Interview: James DuMont Discusses His "Indie" Film, Jurassic World

With “American Horror Story: Freak Show” behind him — although I’m sure a lot of viewers are still thinking about that ending — James DuMont is ready to move on to even bigger things, namely dinosaurs. James has a role in the sure-to-be summer blockbuster “Jurassic World,” which opens June 12. While he couldn’t tell me a lot about the hush-hush project, he did give me a little glimpse of what we can expect this summer.

Celebrity Extra: Tell me about “Jurassic World.”

James DuMont: Well, it’s this little, independent, low-budget film that’s got some dinosaurs in it and stuff. (Laughs.) But seriously, I can’t tell you anything about story, plot, my character or anything. I’ve signed all these heavy-duty nondisclosure agreements up and down the street. But the good news to tell you is that it’s absolutely amazing. The cast is amazing. A good indication of the excitement around it is when the trailer came out; 15 million people saw it within the first 24 hours. I think we’re up to 80 million views on YouTube. So, I think I can go out on a limb and predict that we’ll be the box-office hit of the summer. Chris Pratt’s in there. Bryce Dallas Howard’s in there. It’s just really great people involved; it’s going to be a great franchise. There are a lot of cool things about the movie. They got it right. Steven Spielberg’s on board. The director, Colin Trevorrow, is amazing. I’m just excited to be a part of a big movie like that. It’s the largest-budget movie I’ve ever done.

CE: I know you can’t tell me about the plot, but can you tell me about the filming process? How was that, and where did you film?

JD: They did half the film in Hawaii, where the majority of the amusement park is. The rest of it was done in Baton Rouge, and that is where I come into the movie. Louisiana has so much filming going on. At some point we were sharing space with “Terminator: Genisys.” And “The Fantastic Four” was also filming in Baton Rouge. So, you had three $100-million-plus movies all being shot in Louisiana at the same time. That was kind of wild.

CE: And all three of those movies are so hush-hush, which I fully approve of, because I am a no-spoilers kind of movie/TV watcher.

JD: I respect that they want to keep it secret. I feel the same way about the TV shows, too. When I’m doing shows like “American Horror Story,” and even when I was doing “Treme,” I didn’t know about the other scenes. So, I get to watch the show with fresh eyes as well because I don’t know about what other people are doing other than my own scenes. I absolutely like that idea of keeping it quiet and secret. It’s fun to know inside information, but I wouldn’t want to share it, because it kills the story.

CE: I keep expecting to see you pop up as country DJ Bobby Delmont on “Nashville” again, but, alas, you haven’t made another appearance yet.

JD: Juliette Barnes (played by Hayden Panettiere) is going to have to circle back around to Houston and give them a little Bobby Delmont. I thought for sure that returning was a possibility, but, you know, it’s all about the gals and the singing. But you never know. I’m just glad the show’s still going.

CE: I do love “Nashville,” and Hayden has been phenomenal this season.

JD: She’s so incredibly talented. I mean, she’s amazing. She’s the sweetest person and is so smart and sharp, and so on her game. Beyond “Nashville,” I think that some Oscar work is going to come out of her within the next five years, for sure. I was blown away by her, to be quite honest.

CE: I see you’re currently filming a movie called “Mind Puppets.” Tell me about that one.

JD: It’s this cool little ensemble comedy where seven people at a fair are up on stage and are hypnotized by a mind reader/hypnotist. He gives them particular things to do, and the audience is loving it and having a good time. But before he pulls everybody out from under hypnosis, he has a heart attack, so they are stuck in this hypnotic state. It’s a really cool film, a very fun movie. It stars Kevin Pollak, Vinnie Jones and lots of others.

CE: That sounds like a wonderful premise for something I’d like to see.

JD: It is a great premise. The other thing that I loved about it is that it’s a very different follow-up to “Dallas Buyers Club.” I mean, half the movie I’m shirtless. And I’m not built, I’ll tell you right now. I’m a fat dude who sometimes has man boobs. But I researched being hypnotized in real life, and there are no limits or boundaries. Once you’re in that hypnotic state, you’re free from all the limitations that your mind and heart and experiences put on you. There’s something kind of amazing and scary about that.

CE: Tell me about “I Saw the Light.”

JD: It is a Hank Williams biopic, which stars Tom Hiddleston. That definitely will be cut and ready in time for him to be considered for an Oscar nomination, or at least a Golden Globe. He did an amazing job of channeling his inner country singer, and him being the low-key Brit from the “Avengers” movies; you couldn’t ask for more polar-opposite characters to embody. But that one is going to be pretty exciting.

