For our latest mission we drove a replica Jurassic Park Jeep through the streets of New York. Actors dressed like the characters from the film asked random New Yorkers for directions to Jurassic Park, eventually finding a T-Rex in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

This project is part of our new series, Movies in Real Life. Every Tuesday, we’re releasing a new video that brings an iconic movie moment to life in the real world.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes video:

Enjoy the videos first and then go behind the scenes with our mission report and photos below.

Our crew installs GoPro cameras on the JeepThis mission started with access to two amazing things, a 15-foot long animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex and a replica Jurassic Park Jeep. The owner of the dinosaur and the owner of the Jeep had never met, but both were excited to make this project happen. The challenge we faced in coming up with the creative for this one is that the iconic “Welcome to Jurassic Park” scene has the Jeep, but doesn’t have a T-Rex. The iconic T-Rex scene has a Ford Explorer, not a Jeep. Ultimately we decided to pay homage to the Jeep scene and hope that hardcore Jurassic Park fans will forgive the fact that it’s a T-Rex and not a Brontosaurus.

This was a fun one to cast. Agents Doug Moe and Shalyah Evans were obvious choices for Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern. Sam Neil was sort of trickier to nail down, but Agent Dan Hodapp looked great once he got the hat and shades on. Agent Gary Pelton (who you might remember from The Boardroom) certainly didn’t have the right accent, but his white beard was just what we needed for Richard Attenborough. Paul Africano, the owner (and creator) of the Jeep rounded out the cast, playing the park driver.

Driving through Manhattan with the characters in the Jeep was super fun, and the reactions from pedestrians and other drivers were great.

Can you tell us where Jurassic Park is on this map?The Jeep heads over the Manhattan Bridge to exotic Brooklyn.

Once we got to Prospect Park we met up with Billy Brenner from KHA Entertainment, who had driven in from Jersey. The plan was to hide the T-Rex (operated by Chris Sicuranza) at the edge of the park and have it appear right in front of the Jeep as our cast was asking a random person for directions.

Asking for directions to Jurassic Park
The dinosaur appearsAfter Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler flipped out over the dinosaur, we sent John Hammond up from the subway stairs to greet them.

“John Hammond” waiting for his cue with Agent Cody Lindquist.

Since we were right by a subway entrance, there was a constant stream of new people arriving. It was fun to see people react to seeing a T-Rex at the top of the stairs, especially the kids.

At the end of the day we set the T-Rex loose inside the park and let it chase our actors and random people around. The kids in the park absolutely loved it.

It ended up being a great day all around. Thanks to Billy and Paul for letting us play with their dinosaur and Jeep!

Come back next Tuesday for the next installment of Movies in Real Life. Sign up for our email list or subscribe on YouTube to be notified when the next one is posted!

Mission Accomplished.

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OTHER RESOURCES:

Watch the full series– all 13 episodes in one playlist:

– Episode 1: Rocky In Real Life
– Episode 2: Indiana Jones In Real Life
– Episode 3: Lord of the Rings In Real Life
– Episode 4: The Matrix In Real Life
– Episode 5: Back to the Future In Real Life
– Episode 6: Jurassic Park In Real Life
– Episode 7: When Harry Met Sally In Real Life
– Episode 8: Harry Potter In Real Life
– Episode 9: Spartacus In Real Life
– Episode 10: A Christmas Story In Real Life

Photos:

Full set of photos from photographer Arin Sang-urai

Music:

Listen to the track by Tyler Walker: