Jurassic Park III

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Jurassic Park III
Movie poster with a logo at center of a skeleton of a Spinosaurus, with its mouth agape and hands lifted up. The background of the logo is red, and right below it is the film's title. A shadow covers a large portion of the movie poster in the shape of a flying Pteranodon. At the bottom of the image are the credits and release date.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joe Johnston
Produced by Kathleen Kennedy
Larry J. Franco
Written by Peter Buchman
Alexander Payne
Jim Taylor
Based on Characters created by
Michael Crichton
Starring Sam Neill
William H. Macy
Téa Leoni
Alessandro Nivola
Trevor Morgan
Music by Original Score
Don Davis

Retained Themes
John Williams
Cinematography Shelly Johnson
Editing by Robert Dalva
Studio(s) Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s)
  • July 18, 2001 (2001-07-18)
Running time 92 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $93 million[1]
Box office $368,780,809[2]

Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction adventure film and the third of the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the only film in the series that was neither directed by Steven Spielberg (though produced by his production company, Amblin Entertainment) nor based on a book by Michael Crichton, though numerous scenes in the movie were taken from Crichton's novels, Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The film takes place on Isla Sorna, the island from the second film, after a divorced couple tricks Dr. Alan Grant into helping them find their son.

After the success of Jurassic Park, Joe Johnston asked Spielberg if he could direct the film adaptation of The Lost World. While Spielberg wanted to do the project, he promised to give the helm of the next sequel to Johnston, if there was to be one. Spielberg stayed involved with the film by becoming the executive producer. Three years after the release of The Lost World, the third film's production began in August 2000.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Incidents surrounding Isla Sorna don't deter tourists Ben Hildebrand and Eric Kirby from para sailing around the island despite warnings, but when their boat crashes, Ben cuts them from their line and they go sailing into the wilderness.

Meanwhile, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) has become famous from his survival and reporting of his discoveries on Isla Nublar, and Ellie Sattler, never marrying Alan, is married to lawyer Mark Delger and has a son Charlie, who calls Alan "The Dinosaur Man." One afternoon, Alan's assistant Billy is able to replicate the larynx of a Velociraptor which he says indicates raptors are far more intelligent than Alan and Billy had previously been led to believe. Being approached by a couple Paul and Amanda Kirby, who offer full pay for their dig, Alan hesitantly agrees to give them a tour of Isla Sorna and Billy attends. With the Kirby's associates, Udesky, Cooper and their pilot Nash, Alan learns that they plan to land on the island. When Alan objects, he is knocked out by Cooper, only to awaken to the sound of Amanda calling out to someone on the island using a bullhorn. This attracts a Spinosaurus and Cooper manages to lead it into the path of the plane before he is devoured. The Spinosaurus then attacks the plane and manages to eat Nash while destroying the tail and sending it crashing into a tree. As they continue to escape, a Tyrannosaurus appears and the humans escape in the fray before the Spinosaurus manages to snap the T. rex's neck. After finding Ben's remains in a para sail trapped in a tree and seeing a video of his and Eric's final descent onto the island, the Kirbys explain they're actually a divorced couple looking for their son, Eric. Their fortune is fake, and Alan's grim perspective of Eric's fate paints a sad portrait; Udesky and Grant become separated from the others when they're attacked by Velociraptors and Udesky is killed by them after being used as live bait, proving their intelligence. Alan is rescued by Eric, who has managed to survive for several weeks in an overturned supply truck, clearly impressing Alan. Eric recognizes the sound of his father's satellite phone which was lost when Nash was eaten; they're reunited with the Kirbys and Billy before the Spinosaurus attacks again. Narrowly escaping, they make their way to the site compound in the hopes of finding communications equipment, but find nothing but broken test tubes and shut down equipment.

