The 30th anniversary of ‘Jurassic Park’ is still in celebration! Muzzammil has pointed out that both AMC and Cinemark have listings for an anniversary screening of the original ‘Jurassic Park’ on August 25! Whether it is only showing on that day, and in other theater chains (such as Regal), remains to be seen. Tickets are not available to pre-book yet, so be on the lookout as that date approaches for future updates on this exciting news! There will always be a new audience who have never seen the original film in a theater before, and we can safely say it is the best way of experience the groundbreaking film that started it all!
Do you plan on seeing ‘Jurassic Park’ in theaters if you have the chance? Have you seen in on the big screen before? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and remember: if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists!
Thirty years ago, ‘Jurassic Park’ roared its way into movie theaters. The film’s impressive special effects and incredible premise have wowed audiences for decades, cementing it as a true classic.
One vital member of the film’s creative team was Caroline Quinn, the art department coordinator. While her career would later evolve as a set designer on projects like ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, ‘Halloween Kills’, and Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’; ‘Jurassic Park’ was where everything began. Join Jurassic Time as they discuss her role as an art department coordinator, and the adventure she went on to help bring ‘Jurassic Park’ to life!
Featuring never-before-seen photos and concept work from the film, as Caroline Quinn tells her behind-the-scenes stories! The perfect way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ‘Jurassic Park’!
They explore her time assisting the film’s art department by assembling storyboard displays, models, and embarking on epic research assignments! Caroline even portrayed Lex Murphy in a “Raptors In The Kitchen” test video created by Stan Winston & Dennis Murren! Hear how she contributed to a famous joke in the film, helped create the memorable slideshow in the Visitor Center’s lunch room, and much more!
After thirty years, the film remains an incredible experience, thanks to the team of creative geniuses that brought to life an adventure 65 million years in the making…
It’s amazing how even after three decades we can learn new behind-the-scenes stories of ‘Jurassic Park’! What were some new details from this interview that you enjoyed the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and as always stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!
‘Jurassic Park: The Ride’ at Universal Studios Hollywood may have closed forever to make way for ‘Jurassic World’… but something has survived, thanks to Jurassic Time! Experience the queue videos from the extinct original attraction in this edited & remastered production, preserving the entire fantastic pre-show! Click the title card below to watch it!
Starring Richard Attenborough reprising his role as John Hammond! Also featuring dinosaur expert “Dino” Don Lessem! This presentation uses a variety of the highest quality sources possible to recreate the original Hollywood attraction’s single-screen queue videos. Most of the footage presented in this video is sourced from a new Universal Studios Japan recording of the queue’s main screen by “USJ Informer L.C.A.STUDIOS” to present the best quality ever seen outside of the attraction!
It was then edited to match the original English audio and sequencing by using a Hollywood on-location recording from 2018 (with some elements from years prior). This audio is imperfect, with a lot of background noise at times from other video screens in the queue, but it is the best we could get under the circumstances. Some footage is still sourced from this recording, most notably the spinning “logos”, and other sources. Due to the sources available, there will be some inaccuracies & other editorial choices made to best recreate the experience.
In addition, two versions of the “boarding audio” bookend the presentation. Much of the music during the various spinning “logos” has been re-created to closely match the way they were originally edited for the videos to provide a better-quality experience. Some music remains unknown and uses the source audio.
A fun note: Steven Spielberg gets a brief cameo during John Hammond’s segment! They spared no expense!
In the queue, a set of three screens were joined together at each station, often having additional unique footage on the other screens (sometimes even interacting with each other). To see that version (including its unique alternate takes of certain moments), see the “MULTI-SCREEN Queue Videos” compilation.
‘Jurassic Park: The Ride’ was in development during the creation of the film itself. You will notice in several segments that sets, props, vehicles, and even animatronics are used from the film. The Visitor Center, for example, was used right before the set got struck down. For more about the creation of the original attraction, see Jurassic Time’s interview with its creator & other videos, including a storyboard recreation of the ride’s initial ideas!
Did you ever get to ride the original Hollywood attraction before it closed? What were some of your memories, and do you prefer it to other incarnations? Share your thoughts below, and as always stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!
The 30th anniversary celebration of ‘Jurassic Park’ is well underway with several products coming down the assembly line, catering to your desires! The Noble Collection’s new ‘Toyllectible Treasures Dioramas’ line is sure to delight fans of both ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Jurassic World’ with its premiere releases! Their ‘dino-ramas’ feature collectible figures with scenic backdrops depicting great moments from the series!
