Jurassic Park 2: Top 10 Movie Facts
What Jurassic Park 2 has to do with Avatar, King Kong and Star Wars Episode 6.
"Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World" was released in 1997 and takes place a few years after the first part on a neighboring island that was used as a breeding station and where dinosaurs now live in the wild. We've collected our top 10 movie facts for you!
Actor Jeff Goldblum returned as Dr. Ian Malcolm, although the character was originally scheduled to die. However, Goldblum's charismatic portrayal of Malcolm was so well received that the mathematician was spared, allowing him to return to a starring role in the second installment.
After the first part of Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg received countless letters (many from children) asking him why the Stegosaurus was not in the film. That's why the director really wanted to put him in the movie this time.
The iconic scene where the T-Rex makes San Diego unsafe was shot with a 20-foot-tall animatronic dinosaur. It took the film crew nearly 6 weeks to shoot the sequence. The chase through San Diego, by the way, paid homage to a similar situation in "Jurassic Park." There, a jeep fled from the giant lizard after picking up the injured Malcolm.
Actors Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore were cast as Nick Van Owen and Dr. Sarah Harding just before filming began. Julianne Moore later admitted that she only accepted the role to fund her divorce and had always wanted to work with Steven Spielberg.
Several scenes were shot in the same California redwood forests where Return of the Jedi had previously been filmed.
The T-Rex mother and father were so massive and heavy (9 tons each) that it was easier to construct them first and then build the set around them than to bring them into an already built set.
Mila Kunis was considered for the role of Ian Malcolm's daughter Kelly, but Spielberg chose Vanessa Lee Chester after seeing her in A Little Princess.
The baby T-Rex's appearance and behavior was inspired by the behaviors of young crocodiles and birds. The baby T-Rex's calls were set to music with those of a baby camel.
The main filming location for Isla Sorna was Kauai, Hawaii. Some of the locations were later used for other films such as "King Kong" and "Avatar."
While writing the script, David Koepp kept a fan letter from the first film complaining that it took too long to show the dinosaurs. This letter was to remind him to show the dinos earlier.