Jurassic Park 3: Top 10 Movie Facts
Dr. Allan Grant as Robinson Crusoe?!
"Jurassic Park 3" is the last part of the original series. An epic finale naturally calls for our top 10 movie facts. Enjoy!
Unlike its predecessors, "Jurassic Park III" was not directed by Steven Spielberg. Joe Johnston, the maker of "Jumanji," took over directing duties this time. Spielberg only acted as executive producer.
Steven Spielberg originally had the idea that Dr. Alan Grant could live on one of the islands of InGen to research the native dinosaurs. Since he would not have been officially allowed to visit any of the islands, he was to get along as a hermit on the island, much like Robinson Crusoe. Director Johnston rejected this idea, however, because he couldn't imagine Dr. Grant voluntarily returning to an island inhabited by dinosaurs after the traumatic events of the first film.
When deciding which dinosaurs to include in Jurassic Park 3, there was a general desire among the writers and director to introduce new creatures to surprise the audience. One of these new dinosaurs would eventually be the Spinosaurus, which was introduced as a rival to the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
After the Spinosaurus' first appearance, Grant asks Billy how he would classify the animal. Billy guesses a Suchomimus or Baryonyx based on the large snout. In the run-up to the film, when the logo of "Jurassic Park III" was released, many fans puzzled over which dinosaur might be depicted on it. The filmmakers used the most popular theories and incorporated them into Billy's answer. Dr. Grant subsequently corrected that it must be a Spinosaurus because of the sail on its back.
In addition to the return of Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, "Jurassic Park III" also briefly saw the return of Laura Dern in the role of Ellie Sattler, whom she previously portrayed in 1993's "Jurassic Park." Dern was initially hesitant to return to the series, as she was only to get a small cameo appearance, but changed her mind when she learned that her role was to play an important part in the film's ending.
"Jurassic Park III" was the first "Jurassic" film not based on a book by author Michael Crichton. The film does contain scenes, characters and ideas from Crichton's original "Jurassic Park" novel, but much of the film is fictionalized by screenwriters.
Of all the "Jurassic" films to date, "Jurassic Park III" is the shortest film in the series, running only 92 minutes. This is partly due to problems with the script. At the start of shooting, the book was still not finished and new scenes were constantly being added and existing scenes rewritten or deleted.
Some of the action sequences were originally from the first two Jurassic Park films, but were cut due to time and budget constraints. These scenes include the Pteranodon and riverboat sequences. Since even the storyboards for the sequences had already been completed, it was easy to recycle them.
In an interview, William H. Macy said that the animatronic Spinosaurus had an engine with 1000 horsepower and the robot could move its head at a speed of more than a hundred miles per hour.
In "Jurassic Park III," Billy has a lucky backpack. Sarah Harding from "Forgotten World: Jurassic Park" had the same lucky charm. It saved both of their lives.