa Ranch, that is also featured prominently in the first and fourth film.

We did the Movie Tour at the Kualoa Ranch on 12 June 2017. Although a day later shooting on O'ahu started, this was not mentioned during the tour, even though that same month several scenes would be filmed at the Kualoa Ranch. A year later, after the film was released on dvd and blu-ray, I was able to compare my photos to the screenshots.

When the expedition arrives on the island, they head for what used to be Main Street where a brontosaurus passes by. This set had been made for the first Jurassic World and was partially reconstructed on Papailoa Beach, on the north shore of the island. However, the mountains in the background are in the Ka'a'awa Valley and were added digitally. By combining three photos I could construct a similar image. It took a while before I realized that the image in the film is mirrored. The scene in which a jeep drives through the valley is also a mirror image.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 0:28:19

Kualoa Ranch, O'ahu, 12 June 2017

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 0:28:50

Kualoa Ranch, O'ahu, 12 June 2017

Trapped in a bunker, Claire and Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) manage to escape a baryonyx. The volcano has now erupted and the dinosaurs are trying to escape the lava. While running, Owen sees the tyrannosaurus rex. These scenes were filmed in the Ka'a'awa Valley.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 0:40:38

Kualoa Ranch, O'ahu, 12 June 2017

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 0:43:41

Kualoa Ranch, O'ahu, 12 June 2017

Owen, Claire and Franklin escape the lava and end up in the ocean. They manage to come on land again, while above them a helicopter transports the T-rex. The beach where they come out of the water is Hālona Cove, previously seen in, among others, From Here to Eternity and Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger tides. The beach is right along the Kalaniana'ole Highway. The scene was filmed on 7 and 8 July 2017, it would be the final shooting on Hawaii. We were here a month earlier, the photos are pretty similar.