Jurassic Park, one the most successful and iconic blockbuster movies ever to hit the big screen turns 30 years old this year. That’s right, the movie came out in June of 1993. I remember seeing it, more than once, in the theater with my family and being awed by the special effects. Apparently so did the rest of the world. The film went on to earn over a billions dollars, spawned a franchise, won three oscars and made history when it comes to special effects. Today, we’re going to dive into some fun facts about the film in a little blog we call, What All Fanboys Know…about Jurassic Park!
Shoot first, ask questions later. Spielberg found out about Jurassic Park working alongside the book’s author, Michael Crichton. They were working on the screenplay for the television series ER, when Spielberg asked Crichton what was next for him. He mentioned a little book he was writing about dinosaurs. Excited, Spielberg had Universal buy the rights to the book before Crichton even released it (mental floss.com).
A little competition. Before that, there was a bit a of a bidding war for the rights to the book. Given how much buzz it was getting with studios, Crichton could play hardball. He was able to see a $1.5 million fee for the rights to the book, and he wanted a chunk of the box office as well. Four studio and director combos put in their bids for the film. Joe Dante, Richard Donner, and Tim Burton were in the running but Spielberg won out.
Back to work. Jurassic Park brought Richard Attenborough out of retirement. He was on a 15 year hiatus from starring in films (he was directing at the time). Attenborough said he came out of semi-retirement because Spielberg had “the charm of the devil.”
A promise is a promise. Joseph Mazzello, who plays the boy Tim in the film, auditioned for a role in the movie Hook, years before. Spielberg said he was too young for the part but promised him he’d remember him for future roles. And when the opportunity came up for Lex’s brother in Jurassic Park, Mazzello was in!
Life imitates art. Much like in the film, a huge hurricane hit Hawaii’s Kauai island in 1992 during shooting. It was recorded as the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in Hawaii’s history. No biggie, Attenborough apparently slept through the worst of it.
Manifesting dinosaurs. Spielberg had paleontologists on set to consult for the film. Though, in the end, he fudged a lot of dino details. For one, velociraptors are much smaller than the movie portrays. They weighed only about 50 pounds and had feathers. Although, while the film was in production, a Utahraptor was discovered that is nearly identical to Spielberg’s movie version of the Raptor.
Sound familiar? Richard Kiley originated the role of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha on Broadway. He won his second Tony with that role and also won three Emmys and two Golden Globes in his career. The famed actor had a sonorous voice, and he made use of it in Jurassic Park as the voice of the car’s tour guide.
Of course we all know what happened after the filmed was released. It was a huge success and remains iconic to this day. Not only scene and lines from the film but John Williams epic soundtrack. 2022 just saw the final chapter of Jurassic World: Dominion which reunites the three major stars from the original film. But, nothing beats that very first film. Seeing those dinosaurs on the big screen for the very first time was a very genie in a bottle moment. One many of us won’t soon forget.