What Advice Did Steven Spielberg Give Gareth Edwards About Directing 'Jurassic Park'?

The Jurassic Park series is one of my favorites, and writing one of those movies is on my bucket list. But no matter what you do, you're always following in Steven Spielberg's footsteps.

He was the voice and ideas behind the first film, along with writers Michael Crichton and David Koepp, and you'll always have to think about that movie while making your own.

So when Gareth Edwards stepped into the director's chair for the new Jurassic World: Rebirth, he had a lot to live up to.

Thankfully, Steven Spielberg was there to give him some advice.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

It started as a notes call that made Edwards very nervous. He told Syfy, "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."

From there, he listened and heard the notes and ideas Spielberg had. Unlike other notes experiences, Edwards said this was singular.

He explained, "But with Steven, if you go, 'What have you done?' the answer is, every masterpiece you've ever loved," Edwards laughs. "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.

He expanded, "You kind of hope that you agree and love all of them because you know you're going to do them anyway."

Edwards continued, "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 valued Spielberg as an ally in the process and enjoyed their creative collaboration. He finished with, "Me saying I want it a certain way on some big decision will only get me so far with the studio." He continued, "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."

This kind of collaborative effort speaks to both directors' character. It's great to see a team coming together to make the best movie possible, and to really pull out some of the best moments, and to help the movie succeed.

I don't think people understand that this stuff just does not happen in Hollywood, so when you hear about it, I love to highlight it.

This should all be a team effort.

Let me know what you think in the comments.