CE: Was this made with cooperation and approval from Hank Williams Jr.?

JD: Absolutely — Junior had approval. We also consulted the people who handled the estate, the musicians who worked side by side with Hank pretty much from day one. You’ve got a lot of old, seasoned folks who handled his business and his personal life. I knew there was a big Hank Williams following, but I had no idea the generational levels of his contribution. I’m excited to be a part of it.

CE: What about the movie “Little Boy”? That comes out soon, right?

JD: That comes out April 24, and I did that about three years ago. I saw a screening of it, and it’s magical. It’s really quite amazing. It’s set during World War II, and it’s about a little boy whose dad goes off to war, and he’ll do anything to make sure his dad comes back home safe. A Japanese man comes to the little town, and he befriends the boy. It’s a beautiful lesson of if you can learn to love your enemy, you can learn to love anybody. Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, David Henrie, Kevin James — they’re all in it. It’s the kind of movie that people make with their heart, and I hope it will get a lot of attention.

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Q and A: Week of May 30

Alicia Silverstone

Q: Did Alicia Silverstone have her baby yet? If so, how are they doing? — Roxie R., Denver

A: Alicia and husband Christopher Jarecki welcomed 7-pound, 15-ounce baby-boy Bear Blu Jarecki into the world on May 5. She posted the details on her website, thekindlife.com: “We are all three in love! I’m so grateful to this community for all the love, support, good wishes and happy vibes you’ve sent me during my pregnancy.”

Q: I was thrilled to see CMT’s disaster-relief concert benefiting victims of the tornadoes that affected the Southeast this past April. How did the idea come about, and how can I help? — Jan H., via e-mail

A: Living legend Hank Williams Jr. was the main brainchild behind “Music Builds: The CMT Disaster Relief Concert,” which aired May 12 on CMT. When I spoke with Hank recently, the Louisiana native and sometimes-Alabama resident told me why he felt he had to do something to help.


“This is about the victims, the people who are affected,” Williams said. “I really want this to hit home. There was a guy down there I know — I know the whole North Alabama, Birmingham, Muscle Shoals, been in Tuscaloosa forever, off and on — and he really put it in a nutshell. He said, ‘It’s not about the homes and the vehicles, we’re looking for our children and wives and fathers and mothers this morning.’ And the death count is still rising. It’s one small little thing for me to raise money for the Red Cross.”


If you want to help those devastated by the storms in the Southeast, you can donate any amount by going to americanredcross.org/cmttelethon, or you can text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to support the Red Cross disaster-relief efforts.

Q: Will “Harry’s Law” on NBC be renewed? I sure hope so; it is one of the best new shows on TV this year. — Bob and Ann B. in Florida

A: NBC just announced that it has renewed David E. Kelley’s legal comedy-drama series starring Kathy Bates for a second season. Word of “Harry’s” renewal comes hot on the heels that NBC decided to pass on the “Wonder Woman” reboot, which also was created by the aforementioned David E. Kelley. NBC also passed on the Don Johnson-starring vehicle, “Mann’s World,” which I was looking forward to seeing if only because of my long-standing crush on the series’ star. Fans of the “The Event” also will get no closure, as NBC declined to renew it for another season. However, spy-drama “Chuck” will return for its final season this fall. (Remember, to find out if your favorite show is returning, or to see what new shows the networks are offering, go here for all the info.)

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Interview: Hank Williams Jr.'s CMT Disaster-Relief Concert for the South

This Thursday night, CMT will air MUSIC BUILDS: THE CMT DISASTER RELIEF CONCERT live from Nashville  at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. The 90-minute concert special features Hank Williams, Jr. and Alabama, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Ronnie Dunn, Sara Evans, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins and many others to raise awareness and funds for those affected by the recent devastating storms, flooding and tornadoes in the Southeast. The evening’s co-hosts include Erin Andrews, Ron White and Robin Meade, with additional artists to be announced. All money raised will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts.

MUSIC BUILDS: THE CMT DISASTER RELIEF CONCERT will highlight a number of regions affected by recent storm, tornado and flooding damage including Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala.; Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss.; Vidalia, La.; Dyersburg and Tiptonville, Tenn.; and Raleigh, N.C. to name a few.