For ‘Jurassic Park’, “Life Finds A Way” with a hatching baby Velociraptor egg! As seen in the Visitor Center’s hatchery, this adorable but deadly addition to the park is sure to delight and concern all paleontologists! Dr. Wu can try to pacify the guests all he wants, but Malcolm will surely bring everyone back to the harsh, cold reality. This detailed model of the egg, with an appropriately gooey-looking baby raptor in tow, wonderfully recreates the moment when we’re present for the birth of every creature on this island! The scenic background of other eggs in the incubator is a nice touch, although the stand for some reason does not have any holes or mechanism to lock the figure in place. Some may prefer this approach, since it means you can position the egg any way you’d like on the titled-base. Just be careful not to forget it isn’t locked in place when redecorating. This set measures approximately 6″ high by 5.5″ wide.
‘Jurassic World’ fans are also treated with our favorite Velociraptor Blue in “Raptor Recon” mode! This figure represents the scene of Blue running in the jungle as it pursues the Indominus Rex with the rest of her pack! She even sports her camera-feed headgear (which is unfortunately not removeable). The figure is nicely detailed and painted, and even includes Owen’s motorcycle tire tracks in the “dirt”. A nice touch! The scenic background features a nice view of Isla Nublar’s jungle. Unlike the baby raptor, Blue does lock into place on the base, but in only one direction. Overall it’s a really nice figure of Blue for this scene, and measures approximately 4.75″ high by 6.75″ wide.
For those who like to keep their boxes, the ones for both of these figures are pretty impressive! The baby raptor’s box features the classic “sunset in the jungle” motif and proudly displays the ‘Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary’ logo. Blue’s box features a golden-tinted jungle setting and, let’s be honest, one of the MANY variations of the ‘Jurassic World’ logo in existence at this point.
While both figures are wonderful in their own right, it is surprising that the debut figures for this line are BOTH raptors. While these dinosaurs are obviously very popular to the franchise, one may have at least expected a Rex scene from any of the films. If they do continue this line for ‘Jurassic’, let’s hope they feature moments from the other films. More importantly: can we finally get scenic depictions of classic landmarks? Who wouldn’t want something like this proudly displaying the Visitor Center from ‘Jurassic Park’ or the Innovation Center from ‘Jurassic World’? These films had a lot more artistic integrity beyond just the dinosaurs themselves, and landmarks like those are equally iconic. I feel like this type of line is PERFECT for taking advantage of this kind of opportunity to present fans with something that can’t be found anywhere else. Because let’s face it: Mattel has already covered raptors and many other dinosaurs to death. We don’t need another line of collectibles going down the same path.
Despite my views, these ‘Toyllectible Treasures Dioramas’ are still a wonderful addition to any ‘Jurassic’ collection, especially if you are looking for something different than a standard toy figure. They are each currently priced at $29.95, with both the baby raptor and Blue available on Amazon!
Do you like this new line of ‘Jurassic’ collectibles? Would you be interested if they tackled landmarks more instead of just dinosaurs? Share your thoughts below, and as always stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!
‘Jurassic World’ was released to theaters nearly a decade ago. Let that sink in for a moment. For many, the memories of seeing the film are already nostalgic. Despite this year, 2023, being the 30th anniversary of the original ‘Jurassic Park’, it is also a time to be reflective over the entire series. The fourth film in the story of ‘Jurassic Park’ came after 14 years of nothing between it and the previous film, ‘Jurassic Park 3’. During that huge gap, fans imagined endless ideas as to what the next adventure in their favorite series would be.
In 2013, it was finally announced that a new film was on the horizon. Rumors that it would feature a fully-realized theme park on Isla Nublar, known as ‘Jurassic World’, led to many questions running in everyone’s minds. It was quite a surprising direction for the story that most people didn’t see coming. When filming began in 2014, many fans flocked for the chance to personally take part in the experience. Cameras rolled in Hawaii first, but soon after that their lenses focused on several massive sets in New Orleans.
Derrick Davis of Jurassic Time recently had conversations with three fans who were lucky enough to have been extras, background cast members, in these New Orleans sets: Anthony Feliciano, Bo Monarch, and Brent Kappel. Their discussions were edited into a 4-part video series that dives into the memories of their incredible experiences on the impressive sets of ‘Jurassic World’. Not only do we get to hear their fun stories, but we also get to see some rare behind the scenes photos, video footage, and other cool imagery that helps bring us along on their thrilling ride.
