"All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray. I've been for a walk on a winter's day. I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A.; California dreamin' on such a winter's day. -- "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas

Would you really be "safe and warm" if you were in L.A.? Not if the San Andreas Fault gives and triggers a magnitude 9-plus earthquake in "The Golden State" of California. Yet on the other hand, if you had Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a first responder, you just might have a chance.

The action thriller "San Andreas," which will be released by Warner Bros. on Friday, May 29, gives movie-goers a jaw-dropping look at the potential power of this colossal seismic event. At the same time, the eye-opening film zeroes in on one family whose love, perseverance and determination to survive shakes them to their core.

During a press conference fittingly in L.A. and held by Warner Bros., Johnson and his fellow "San Andreas" cast members Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti, Archie Panjabi as well as Director Brad Peyton, Producer Beau Flynn and Writer Carlton Cuse aknowledged the devestation in Nepal; emphasized the role of family; and shared their experiences with natural disasters that have literally and figuratively moved them.

"I think that we made the movie knowing and understanding the content of it and what we were making and the world we live in," Johnson explained. "And in light of what happened, it's was so incredibly unfortunate and our prayers and thoughts continue to go out to everybody in Nepal. Everybody was affected by that."

"But the truth is you go into a project like this with everything you've got with your heart and your soul and you just want to make a good movie, and again understand the content of it," he added. "I think if there is one correlating factor, or connective tissue, if you will, would be the ideology of family and strength coming together through a tragedy like this."

While Johnson is known for his Herculean strength and larger-than-life biceps, he too was shaken by natural disasters that he faced while living in Miami, Florida.

He recalled being in the bathtub with his family during Hurricane Andrew (a category 5) as they waited out the intensity of the storm, which he called a "tough, tough thing."

Johnson received the script for "San Andreas" while filming "Hercules" in Budapest, Hungary. He also pointed out that this earthquake action thriller is a "re-defined genre" for "it's been a long time since there's been an earthquake movie."

"I would also say that the movie doesn't make light of these things," Peyton added. "We realize that there are real world implications. It's not aliens, superheroes or robots. I feel that the movie's tone respected that. I am sensitive to people who have been through tragedies...

"The movie is really meant to entertain you. It's not a documentary. The movie is not necessarily about earthquakes, but a family that's trying to put itself back together. The theme and what the movie is all about is perseverance -- and you know that when you get knocked down a lot and bad things happen, that's life, but the most important thing is coming together with the people that you love and getting back up and moving on. That's really what the movie is about."

Peyton added that you can "bring awareness through entertainment" as well as "amazing PSA's." As a Canadian who had never experienced earthquakes while growing up, he added "that there is some positivity that comes from a movie like this."

For Flynn, he moved from New York to Los Angeles only to experience an earthquake just three weeks later.

"Northbridge was a very scary and sobering experience..." he said. "One thing that you get out of this movie is that you have to respect Mother Nature. I felt very small, very humbled and really very grateful just in terms of how things have changed so quickly... I kind of always wanted to tell a story about persevering."

Daddario, a New York City native, recalled lending a hand to strangers in the street during 9/11 and was in awe by how people pulled together.

"It was really an experience that you can't fake," she said. "It was an interesting experience."

Giamatti was also in New York during 9/11 and was devastated by the loss.

Gugino recalled how she used to be able to see the Twin Towers from her apartment and recognized that while Mother Nature is different than what happened on 9/11, there are many parallels during disasters. whether inflicted by people or Mother Nature.

"There is something in these moments of crisis that is amazing about humanity ... and the way in which everyone naturally comes together and I think you see the best in people in those moments -- for better or for worse.  And you find your best self and that is something that certainly happens in this movie."

Check out the official trailer for "San Andreas," which hits theaters on Friday, May 29, 2015.