Billy becomes possessive of his satchel, and when Alan looks he realizes Billy had taken several eggs from the raptors' nest, explaining the reason they were being attacked. Alan berates Billy for his careless behavior, comparing him to nothing more than InGen. They make their way to a large outdoor complex which turns out to be a bird cage for a Pteranodon which attacks the party and separates Eric, taking him to be eaten by their young. Billy uses the remnants of Ben's para sail and rescues Eric, shortly before he falls to an apparent death to the river below. The group finds their way out of the cage and makes their way up river using a small boat, soon retrieving the satellite phone from the deposit left by the Spinosaurus. It attacks and capsizes the boat as Alan is trying to contact Ellie, but he manages to tell her "The River, Site B" before he's disconnected. Alan and Paul manage to drive off the Spinosaurus and they start making their way toward the shoreline. Close to their goal, they're surrounded by raptors who see Amanda as a female and a threat to their clutch. Using Billy's resonant chamber replica, they manage to communicate with the raptors and Amanda returns the stolen eggs before they're startled off by the sounds of helicopters. Returning to the beach, they find that Ellie had called in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy to rescue them. And they discover that Billy, while critically injured, is still alive. As they depart the island, they see the Pteranodon that had escaped from their cage after the humans are now flying free, and Alan recounts that it's time for them to find their place in the world again.

[edit] Cast

Main article: List of Jurassic Park characters
  • Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, the world-famous paleontologist who survived the incident on Isla Nublar and has since developed an extensive and groundbreaking theory concerning Velociraptor intelligence.
  • Alessandro Nivola as Billy Brennan, a young and over-enthusiastic graduate student from Grant's dig site; he knows how to fly a parasail and he is very physically fit.
  • William H. Macy as Paul Kirby, the owner of a hardware store who poses as a wealthy businessman in order to lure Grant into helping search for his son.
  • Téa Leoni as Amanda Kirby, Paul's ex-wife who accompanies the group to Isla Sorna to search for her son.
  • Trevor Morgan as Eric Kirby, Paul and Amanda's 12-year-old son who's stranded on Isla Sorna.
  • Michael Jeter as Udesky, a meek but sardonic mercenary pilot who flies the airplane to Isla Sorna. Also a booking agent.
  • Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Degler, née Sattler, a paleobotanist who also survived Isla Nublar.
  • Bruce A. Young as M.B. Nash, also a mercenary pilot: according to his dog tags he is a former Sergeant Major.
  • John Diehl as Cooper, a tough mercenary and weapons specialist.
  • Taylor Nichols as Mark Degler, Ellie's husband and an expert in treaty law at the U.S. State Department.
  • Mark Harelik as Ben Hildebrand, Amanda's reckless boyfriend.
  • Julio Oscar Mechoso as Enrique Cardoso, the owner and operator of the illegal "Dino-Soar" parasailing service.
  • Blake Michael Bryan as Charlie Degler, Ellie and Mark's 3-year-old son.
  • Sarah Danielle Madison as Cheryl Logan, one of Grant's graduate students at the Fort Peck Lake dig site.
  • Linda Park as Hannah, Ellie's secretary.

[edit] Production

Joe Johnston had been interested in directing the sequel to Jurassic Park and approached Spielberg, a friend of his, about the project. While Spielberg wanted to direct the first sequel, he agreed that if there was ever a third film, Johnston could direct.[3] Johnston never had any concrete concept for the third film, other than stating the film would be "more stand-alone" and feature a lot of flying reptiles. [4] The third film was greenlit in August 1999 and Craig Rosenberg wrote a script involving teenagers who get marooned on Isla Sorna.[5] An earlier storyline by Spielberg featured Alan Grant living in a tree on one of the islands and studying the dinosaur population.[5]

New writers were brought in to scribe a story involving Pteranodons escaping from Site B and causing a spate of mysterious killings on the mainland, which was to be investigated by Alan Grant and a number of other characters including Billy Brennan, a naturalist named Simone, a tough military attaché, wealthy Paul Roby, and Roby's teenage son Miles. Grant's group crash-lands on the island, while a parallel investigation is being carried out on the mainland. The aviary sequence and laboratory set piece were initially much longer and more complex, including Velociraptors stealthily entering the hatchery as the team spends the night there. Sets, costumes, and props were built for this version, before Johnston rejected the entire script five weeks before filming in order to pursue the "rescue mission" plot, which had been suggested by David Koepp.[3] Johnston said that the script was never finished during production: "We shot pages that eventually went into the final script but we didn't have a document".[5] During the pre-production phase, concept artists created advertising for the film using a number of working titles including Jurassic Park: Extinction and Jurassic Park: Breakout.[6]