Anthony and Bo first describe what it was like filming the famous Mosasaur Stadium sequence. We learn how little of the set there actually was, and the simple methods used to create a much larger effect on screen. They also catch a glimpse of the original ‘Jurassic Park’ Visitor Center’s eerie ruins. Despite seeing the set from afar, it was enough to give them immense excitement.
In the second segment, Anthony and Bo look back at their experiences inside the highly-detailed Hammond Creation Lab and Samsung Innovation Center sets. We get a fun recollection of what they thought their scenes were about while being filmed, as well as some props, like a map, that they were able to take home with them.
For the third segment, Brent details the stunning Main Street set that was built next to an abandoned Six Flags amusement park. He gives us detailed descriptions of many Main Street locations, including the mostly-unseen Jurassic Traders Gift Shop, and the shock of Katie McGrath (who played Zara) performing some of her insane stunts on set.
The final segment of the series features Brent describing what it was like portraying a scientist in the Hammond Creation Lab, then reveals several props that mysteriously left with him. He tells a funny story involving Chris Pratt, and one of the props he shows us features a dinosaur dietary chart.
These three fans, and surely many others, finally got to see their work in theaters in 2015 when the film premiered around the world. No matter what they thought of the final product, seeing themselves on the big screen was a huge thrill. While the rest of us may be envious of their experience, it is wonderful to have their recollections joined with the imagery to finally get a real sense of what these sets were like in-person. And, if only for a short time, we can also imagine we visited ‘Jurassic World’ just as they had.
Which set for ‘Jurassic World’ in New Orleans do you wish you could have visited the most? Were you also an extra in the film, and if so, what scenes were you in? Share your comments below, and as always, stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!
A new trademark has been revealed by Universal Studios that something new is on the horizon for the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise: ‘Jurassic World Explorers’!
There have been images of a preschool toy line (first revealed at UK retailer Toyopolis), but the all-new trademark reveals there is also a media or series component.
JURASSIC WORLD EXPLORERS Surprise & Play Gates available for order on Amazon: https://t.co/anTNZrV25Z#ad
There’s a new Jurassic kiddie toy range in town, presenting Jurassic World Explorers from @fisherprice! This first playset comes with 20 surprise accessories
“JURASSIC WORLD EXPLORERS is Entertainment services in the nature of film, television series, short form entertainment content, videos and podcasts in the field of news, sports, comedy, drama, music and variety content; entertainment services in the nature of the production and distribution of film, television series, short form entertainment content, videos, podcasts and games featuring news, entertainment, sports, comedy, drama, music and variety content; providing a website, images and non-downloadable videos in the field of news, sports and entertainment via the internet, mobile and wireless networks; providing interactive online computer games; amusement park attraction and theme park services; live stage performances, namely, presentation of live show performances; providing waterpark services; providing recreational areas for entertainment and amusement, namely, interactive play areas; providing events, contests, displays and exhibits in the field of news, sports and entertainment; providing on-demand and rental of film, television series, short form entertainment content, videos, podcasts and games in the fields of news, sports, comedy, drama, music and variety content; online non-downloadable electronic publications, namely, text and graphic works featuring news, sports and entertainment.”
While the summary of its trademark registration covers all potential venues that it could be used for, it doesn’t necessarily mean all of them will be fully executed. However, given the toy information leaks it is safe to assume ‘Jurassic World Explorers’ will at the very least be an animated show aimed at the younger audience. Whether it appears on Netflix, Peacock, or simply on YouTube is impossible to currently say, however if we were to bet we suspect it may air on the Jurassic World Kids YouTube channel in partnership with Mattel. While this is a far cry from what fans of the series were hoping for in the first venture away from ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’, it at least lends something in the meantime to younger audiences – perhaps utilizing the story to merge learning about animals, dinosaurs, and science in fun ways.
Given that ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ was one of the only films to reach a billion dollars last year (with its prior two entries making even more), it’s only a matter of time before something more substantial gets produced. Whether it comes in the form of a new series (AKA a followup to Camp Cretaceous, which is rumored to debut next year), or a new film, is up to Universal to decide.
Are you interested in ‘Jurassic World Explorers’? What exactly do you think it will be? Share your comments below and stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!
