JURASSIC PARK

For 25 years Director and Executive Producer STEVEN SPIELBERG'S "JURASSIC PARK" [1993] [which is based on the novel of the same name by author MICHAEL CRICHTON] has thrilled audiences around the world and it continues to do so with a handful of sequels that include:

"THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK" [1997],

"JURASSIC PARK 3" [2001],

"JURASSIC WORLD" [2015],

 -the latest entry in the series- "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" [2018]

and a currently untitled third "JURASSIC WORLD" film that is already in-development!

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND THE LEGO GROUP have also teamed up to produce a special 24-minute cgi-animated mini-movie inspired by the first "JURASSIC WORLD" film and the "LEGO JURASSIC WORLD" LEGO brand play-sets called:

"LEGO JURASSIC WORLD: THE INDOMINUS ESCAPE" [2016]

The mini-movie along with an exclusive new "EMPLOYEE SAFETY VIDEO" short-film and a couple of fan-made "LEGO JURASSIC WORLD" shorts were bundled together with the live-action "JURASSIC WORLD" feature film for the animated special's original DVD release!

There's also a LEGO video game simply titled "LEGO JURASSIC WORLD" [Well, what else would it have been called].

This game retells the stories of the first 4 "JURASSIC PARK/WORLD" films with a classic and hilarious "LEGO BRAND" twist!

SPIELBERG brought an entire special effects team together that includes:

STAN WINSTON,

PHIL TIPPET,

MICHAEL LANTIERI

and DENNIS MUREN along with

STEVE WILLIAMS

and MARK DIPP'E who were both leading a team of animators from GEORGE LUCAS' ILM [which is a division of LUCASFILM LTD].

and lets not forget about the iconic score by legendary Composer, Conductor and Pianist JOHN WILLIAMS!

Did you know that STEVEN SPIELBERG and GEORGE LUCAS have have been fr iends and collaborators since 1980, though they first met as rivals in 1967? They first met at a student film festival for at UCLA to see LUCAS' student film called "THX-1138" [THX would also become the name of another division of LUCAS' company.] and SPIELBERG'S "AMBLIN" [SPIELBERG would also name his own company after this film, AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT.] around the age of 18. They had different opinions of each others films and didn't meet again until four years later!

[DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER STEVEN SPIELBERG AND LUCASFILM LTD/ILM FOUNDER GEORGE LUCAS GOOFING AROUND.]

SPIELBERG first met WILLIAMS in 1974 to compose the music for SPIELBERG'S very first theatrical film, "THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS"[1974]. SPIELBERG also recommended WILLIAMS to LUCAS to do score for "STAR WARS" [1977] aka "STAR WARS: EPISODE 4: A NEW HOPE" [the 1981 "SPECIAL EDITION" title] and the rest, as they always say, is history!

[From left to right: SPIELBERG, WILLIAMS AND LUCAS at USC'S grand-opening of THE JOHN WILLIAMS SCORING STAGE on Tuesday April 26th, 2011.]

Did you know that MICHAEL CRICHTON actually wrote two "JURASSIC PARK" novels?

[CRICHTON]

It's true!, Fans of the original novel "JURASSIC PARK" [1990] and the 1993 SPIELBERG film of the same name and SPIELBERG'S interests for a sequel are all that was needed to lead the Author to write "THE LOST WORLD" [1995] [which was partly inspired by a book written by SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE that is also called "THE LOST WORLD" - That is also why the 1997 film version was renamed "THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK"]. Both books were re-released as one single book called "MICHEAL CRICHTON'S JURASSIC WORLD" [which is completely unrelated to the 2015 film-sequel that's also called "JURASSIC WORLD"].

[The original novel that inspired the hit film series!]

["THE LOST WORLD" is the only sequel that CRICHTON ever wrote to any of his novels.]

[This is the only book that was made to combine two of CRICHTON'S own novels - JURASSIC PARK AND THE LOST WORLD - into one groundbreaking story!]