After a teaser trailer debuted with Pokemon: The Movie 2000 on July 21, 2000, Production began on August 30, 2000[7] without a finished script, with filming in California, Oahu, and Molokai.[8] The storyline contains minor scenes from Crichton's Jurassic Park and The Lost World novels that were not featured in the film versions, such as the Pteranodon aviary and the use of the boat. In a deviation from the previous films, the Spinosaurus is considered the primary antagonist:[9] Johnston stated, "A lot of dinosaurs have a very similar silhouette to the T-Rex ... and we wanted the audience to instantly recognize this as something else."[10] The silhouette of the Spinosaurus is also on the poster behind the Pteranodon, taking the place of the Tyrannosaurus which had been used in the previous films' posters. Baryonyx was originally considered to be the "big bad" before Spinosaurus was chosen. Within film dialogue, Billy interprets the animal encountered as a Baryonyx or Suchomimus, but Dr. Grant corrects his analysis based on its sail.[3]

The special effects used for the dinosaurs were a mixture of animatronics and CGI. Due to new discoveries and theories in the field of paleontology, the portrayal of several dinosaurs differed from that of the previous films. Discoveries suggesting that Velociraptors were feathered prompted the addition of quill-like structures on the head and neck of the males in the film. "We've found evidence that Velociraptors had feathers, or feather-like structures, and we've incorporated that into the new look of the raptor", said paleontologist Jack Horner, the film's technical adviser.[10]

The score's composer, Don Davis, was recommended by John Williams, who had composed the previous films' scores.[11] Williams' original themes were integrated into the score as well as several new ones written by Davis. In addition, "Big Hat, No Cattle", a song by Randy Newman, was used in a restaurant scene.[12]

[edit] Release

The film earned $181,171,875 in the United States and $368,780,809 worldwide, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide[2] but still earning less than either of its predecessors. As with the other films in the franchise, there was a large marketing push, including seven video games[13] and a novelization aimed at young children.[14] The film was released on VHS and DVD in December 2001.[15] It was re-released with both sequels in December 2001[16] as the Jurassic Park Trilogy, and as the Jurassic Park Adventure Pack in November 2005.[17] The film has also been released as a two-disc DVD set alongside Hulk.[18] In 2011, the film was released on Blu-ray as part of the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy. The soundtrack was released in July 2001.[19]

Scott Ciencin wrote three children's books to tie in with the film; the first detailed the eight weeks Eric spent alone on Isla Sorna;[20] the second had Eric and Alan returning to Isla Sorna to rescue a group of teenage filmmakers;[21] and the last involved Eric and Alan leading the Pteranodons home after they nest in a Universal Studios theme park.[22]

[edit] Reception

Jurassic Park III has received mixed reviews from critics. It currently holds a 50% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 157 reviews. The general consensus stated that "The dinos are as cool as ever, but there's too much of a 'been there, done that' feel."[23] It also has a 42% on Metacritic.[24] On both sites, it is the lowest rated film out of the Jurassic Park trilogy.

Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman, who praised both the previous Jurassic Park films, awarded the third film with only a C grade, writing "Jurassic Park III has no pretentions to be anything more than a goose-bumpy fantasy theme-park ride for kids, but it's such a routine ride. Spielberg's wizardry is gone, and his balletic light touch as well, and that gives too much of this 90-minute movie over to the duller-than-dull characters."[25] Derek Elley of Variety Reviews felt likewise, calling the film "an all-action, helter-skelter, don't-forget-to-buy-the-computer-game ride that makes the two previous installments look like models of classic filmmaking"[26] Ben Varkontine, however, called it "not as good a ride as the first", but "better than the second."[27] Much of the criticism was leveled at the plot as simply a chase movie with no character development; Apollo Movie Guide panned the film as being "almost the same as the first movie" with "no need for new ideas or even a script".[28] Empire magazine gave the film 3 stars out of 5, commenting that it was "Short, scrappy and intermittently scary" and that the film ultimately "skews young".[29] There were also complaints about its short length and small cast.