The following was an APRIL FOOLS article! But maybe Peacock SHOULD make a live-action ‘Jurassic’ show sometime, eh? It seemed like Universal already tested those waters with the wonderful internet short film ‘Battle At Big Rock’, right? Why not keep it going? Let’s roll that film again, shall we?
In a shocking special announcement, Peacock has revealed today that they have greenlit a brand-new live-action ‘Jurassic Park’ miniseries! The six-episode series event is already being filmed in Hawaii, New Orleans, New Mexico, and even parts of Cabo Blanco! It has a planned release date of June 2024!
Showrunner Rubecca Blartburt spoke exclusively to Jurassic Outpost with additional details:
“Peacock knew they wanted to do a show for ‘Jurassic Park’ for some time now, but they also wanted to make it as immediately trendy as possible. For many years now, ‘Jurassic’ fans around the world have gushed over the quilled Velociraptor from ‘Jurassic Park 3’. This reached an apex when the internet finally gave him a name that everyone unquestionably, universally, really just everywhere loved: Quilliam. This celebration of a classic raptor from the franchise now rivals Blue in popularity. In fact, I know Peacock originally wanted a spinoff centered on the famous ‘Jurassic World’ raptor. But after looking at charts that showed results from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and private texts, they were shocked to instead discover that Quilliam was immensely more popular.”
We were surprised, to say the least, that our first live-action ‘Jurassic Park’ show would be centered on just one dinosaur like this. We pestered her for more. She told us some juicy details, but we were asked to keep it private. So of course, here is what she said:
“It’s called ‘The Quest For Quilliam’. And I know, you’d think with a title like that it would be a kids show. Very goofy, almost fantasy-like in nature, right? But no, we wanted to subvert everyone’s expectations. Disney did that with ‘Star Wars’ and look how well that turned out! We discovered that a lot of the popularity in the ‘Jurassic’ franchise right now comes from kids and families. But what about the adult audience? That’s why we are making this show very adult in nature instead. It will be filled with violence, gore, and my favorite: swearing.”
To say we were shocked would be an understatement. Rubecca Blartburt continues:
“The title of the show is just a façade to draw in the current younger ‘Jurassic’ audience and then scare the hell out of them! But the title itself isn’t really a lie. There is a ‘quest’ for Quilliam. He has escaped Isla Sorna by sneaking on a cruise ship that accidentally docked there, thinking it was Hawaii. Hilarious, since we are shooting portions of the show there in real life! Anyway, Quilliam ends up on the mainland as we follow his path of dominance around our world.”
We pressed her further about what kind of things would happen during Quilliam’s journey. Her response was surprising, to say the least:
“He sneaks upon hapless, unsuspecting people: couples in parks, farmers on ranches, people in movie theaters, and much more. Then, he rips them apart. But you root for him, because we show backstories of all the people before he kills them, and most of them REALLY deserve it. Bad teachers, cheating boyfriends, racist politicians: every bad thing you can think of gets represented. But, where’s the ‘quest’, right? Well, at the same time, we have this private investigator, Horath Brockenheimer, who is hot on Quilliam’s trail of death; going from state-to-state, country-to-country trying to one-up the dinosaur before the only people left in the world are the good ones.”
Unfortunately, despite our inquisitions, Rubecca Blartburt wouldn’t reveal the ending of the show. However, she did tease us some possibilities:
“Does the show end with Horath Brockenheimer killing Quilliam? Or does Quilliam get him first? Or does something else happen, like a bomb goes off killing them both, or they both get trapped together by some random third party? I can’t confirm. But I will say, we plan to film at least four different endings. Then, the week before our final episode, we will have a social media poll for which ending the audience wants the most. But will we choose the ending with the most votes, or the least votes? I won’t reveal.”
I guess we will find out the answers next July, only on Peacock!
To say we are excited for this new show would be an understatement. But how about you? Do you have the thirst to quench for the ‘Quest For Quilliam’? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest!
NONE of these prestigious film awards were possible for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’, thanks to zero nominations. While fans of the film weren’t expecting any “Best Picture” nods from any of these venues, many will perhaps be surprised it didn’t even get nominated for the technical categories from the Academy Awards, such as “Visual Effects”. To be fair, it was a good year for visual effects ranging from the impressive aerial flights in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to the mind-blowing world of ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’. It’s just such a shame ‘Dominion’ won’t be recognized in any more awards venues from last year’s films, and—
—what’s that? Sorry, I am getting new information. Everything is fine. ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is indeed nominated, but not for a prestigious award. No, instead the latest entry from our beloved franchise is being put on a rocky pedestal by none other than The Razzies. For those not in the know, The Razzies is a decades-old awards venue that showcases what they believe to be the worst films of the year.
