Directing
May 4, 2026
Directing Jurassic Park: lessons from John Bell
Director John Bell talks through Jurassic Park on Kingdom of Dreams: how to lead a set, protect performances, and make day-of choices when time and weather disagree with the shot list.
Directing Jurassic Park means translating intention into a schedule. John Bell describes the human side of that translation: talking to actors, choosing when to move on, and keeping the crew pointed at the same verb for the scene.
Steal one habit from this episode: decide what must be true at the end of the scene, then reverse-engineer coverage that can prove it.
Go deeper on Kingdom of Dreams
- → EP 35: John Bell on Jurassic Park
- → EP 32: Vaughn Ross on Gremlins' Secrets: Director - Vaughn Ross
- → EP 40: Eric Zala on Eric Zala - Director of Fan Made Raiders of the Lost Ark: Th
Browse more director conversations in the Kingdom of Dreams archive.
Original Kingdom of Dreams craft take based on our conversation with John Bell (EP 35). Not a reprint of any single article.