On Ebert and Roeper, Richard Roeper gave it Thumbs Down while Roger Ebert awarded a Thumbs Up.[30] In a subsequent review, Ebert called it "the best blockbuster of the Summer".[31]

[edit] Awards and nominations

Award Subject Nominee Result
Saturn Awards Best Science Fiction Film Nominated
Best Special Effects Jim Mitchell, Stan Winston (uncredited), Danny Gordon Taylor, Donald Elliott, John Rosengrant Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Visual Effects Nominated
Best Sound Mixing Howell Gibbens Nominated
Golden Trailer Awards Best Horror/Thriller Film Nominated
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing - Effects & Foley Howell Gibbens, Christopher Boyes, James Likowski, Frank E. Eulner and Ken Fischer Nominated
Sierra Awards Best DVD Won
BMI Film Awards Best Music Don Davis and John Williams Won
Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Remake or Sequel Nominated

[edit] Sequel

In June 2002, director Steven Spielberg told Starlog magazine that he planned to produce Jurassic Park IV and that director Joe Johnston, who helmed Jurassic Park III, would direct. In November 2002, screenwriter William Monahan was hired to write, with the film's release slated for Summer 2005. In July 2003, Monahan completed the first draft, with the story no longer set in the jungle. Actor Sam Neill said he was returning as Dr. Alan Grant, with filming expected to begin in 2004 in California and Hawaii. In September 2004, screenwriter John Sayles was re-writing the script, with the film re-slated for a winter 2005 release.

In October 2004, paleontologist Jack Horner said he would return as technical adviser for the fourth film as he had done for previous Jurassic Park films. By April 2005, special effects artist Stan Winston explained that the delay in production was due to repeated revisions of the film's script, none of which satisfied Spielberg. According to Winston, "He felt neither of [the drafts] balanced the science and adventure elements effectively. It's a tough compromise to reach, as too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow." In March 2007, Laura Dern was asked to return for the new film, which Universal still wanted to release by 2008. Johnston was also reported not to be directing the film. Richard Attenborough has been contacted about reprising the role of John Hammond. Jeff Goldblum has expressed some interest in reprising his role of Ian Malcolm for the fourth film.

In December 2008, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy were asked if there was any development on the sequel. Kennedy responded, "No... I don't know. You know, when Michael Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that's it. Maybe that's a sign that we don't mess with it." While Marshall and Kennedy were no longer signed with Universal in a production capacity, the two will remain involved with the studio and its plans for Jurassic Park IV. In November 2009, Johnston discussed the possibility of Jurassic Park IV, stating that the story for the film is completely different from that of its predecessors and would take the franchise into a whole other trilogy.

Johnston revealed in an interview in January 2010 that Jurassic Park IV was set to be the beginning of a second Jurassic Park trilogy. He also added, "Jurassic Park IV is going to be unlike anything you've seen." Johnston says once he finishes Captain America, he hopefully will develop Jurassic Park IV with Spielberg. Johnston enthusiastically has confirmed the likelihood of the film's production more than once. On June 15, 2011, it was reported that Spielberg has been brainstorming with writer Mark Protosevich on a film that happens to be the franchise's fourth film. It's unclear whether it's a reboot or the original series' fourth film. During a new interview with Johnston in July 2011, he stated that Jurassic Park IV was being discussed and would be a spin-off of the history of the first trilogy.

At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Spielberg confirmed in front of at least 6,000 spectators that preparations for Jurassic Park IV were in progress, with a story ready and a script being written. Spielberg said that it would be possibly released "within the next two or three years", with a representative from Universal saying 2013 would be the preferred deadline for completion.

On October 26, 2011, Spielberg confirmed that the script was being written by Mark Protosevich, that he hoped for it to be released "in the next couple of years" and that he felt the story they were working on was stronger than that of Jurassic Park III.

In January 2012, Spielberg confirmed that he would not be directing the film, opting instead to be a producer.

On June 21, 2012, it was confirmed that Rise of the Planet of the Apes writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would be scripting Jurassic Park IV. Whether they will be continuing Mark Protosevich's script or creating a completely new script is unknown.

On July 2, 2012, Frank Marshall responded to a question on Twitter which further confirmed that he will be producing Jurassic Park IV.