Worst Screenplay: Screenplay by Emily Carmichael & Colin Trevorrow, Story by Colin Trevorrow & Derek Connolly
However, what’s even more damning is that The Razzies couldn’t even be bothered to spell “Trevorrow” correctly (which I have corrected for this article) and called the film ‘Jurassic Park: Dominion’ in one of the categories. Oops! Looks like The Razzies will be getting nominated for “Worst Website Editorial” from the “Me Awards”.
What are the chances ‘Dominion’ has at winning any of these three nominations? Here are the other contenders in these categories that you can judge for yourself:
This isn’t the first time a ‘Jurassic’ film has received Razzie nominations. ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ received three, ‘Jurassic Park 3’ received one, and ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ also received one. Thankfully, none of them ever won. Hopefully ‘Dominion’ won’t as well (I personally believe there are far more deserving films to win, such as ‘Disney’s Pinocchio’ and ‘Morbius’).
Thankfully, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ has already been recognized with nominations from better awards venues. These include the Annie Awards, CinEuphoria Awards, Motion Picture Sound Editors, Visual Effects Society Awards, People’s Choice Awards, and The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. While it didn’t win any of these nominations, it is still clear that the film isn’t some “dumpster fire” just because it is listed on the Razzies. The visual effects and production design were exceptionally done and stand as some of the best the franchise has ever seen.
‘Dominion’ is still a winner, even without any awards. It is one of the top 3 grossing films of 2022 that made over a billion dollars worldwide, outgrossed only by ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’. That’s right: none of the Marvel films managed to reach that milestone. So even if it does win a Razzie, ‘Dominion’ still won the only prize that actually matters in the filmmaking business: it made a lot of money. This was only achievable by having a film that people wanted to see, whether they ended up liking it or not. It is the “Filmgoer Award”, nominated by fans and general audiences with their money as the ballots. Fans of the film should be happy knowing they still managed to strike a win for it after all.
In related awards news regarding talent from the franchise, Steven Spielberg’s latest film ‘The Fabelmans‘ received several Academy Award Nominations, including “Best Picture”, “Best Director” by Steven Spielberg, “Best Production Design” by Rick Carter, and “Best Music Score” by John Williams. So if you still want to root for people related to the ‘Jurassic’ franchise this year, give this film the love it also deserves.
Do you think ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ deserved its Razzie nominations? Do you also think it got snubbed by the Academy Awards? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, stick around with Jurassic Outpost for the latest.
Hold onto your butts! Christmas has come early for ‘Jurassic Park’ fans! Now available from The Noble Collection are a brand-new set of four very special bookmarks depicting a Triceratops, Dilophosaurus, Velociraptor, and Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Life always finds a way, bring Jurassic Park home today with this set of four bookmarks. Officially licensed by Universal, each bookmark is exceptionally detailed and includes a hand painted dinosaur sculpt and comes perfectly packaged in a collector box. Each bookmark measures approximately 3 inches tall. Protect the pages of your favorite books and collect this set today!
All four bookmarks are only available as a set with the handsome collector’s box. The style of the box, and the bookmarks themselves, are stylized as if they came from an actual ‘Jurassic Park’ gift shop!
These bookmarks would look perfect wedged between the pages of Michael Crichton’s ‘Jurassic Park’ novel (available in paperback & hardcover)! So, stop hanging around the vending machines and start reading now! These bookmarks will make sure you don’t miss any of the dinosaur action! And dinosaur carnage… the novel is a bit more graphic than the film. And has a lot more swearing. But hey, that’s Chaos Theory!
For $29.95, this fantastic set of bookmarks can be yours! If you don’t intend to read because you’re just too cool to do so, it would still make for a fantastic display piece.
Are you going to ask for these for Christmas? Or are you going to buy them for yourself early and smuggle them into your room via shaving cream can? Let us know in the comments!
Last year, ‘Jurassic Park’ fans were gifted with the “Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History” book from Insight Editions. While it may not have entirely lived up to what die-hard fans were hoping for, it was overall a great summation of the behind-the-scenes stories for the original ‘Jurassic Park’ trilogy. The entire book was also illustrated with loads of pre-production artwork & rare photographs from all three films, making it a beautiful (but deadly?) addition to any fan’s collection. They also produced a very cool cookbook & children’s book that are also worth checking out.