CRICHTON and SPIELBERG also worked together as Executive Producers on the NBC T.V. drama "ER". The two storytellers had begun talking about "JURASSIC PARK" while working on the Screenplay for an early version of "ER" back in October 1989 [Heck, the book hadn't even been released yet!]. SPIELBERG was one of the shows Executive Producers until he left the series after completing season one.

[The original cast members of "ER".]

SPIELBERG and CRICHTON also collaborated the 1996 epic disaster film "TWISTER" [which was not based on any of CRICHTON'S books].

CRICHTON was also a filmmaker and a Director, usually working on film and T.V. adaptations of his own books [though some of them were all original ideas that he felt were better on film instead of in books]. He has Directed the following films:

"PURSUIT" [1972],

[This was based on one of the books - called "BINARY" [also released in 1972] - that he wrote under his pseudonym JOHN LANGE. He also wrote books under another pseudonym - JEFFREY HUDSON and co-wrote "DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES" [1970] with his younger brother DOUGLAS CRICHTON under the combined name MICHAEL DOUGLAS - not to be confused with the ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ACTOR of the same name.]

"WESTWORLD" [1973],

"COMA" [1978] [Which is not based on a CRICHTON story!],

[And this film actually does have MICHAEL DOUGLAS the actor!]

"THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" [British tittle] aka "THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" [U.S. tittle] [1979] [The novel also went by this name.],

"LOOKER" [1981],

"RUNAWAY" [1984],

and "PHYSICAL EVIDENCE" [1989]

There are other films that CRICHTON worked on but we need to move on.

Did you know that "JURASSIC PARK'S" original story was completely changed?

MICHAEL CRICHTON began working on the novel that became the basis for "JURASSIC PARK" in the 1980s, writing from the perspective of a young boy who was present at a theme park when dinosaurs escaped. He received negative feedback from early readers and reworked the novel into an adult story. The book was published in 1990 and immediately became a hot project to buy in Hollywood. UNIVERSAL PICTURES won the bidding war, in large part thanks to a long-standing friendship between CRICHTON and SPIELBERG.

Did you know that the dinosaurs only appear in the film for fifteen minutes? This was done to give the creatures and scenes a more dramatic effect. The other reason has to do with some personal experience from SPIELBERG'S very first blockbuster film "JAWS". This was due to the mechanical shark constantly breaking down on set forcing SPIELBERG to change his idea of revealing the shark at the start of the film to when ROY SCHEIDER throws the dead fish into the water which got a much bigger reaction from the audiences!

[Above - "JURASSIC PARK'S" own "T-REX" and "THE SHARK" from "JAWS".]

Did you know that out all of the stories that CRICHTON wrote besides "JURASSIC PARK", only one of his other ideas actually  managed to create it's own successful franchise?

[An image of actor YUL BRYNNER as "THE GUNSLINGER" from "WESTWORLD"]

CRICHTON'S film  "WESTWORLD" [1973] went on to create a sequel and two T.V. shows including:

"FUTUREWORLD" [1976-SEQUEL],

"BEYOND WESTWORLD" [1980-1st T.V. series, cancelled after only making 5 episodes - Only three of the five episodes were actually shown on t.v. for CBS.] and

"WESTWORLD" [2016-present-2nd - and only reboot - T.V. SERIES for HBO.].

MICHAEL CRICHTON had no further involvement with the franchise after writing and directing the first "WESTWORLD" movie.

Did you know that other SPIELBERG directed movies, as well as a pinball game, have been referenced in all the "JURASSIC PARK/WORLD" films?

1- In "JURASSIC PARK" a scene from from "JAWS" is shown on "NEDRY'S" [WAYNE KNIGHT] computer during his argument with park founder "JOHN HAMMOND" [RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH].

2- In the L.A. T.-REX chase scene from "THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK", there's video store with a couple of fake movie posters for some fake films starring some very real actors including: ROBIN WILLIAMS, TOM HANKS and ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER [HANKS and WILLIAMS have both appeared in other SPIELBERG films and SCHWARZENEGGER appearing as callback to his rivalry with SPIELBERG over the opening weekend of "JURASSIC PARK" and "LAST ACTION HERO"].

