For a while now rumors have been flying that Steven Spielberg has an idea for a new Jurassic Park movie and it’s one that he thinks could resuscitate the franchise. Obviously these kinds of stories come up every once in awhile and you always take them with a grain of salt.

But today there is something solid to report.

While talking to Laura Dern earlier this afternoon, she revealed that she had received a phone call from Steven Spielberg and something is brewing.

Laura Dern: I’m told its happening and I’m told they’re calling me. I’m told that Ellie Sattler is involved in it.

Are you interested in going back?

Well a certain fellow is the one that called me and it’s hard to say no to him cause he’s always got something totally genius up his sleeve so we’ll see what they have in mind. But I don’t know anything about it at this point.

Has anyone told you when it would shoot?

I think within the year. I think they want to release it in 2008.

Have you been in touch with your other Jurassic Park co-stars recently?

Actually I just oddly talked to Sam Neil shortly before I arrived here. But we didn’t speak about that. It’s always an awkward thing because sometimes one person is in it and another person isn’t and who knows who is going to do it or not do it. So it’s the unspoken dinosaur date.

But I think the earliest we’ll see any new movie is 2009 as it takes a ton of time to do effects and you’d like to think the film would push the envelope a bit. Obviously this is an active story and one that I’ll stay on top of.

If you’d like to listen to the Laura Dern interview in its entirety click here (it’s an MP3). She talks a lot about working with Mike White and David Lynch. The interview is mostly about Year of the Dog but there are a bunch of other subjects covered.