Celebrate one of the most thrilling franchises of all time with this in-depth look at the making of the Jurassic World trilogy. Following the release of director Colin Trevorrow’s smash hit Jurassic World in 2015, the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar once again dominate the public imagination. Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History is the definitive account of the franchise – and a companion book to Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History (released in 2021) – delivering a comprehensive look at the making of the first hit film as well as its thrilling sequels Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). Through rare and never-before-seen imagery and exclusive interviews with key creatives, the deluxe volume explores the entire creative process, from the films’ stunning dinosaur designs to the epic location shoots and the creation of the films’ incredible visual effects.
The book also includes sections on the DreamWorks Animation animated series ‘Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous’, various games, toys, theme park attractions, and even the short film ‘Battle At Big Rock’. This is the first time any of the ‘Jurassic World’ films have received a behind-the-scenes book, which already makes it vital for this reason alone. But is it truly a “definitive account of the franchise” for this trilogy of films, or is it met with some the same (perhaps nitpicky) issues found in the previous book? Let’s have a look!
WHAT’S GOOD?
VISUAL & WRITING STYLE
Just like in the previous ‘Jurassic Park’ version, this book is visually pleasing. It’s filled with as much colorful artwork and photographs as possible. The text is neatly placed within it all, and nothing ever feels too crammed or out of place. The previous book had more going on with the borders around each page, whereas this ‘Jurassic World’ version has a more barren approach. It simply features gray tabs on the sides with gray/amber-tinged headlines for each new section. This simpler approach feels appropriate with the sleeker look of the films themselves, particularly the first ‘Jurassic World’ and its park’s design.
The writing itself is clear and precise, which is vital in stitching together different information from different sources. James Mottram, who also penned the previous book, weaves the information into a distinct fabric to tell its story.
EXCLUSIVE INTROS/OUTROS
This book includes a foreword by Bryce Dallas Howard (“Claire Dearing” in the trilogy), introduction by Colin Trevorrow (director of ‘Jurassic World’ & ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’, writer of the trilogy), preface by J.A. Bayona (director of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’), & an afterword by Frank Marshall (producer of the trilogy). Mysteriously absent from this list is Chris Pratt, but I suppose he is too busy voicing Mario these days. These exclusive passages are great bookends for the entire presentation, with each person adding their own personal tribute. They even reveal fun information, like J.A. Bayona as he details Michael Giacchino‘s fantastic music score for ‘Fallen Kingdom’:
One of my most cherished memories from making Fallen Kingdom was working with composer Michael Giacchino. We spent hours talking about film music and listening to soundtracks. There was one specific piece of music we paid attention to: Bernard Herrmann’s work for Mysterious Island (Cy Endfield, 1962). Our common goal while venturing into the musical tapestry of our movie was expressing our love for this kind of film. When I listen to Michael’s music for Fallen Kingdom, I sense our mutual desire to travel back in time and bring back the same unparalleled fascination and heartwarming happiness that those movies gave us.
FANTASTIC COLLECTION OF IMAGES
While many of the book’s images have been revealed online over the years by various concept artists who worked on the films, it is still great to have them all cobbled together in one book as the trilogy’s history is told. Even better, there are some art and photographs that have never been seen before! Here is just a tease of what to expect!
NEW & OBSCURE INFORMATION
Making a book like this requires many sources for quotes, stories, and other information. Website articles, television interviews, Blu-Ray bonus features; everything was sifted through to collect the data. While some, maybe even a lot, of the details could be considered “old news” to people deeply invested in this trilogy’s history, it is all well-arranged while even including new details sprinkled throughout. [NOTE: I will be honest and admit I am not as familiar with the history of the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy as I am with the ‘Jurassic Park’ trilogy, so forgive me if any of this is not truly “new”.]
For ‘Jurassic World’, some of these fun new details include Derek Connolly never having seen a ‘Jurassic Park’ movie before when he was tasked with co-writing the script with Colin Trevorrow; production designer Ed Verreaux had sent his art department team to the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood to photograph everything (including signage) to see what they wanted their fictional park to resemble; and concept artist David Lowery came up with an unused idea for a “Pteranodon Terrace” where guests traveled in glass gondolas hanging from a huge cable that stretched across a vast expanse of jungle (and included “food Frisbees” that would be shot out of the gondolas and snapped up midair by the flying reptiles.). However, one of the most exciting new details for me was a little more about the script written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver right before Trevorrow & Connolly were brought in to pen their draft.
