Saltburn's Emerald Fennell Wants To Direct Jurassic Park - With A Naughty Twist
Did you ever wish that "Jurassic Park" was way, way more salacious? Director Emerald Fennell inexplicably agrees with you.
Speaking to Deadline, the Oscar-winning writer-director of "Promising Young Woman" and "Saltburn" was asked what her dream project would be, and her answer is ... pretty out of pocket. "I honestly feel that I've been so lucky. I've been able to make my dream projects already," Fennell began.
Then things took a seriously odd turn when Fennell revealed her all-time favorite movie and precisely how she'd reimagine it. "But my favorite film of all time is 'Jurassic Park,' so I would love to get in on the dinosaurs," she continued. "Well, first and foremost, it's very erotic. I think humans and dinosaurs have gotten to that stage in their time together where things are starting to get quite thrilling. So, there's a marriage between a man and a velociraptor and it's basically a domestic drama."
Let's unpack this for just one moment. Fennell's dream project is a version of "Jurassic Park" where a man is married to a velociraptor and things start to get a little spicy. It doesn't seem like this project is particularly doable, but perhaps that's why the filmmaker referred to it as a "dream." It's also possible it's a dream she had after eating a full bag of Halloween candy or something.
Emerald Fennell might just still have Saltburn on the brain
It's possible that this wild answer from Emerald Fennell is due to the fact that she's been spending her time promoting her latest film, "Saltburn," a bizarre yet thoroughly enjoyable psychosexual drama where a young student named Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) develops an unending obsession with his privileged classmate Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). When Felix invites Oliver to summer with him at the Catton family estate of Saltburn, Oliver accepts ... and the summer that follows includes too many depraved acts to list here, including Oliver's dalliance with a bathtub. (You'll understand if you've seen the movie.)
Later in the interview, Fennell is asked which of her characters is most like her, and she says there's a part of her in every single one. She does pinpoints one in particular, though: "Although these days, I really do feel like Oliver [in Saltburn]. His ambition and desire is a bottomless pit of want, and I can really relate to that." Maybe her slightly unhinged "Jurassic Park" idea was borne from her recent feelings about Oliver Quick ... although if she does want to make an erotic "Jurassic Park," there's probably a very specific audience out there for that somewhere.
"Saltburn" is in theaters now.