influenced virtually every filmmaker of the last 30 years in one way or another, so it’s hard for a high-concept genre film not to have some inspiration from a Spielberg movie, whether it’s an action-adventure movie grabbing from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” a sci-fi family movie grabbing from “E.T.,” or a creature feature taking cues from “Jurassic Park” or “Jaws.”
Homages, callbacks, nods, and outright recreations of Spielberg’s movies are common, but when it comes to movies Spielberg himself is involved with, they become a big no-no for the legendary filmmaker. At least, that’s what Gareth Edwards experienced when working on “Jurassic World Rebirth,” the latest chapter in the somehow only major movie franchise about dinosaurs.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Edwards talked about how Spielberg, who loves referencing other filmmakers in his work, absolutely hates quoting himself on screen. After screening a rough cut of the film for Spielberg, the Oscar-winning director had one big final note. “By the way, take out all the nods and references to all the previous Spielberg films and ‘Jurassic Park’ Easter eggs.”
According to Edwards, Spielberg had a good reason to be so hesitant to reference his own movies. “It probably feels like a snake eating its own tail,” Edwards said. “I wouldn’t want to do that if I was them. But — because I’m not them, and I’m a fan, and I love their work, and so does the rest of the world, I feel like [they’re] the only people in the world that have a problem with this.”