Spielberg also wanted to revisit the idea of a hero character capable of training and commanding dinosaurs. These ideas manifested in the character Vance who, in the Jaffa/Silver draft’s opening scene, is seen jumping out of a helicopter with a pack of trained raptors and landing in a compound belonging to a Colombian drug dealer. Although [John] Sayles used the bipedal Deinonychus in his draft, Spielberg felt that the physically similar Velociraptors, first seen in Jurassic Park, would be a better fit for the role. The story also focused on a Chinese paleontologist who visits the now-open Jurassic Park with her sons. The scientist has a secret agenda, believing that the park’s owners have stolen DNA from bones she unearthed of a previously undiscovered dinosaur—the Malusaurus. The corporate side of the park is run by Whitney, a female manager who views the dinosaurs as commodities and nothing more. Inevitably, the Malusaurus created using the stolen DNA escapes from its enclosure, and Vance must use his raptors to hunt it down.
‘Fallen Kingdom’ includes interesting tidbits, such as Benjamin Lockwood originally having very little connection to John Hammond and the past of ‘Jurassic Park’; in its original draft they went from Isla Nublar to England where a small village gets destroyed by dinosaurs (until Steven Spielberg told them there was no credible way to make that journey happen); and the film’s fantastic opening sequence was originally just over a single page in the script, with Bayona fleshing it out further with an extended climax on the helicopter ladder while also adding Jurassic staples (like the pouring rain and the yellow raincoat worn by the tech that resembles Nedry’s apparel from Jurassic Park). The film’s title itself (along with the next film’s) proves to also have its own unique history:
“I wanted to call [the first film] Jurassic World. And the second one was Jurassic Earth, and then the third Jurassic Kingdom. The studio was like, ‘You can’t keep changing the title of the movie. You already did it once.’” Taking Universal’s feedback into consideration, Trevorrow decided to combine the overall franchise name with a subtitle, taking the word kingdom from his proposed third film and adding it to fallen, suggesting the decline of the dinosaurs’ domain.
Even the small section on the short film ‘Battle At Big Rock’ gets a nice detail on its inspiration: a YouTube video titled “Battle at Kruger“, in which tourists witness a water buffalo being attacked by lions and an alligator.
The section on ‘Dominion’ reveals that a scene featuring Daniella Pineda (Zia Rodriguez) had to be recast with another actor, Varada Sethu, when COVID restrictions kept her from being able to leave another production she was on; production designer Kevin Jenkins ensured that the equipment seen in BioSyn’s abandoned amber mines displayed 1990s-style Biosyn logos, a detail reminiscent of the old rivalry between the company and InGen (although I suppose footage containing it must have been cut, because I can’t seem to spot it in either version of the film); and animatronic creature effects artist John Nolan took inspiration from Frontier Developments’ 2018 video game ‘Jurassic World: Evolution’to get a better sense of the Dilophosaurus’s locomotion for the film. In fact, Nolan’s team had created a device that would allow the animatronic version of the dinosaur to travel on a dolly track with eleven puppeteers following behind it using levers, rods, and cable controls to create the dinosaur’s walk. However, Trevorrow was not happy with the result. But perhaps one of the biggest pieces of interesting information involved our favorite clone girl, Maisie.
When it came to casting the role of Maisie’s mother, Charlotte Lockwood, Trevorrow considered using digital tools to graft Isabella Sermon’s face onto a body double and age her features appropriately. However, during a casting section for the body doubles, he made a remarkable find. “I had been given a set of faces whose bone structure was similar enough to Isabella Sermon’s,” says Trevorrow. Among those faces was Irish-born Elva Trill. As Trill began reciting lines with the director, he quickly came to realize that she would be perfect as Charlotte and abandoned the digital augmentation idea. “I’ve never seen an actor come in and just grab a role by being so good,” says Trevorrow.
