“It’s been likened to some of those films from the ’80s in terms of its look and appearance. That’s something that I set out to do in the sense of trying to capture some of that childlike wonder we used to have in family features.”
Director Matt Drummond sat down to talk about his latest feature, My Pet Dinosaur, a kids-flick filmed in the Blue Mountain’s Lithgow, Katoomba and Leura, which could very well twang the heartstrings for anyone old enough to remember when the choice-blockbusters were just that bit different to today’s.
“It’s about a group of kids who happen across the remnants of a military experiment,” explains Drummond. “They decide that they’ll take it home and do their own experimentation on it for their science project, creating more than they bargained for.”
Having wrapped principal photography before the crew had seen Stranger Things, with the feature premiering in the midst of retro-vogue, Drummond, a visual effects supervisor on other projects, cut his teeth bringing prehistoric animals to life for The Discovery Channel and National Geographic.
“All kids grow up loving dinosaurs, I just happened to have made a career out of it,” added Drummond. “There’s been a lot of advances in technology in the last couple of years since my first feature; we were able to utilise those advantages to really bring the character to life. It was an amazing shooting experience and a very fast one actually; we shot everything in 28 days. Shooting in my own backyard meant I had a lot of support – I’m lucky enough to live in an area which attracts creative people; most of the adult members of our cast live locally and they’re very accomplished people – there are a number of well-known faces in the film.”
Screening nationally in Hoyts cinemas, My Pet Dinosaur may just be the remedy for those itching for Stranger Things’ much anticipated second season or the similarly nostalgic Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2.
“I’m hoping that viewers will take away a sense that films of this nature can be made here in Australia and can really compete on the international level.”
My Pet Dinosaur is in cinemas now
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