3- In the diner scene from "JURASSIC PARK 3" a "JURASSIC PARK PINBALL GAME" arcade machine can be seen in the background!

[I couldn’t find an image from the scene in the movie but I did manage to find an image of the pinball game at least!]

4- The scene of the great white shark being eaten by the MOSASAURUS in "JURASSIC WORLD" is an homage to "JAWS".

5- And finally a few easter eggs for "E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL" can be found through-out "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM".

Did you know that before the release of “JURASSIC WORLD”, “JURASSIC PARK” was given a reissued theatrical “3D” re-release!

“JURASSIC PARK 3D” was released in IMAX theaters on April 5, 2013 and later onto BLU-RAY 3D.

There have also 3D releases for “JURASSIC WORLD 3D”

and “JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM 3D”.

There are no 3D releases of “THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK” and “JURASSIC PARK 3” as of yet.

Speaking of the new movie, “JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM” just came out on DVD and BLU-RAY.

All 5 films [“JURASSIC PARK”, “THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK”, “JURASSIC PARK 3”, “JURASSIC WORLD” and “JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM”] are also now in a new “5-MOVIE COLLECTION” DVD/BLU-RAY set now available in stores everywhere!

Did you know that the T.-Rex animatronic from the first film would mysteriously malfunction by turning itself on and scare any nearby crew members?

in an interview Producer KATHLEEN KENNEDY said:

"The T.-Rex went into the heebie-jeebies sometimes. Scared the crap out of us. We'd be, like, eating lunch, and all of a sudden a T. rex would come alive. At first we didn't know what was happening, and then we realized it was the rain. You'd hear people start screaming."

Did you know that we almost got a very different version of “JURASSIC WORLD”?

The initial concept included genetically altered being bred for war while carrying specialized military weapons!

Although we did end up with the “INDOMINUS REX” and the “INDORAPTOR” were used in both “JURASSIC WORLD” films and “JURASSIC WORLD’S” human antagonist “VIC HOSKINS” [VINCENT D’ONOFRIO] insisted that the fully trained VELOCIRAPTORS are ready to be used for war, we still got a much better fourth movie!

[“JURASSIC PARK 4” CONCEPT ART]

And now some quick little fun facts:

Did you know that the glass breaking on the roof of the car was done by accident?

During the first T-REX attack, when the dinosaur’s jaw bangs itself on the top of the Ford Explorer, the glass on the roof of the vehicle was not supposed to break! the glass breaking scared the kids [ARIANA RICHARDS[“LEX MURPHY”] and JOSEPH MAZZELLO [“TIM MURPHY”] respectively] so much that they actually screamed when it happened. SPIELBERG decided to use that shot instead having the entire scene be re-filmed.

Did you know that there was a “GODZILLA” reference in “THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK”?

In the SAN DIEGO scene, some japanese tourists can be seen running away from the out of control T-REX and one tourist can be heard saying in complete japanese: “I left Japan to get away from this?”

[Here’s a quick comparison of the “GODZILLA” moment from 1997’S “THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK” with a shot from the very first “GODZILLA” movie: “GOJIRA” [The 1954 Japanese version] a.k.a. “GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS!” [The 1956 U.S. version] to give you an example of what i’m talking about!]

Did you know that the SPINOSAURUS is the largest audio animatronic ever built?

The SPINOSAURUS from “JURASSIC PARK 3” is nearly 45 feet long and weighed 25,000 pounds. the SPINOSAURUS was so big and was so heavy that the the operators and technicians had decided to have the animatronic mounted on to a motorized cart that ran on tracks, therefore making it the largest, heaviest and fastest dinosaur robot ever built!

[The SPINOSAURUS and the crew members on the set of “JURASSIC PARK 3”.]

Okay well, that should do it for this entry. See you guys next time before we end up going extinct, bye!