On July 21, 2012, in an interview Frank Marshall stated that Jurassic Park IV "will be on the screen within two years". He went on to say that they are aiming for a Summer release as it's "a popcorn movie." He also spoke briefly about the advancements in CGI and what that means for the Jurassic Park franchise, but said they won't be losing the animatronic dinosaurs. "That’s what's gonna be great about it, technology’s taken a leap now that we can really do some great things." He also stated that the "dinosaurs with guns" idea was nothing but a rumor and is not the story for the new film.

It was confirmed on January 11, 2013 that Jurassic Park IV was slated for a June 13, 2014 release in 3D.

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=jurassicpark3.htm
  2. ^ a b "Jurassic Park III (2001)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2001&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  3. ^ a b c (DVD) The Making of Jurassic Park III. Universal Pictures. 2005.
  4. ^ "Spielberg dodges directing 'Jurassic 3'". CNN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061206144247/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/News/9908/06/showbuzz/. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  5. ^ a b c "Jumanji's Joe Johnston Joins Jurassic". About.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060305202525/http://actionadventure.about.com/library/weekly/2001/aa071601a.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  6. ^ Jurassic Park III (DVD). 2001.
  7. ^ "Jurassic Park III". British Film Institute. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/674339. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  8. ^ "Jurassic Park III". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Jurassic_Park_III/419715. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  9. ^ Elley, Derek (2001-07-17). "Jurassic Park III". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117798505.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  10. ^ a b "Production Notes". Cinema Review. http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1429. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  11. ^ "Composer Don Davis Welcome to Jurassic Park". Tracksounds. June 29, 2001. http://www.tracksounds.com/specialfeatures/interviews/interviewdd2.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  12. ^ Plume, Kenneth (July 25, 2001). "Composer Don Davis Talks Jurassic Park III and the Matrix Sequels". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/301/301714p1.html. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  13. ^ "Jurassic Park Licensees". Moby Games. http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/jurassic-park-licensees/. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  14. ^ Scott Ciencin (2001). Jurassic Park III. Random House Books for Young Readers. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-375-81318-4.
  15. ^ "Jurassic Park III". IGN. 2001-12-12. http://dvd.ign.com/objects/383/383315.html. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  16. ^ "Jurassic Park Trilogy". IGN. http://uk.dvd.ign.com/objects/791/791439.html. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  17. ^ "Jurassic Park Adventure Pack". IGN. 2005-11-17. http://uk.dvd.ign.com/articles/667/667943p1.html. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  18. ^ "Jurassic Park III released with Hulk". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000Y418I. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  19. ^ "Jurassic Park III soundtrack valued at $12.99". Soundtrack.net. http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=2788. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  20. ^ Scott Ciencin (June 2001). Survivor. Boxtree. p. 116. ISBN 0-7522-1978-2.
  21. ^ Scott Ciencin (October 2001). Prey. Boxtree. p. 123. ISBN 0-375-81290-3.
  22. ^ Scott Ciencin (March 2002). Flyers. Boxtree. p. 128. ISBN 0-375-81291-1.
  23. ^ "Jurassic Park III". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jurassic_park_iii/. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  24. ^ "Jurassic Park III: Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/jurassicpark3. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  25. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20609141_168187,00.html
  26. ^ Elley, Derek (2001-07-17). "Jurassic Park III". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117798505?refcatid=31.
  27. ^ Ben Varkontine. "Jurassic Park III". PopMatters. http://popmatters.com/film/reviews/j/jurassic-park-iii.shtml. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  28. ^ Brian Webster. "Jurassic Park III". Apollo Movie Guide. http://www.apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=3331. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  29. ^ Review of Jurassic Park 3 -EmpireOnline
  30. ^ "Ebert and Roeper Jurassic Park III". Buena Vista Entertainment. http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/atm/reviews.html?sec=1&subsec=2818. Retrieved 2010-09-11.[dead link]
  31. ^ "Ebert and Roeper Planet of the Apes". Buena Vista Entertainment. http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/atm/reviews.html?sec=1&subsec=2820. Retrieved 2010-09-11.[dead link]

[edit] External links
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