- Hi, I'm James Pinto, and
I'm a high school senior.
- And I'm Tony Pinto, his dad.
- Please watch this trailer,
and stay tuned afterwords to
find our how you can join us
on our journey to create the
documentary, "Why Dinosaurs."
- I think people love
dinosaurs because they are big,
they're bizarre, and they're extinct.
They have horns, and spikes, and tails,
and all kinds of weird and
wonderful bony features.
- They were, you know,
all these things of your
nightmares as a kid.
Except, they were real. (laughs)
- Dinosaurs, you know, were
believed to be the dragons
and, you know, the different things
that we put into our mythologies and stuff
that we have today.
- People are definitely fascinated by
what they would have looked like,
what they would have eaten,
how they would have
interacted with each other.
- They're the gateway drug to science.
You get interested in
dinosaurs as a little kid,
and you just can't put it down.
- Knowing that there were animals
that were 13 feet tall at the hip
with a head that's
five feet long, you know.
Great big teeth, they're just cool.
I don't know what else to say.
- When I find a dinosaur, it's
a pretty incredible feeling.
It's a huge adrenaline rush.
- My name is Rich Thompson,
and I discovered Sonorasaurus.
- Dinosaurs are just kind of everywhere.
They're in kids' toys, murals, tattoos.
- I think Jurassic Park
is sort of the iconic
pop culture version of dinosaurs.
It added a vitality, a life to it,
a realness, an immediacy.
(dinosaur roars)
- I've been in the legislature long enough
to see several official state bills,
but this was the first one
that involved a dinosaur.
- They make spectacular displays.
Certainly museums all over the world
use them to draw in
people to buy tickets.
- Last summer we had a dinosaur night.
It was best attended
event the whole summer.
You know, if it weren't for dinosaurs,
we probably wouldn't have the
resources and the knowledge
that we do today about paleontology.
- Dinosaurs must have a
really good PR person.
They just have been able
to capture that name
and the essence where other groups
that are just as weird and just as wacky
don't have that same public recognition.
- What is the biggest meat eater?
What is the biggest sauropod?
If you wanna get a news crew down,
say you found the biggest,
and they'll be right down.
- I'm really tired of tyrannosaurus
as the ultimate predator.
There is a whole range of things
from the early and middle
Cretaceous that are just as big,
or even better because they've
got three serious claws
on their hands instead
of wimpy little arms.
- You could show that
dinosaurs were feathered,
and that they probably
are ancestral to birds,
but people resist that.
- Understanding ancient
worlds with warmer climates
will be critical as we think about
what the world will be like
that we're living into.
(intense dramatic music)
(dinosaur roaring)
- And that's what we've been working on.
So, where did this idea come from?
- Well, I've been passionate
about paleontology,
especially dinosaurs,
since I was very young.
In 2014, I placed first in the
California State Science Fair
with an experiment on Spinosaurus teeth.
I'm an avid fossil collector,
and a two-time winner
for my fossil displays
at the Ventura County Fair.
I'm also volunteer fossil prepper
at the La Brea Tar Pits.
And for the past four summers,
I've gone fossil hunting in
South Dakota and Wyoming.
About two years ago, we decided to embark
on an ambitious father-son adventure,
and make a dinosaur documentary,
combining our passions
of film and paleontology.
- We've been interviewing
dinosaur enthusiasts
around the U.S. and Canada,
and we've created a thriving community
on Instagram and Facebook.
- So far, we've been interviewed over 20
world-renowned paleontologists,
fossil hunters, and even a state senator.
- The fundamental question
we've been trying to answer is,
"Why dinosaurs?"
- Why do people love dinosaurs?
Why do we study dinosaurs, and
why dinosaurs specifically,
versus any of the other creatures
who lived before or after them?
Why are dinosaurs so
ingrained in pop culture?
Boys, girls, young and old,
dinosaurs have found a place
in most people's hearts.
- And we were blown away
by the positive response,
even by some of the
busiest paleontologists,
and the biggest museums.
- But we still have a ways to go.
And that's why we need your help.
We'd like to interview a few
more dinosaur experts locally,
and internationally to round
out the amazing interviews
that we already have.
- We also need some additional
funding for post-production,
media licensing, including music,
and then hopefully film festivals.
- We'd like to invite you to come along
as we finish this journey that we started
a little over two years ago.
But we don't expect something for nothing.
In exchange for your support
we'll be offering rewards,
such as T-shirts, tickets to a screening,
behind-the-scenes footage,
access to the full interviews,
early access to the finished
film, livestream interviews,
where you can ask some of
the questions, and more!
- We also need your help in
deciding who else to interview.
We'd especially like to
feature some of the people
involved with the Jurrasic
Park, Jurrasic World franchise.
- We'd like to thank everyone
for their help so far,
including Dom Capuano,
who provided the music for the trailer,
and all the interviewees.
- As well as the many talented artists,
who've graciously allowed
us to showcase their work.
- Thanks, everybody.
- We appreciate your support.
- Please donate to our Indiegogo campaign.