I spoke with relief-concert organizer (and living legend) Hank Williams Jr. about the concert, and was startled and heartbroken by the personal and material destruction caused by the series of tornadoes and floods all across the Southeast (just a few hundred miles away from my Orlando home).



Celebrity Extra: You got this relief concert together pretty quickly. Can you take me through the process of when you realized something needed to be done up until the actual organization of this all-star concert?

Hank Williams Jr.: All across the South we had those three days of killer weather that happened about 10 days ago. To put it into perspective, we are living like swamp people right now. I’m taking my son to school in a flat-bottom boat to get to the car from my house. When we go back this evening, we’ll drive, we’ll get out, we’ll get in the boat, hook up the little electric motor and drive through the water to go through the gate to get to our house. That’s up here by Kentucky Lake, Tennessee River.


It was two weeks ago when we had the real storm — the telephone poles are snapping off like twigs here. Lots of damage, but we had no one hurt. So, we go to Nashville because we have no power. We get there, and the sirens are going off in Nashville now, and I look at the Weather Channel, and they’re showing this monster on top of Tuscaloosa, and they said they’d never had a 10 before. In other words, it was the biggest thing their radar could detect. I just thought, “Oh my God.” This was probably around 3:30 in the afternoon. Then the bad news started coming in late that night. And then the next morning the death toll is 120! Then a few hours later, it’s 170. I was absolutely numb for about two days. I couldn’t believe it. I lived in Cullman for several years. People told me: “You know that song you wrote about the Mary Carter Paint Store? It’s not there anymore. Pictures are not even close. When you see this, you’re gonna say I can’t believe that everybody wasn’t killed.”


The Nashville flood was completely overlooked by the media like, “So what?” And I thought, “Okay, I’ll call some heavy-hitter friends of mine and we’ll play a benefit at Titan Stadium.” Maybe, just maybe we’ll raise $100,000, and I realized, that’s a drop in the bucket for what they need. 

So, then I start really getting the numbers straight from the governor’s office — it’s the biggest natural disaster in the history of the state of Alabama. We are talking $2 billion, the biggest insurance claim ever. So, I said, “Well, just one stadium show, that’s just not gonna get it.” Then I thought about a telethon, like what they did for Haiti. That’s what we gotta do. I want the most bang for the buck.

Country superstar Sara Evans made a recent trip to Concord, Ala., last Friday to witness first-hand the devastation that has hit the area.

CE: You wrangled up quite an impressive list of superstars and celebrities to help with the telethon!

HW: When you tell them what it’s about and use your name, they say, “Okay, I’m in.” And the best part is, there are more people signing up every day. I mean, I’m talking to NFL players, SEC coaches. I think it’s going to get really good in a couple of days. You mean, they’re going to answer the phones? WOW. Yeah.

CE: For those who are just completely out of the loop, will you also be showing some footage of the disaster, maybe some stuff you get when you go to visit the affected places yourself [today]?

HW: I certainly hope so. I mean, that’s what it’s about: the victims, the people who are affected. I asked them to make a backdrop to either put a picture or a name of every single person lost. That’s how I want it to hit home. There was a guy down there I know — I know the whole North Alabama, Birmingham, Muscle Shoals, been in Tuscaloosa forever, off and on — and he really put it in a nutshell. He said, “It’s not about the homes and the vehicles, we’re looking for our children and wives and fathers and mothers this morning.” He really summed it up. 

And our American media made the very, very dumb choice of showing the Royal Wedding [instead of footage of the disaster]. And the death count is still rising. I don’t know where we’re at now. It’s one small little thing for me to raise money for the Red Cross.

CE: With economic times being what they are, I know you are hoping that people will put that aside and just call the number, go to the website, and help our fellow Americans in their time of need.

HW: Yes, definitely. We’re going to be there for a very good cause. Times are tough, of course. I want to bring in a lot of people [and money]. The New York Yankees have donated a half-million dollars. I’m pulling all the stops out. When I get motivated I’m kind of like the bull going through the fence. I’m motivated and ain’t nothing stopping it.

CE: And you are doing all of this through the Red Cross, as you said previously, correct?

HW: Yes, and the reason for that is nobody wants to think, “Where did the money go?” There have been some things exposed in the past couple of years on some of this disaster-relief stuff that will make you sick. Like out of every dollar, they gave only 5 cents to the relief effort. That’s not going to be the case with this, or I wouldn’t be any part of it. That’s why we’re doing it through the Red Cross.

If you want to help with the relief effort, go to the CMT relief website or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts.

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