The section near the end of the book that details ‘Camp Cretaceous’ scored some of its own interesting details, such as the showrunner’s original plan to feature Owen Grady and Claire Dearing; there was an early version of the story where Ben doesn’t survive past Season 1; and most interestingly how the originally intended final shot of the film trilogy was instead used as the final shot for this series:
Camp Cretaceous also brought Trevorrow full circle, back to his early meetings with Steven Spielberg when he pitched the arc of the Jurassic World franchise, which would ultimately lead to dinosaurs entering our everyday lives. Specifically, the image of a child looking out his window on a suburban street and seeing a traffic jam caused by a Brachiosaurus at an intersection. “We actually ended up making that the very last shot of the entire [Camp Cretaceous] series,” says Trevorrow. “After nine years, that idea found its way back into the story.”
THE INSERTS
As usual with Insight Edition’s Visual History books, there are numerous “inserts” on certain pages that feature unique items. While some are still applied with an adhesive per the previous book, many of the inserts this time are more technically “part of the book” and not meant to be removed entirely. Some are just meant to be unfolded beyond the confines of the book’s dimensions, while a few are even in the form of actual booklets to flip through. The only real negative is that it is focused more on the first film than the rest. Here is a complete list of what you will find:
From ‘Jurassic World’: Poster art advertises Jurassic World’s Gyrosphere ride; Storyboards by David Lowery from an early iteration of Jurassic World’s evolving storyline; A map of Isla Nublar showing the island’s topography and the location of Jurassic World; Dr. Wu’s Jurassic World security pass; Concept art by Glen McIntosh for Jurassic World’s petting zoo; The sketches that Steven Spielberg drew for Colin Trevorrow to illustrate his feedback on the Indominus rex breakout sequence; A tourist map of Jurassic World highlights the theme park’s attractions; & Storyboards by Glen McIntosh for the scene in which the raptors pursue a pig in the Raptor Research Arena.
From ‘Fallen Kingdom’: Raptor movement study by Glen McIntosh; A sticker sheet featuring production design art created for the Dinosaur Protection Group; & Production design art for the jacket of Dr. Ian Malcolm’s book, God Creates Dinosaurs (not actual size).
From ‘Battle At Big Rock’: Concept Art Booklet.
From ‘Dominion’: Storyboards by Glen McIntosh for Jurassic World Dominion’s prologue scene & Malta Concept Art Booklet.
From ‘Camp Cretaceous’: Concept Art Booklet.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER?
A fan wouldn’t be a fan without needing to nitpick, right? (Don’t answer that.) Despite being mostly pleased with this book, there are still a few areas that could have been improved upon (perhaps in a revised edition, which Insight Editions have done before).
WHAT ABOUT ‘JURASSIC PARK 4’?
The opening of the book does briefly go into ‘Jurassic Park 4’ (the obvious working title before it eventually was named ‘Jurassic World’), mostly delving into some details on the John Sayles script and then eventually a little more about Jaffa/Silver’s script before Trevorrow/Connolly did their own version. But what about the rest? There were numerous versions of the film, by other writers, that were tackled in the 14 years between ‘Jurassic Park 3’ and ‘Jurassic World’. Given that it was such a long range of time where the studio kept throwing ideas around to try to make things happen, most of it shrouded in secrecy, this had been one of my most anticipated sections. Instead, it was only a few pages, and generalized.
Also, while they mention the dinosaur/human hybrids, it’s a shame that none of the wild concept art (that has been online for many years) was included at all. Perhaps they couldn’t get the rights to feature them?
Speaking of art from this period: where was John Bell‘s art? Last year’s book featured loads of art by Bell for the original trilogy, plus a tease of two pieces of artwork he did for ‘Jurassic Park 4’. And yet, this book didn’t feature any of it. This is another case where the art has been online for years, on Bell’s very own site. And there is some fantastic stuff, including his concepts for gyrospheres and even a version of the park’s map that perhaps coincided with the Jaffa/Silver script. This book even mentions Bell in the “special thanks” section, making the exclusions even more mystifying.
OTHER OMISSIONS
Look, I get it: this book can’t be 1,000 pages long like all of us die-hard fans would like it to be. Putting the complex histories of three massive films into one book is a huge undertaking (just like it was in the previous book). Still, there were some things I wish had been mentioned or visually included in this book. Because when and where else would it be, apart from random online articles & videos that eventually get buried with the rest? Perhaps that’s why some of these details were possibly missed to begin with?
Seamus Blackley, the creator of the XBOX and the ‘Lost World’-related game ‘Trespasser‘, had pitched a video game that he titled ‘Jurassic World’ (before anyone else); which would later inspire several ideas for the new film trilogy. None of this important revelation is mentioned at all (although to be fair it wasn’t publicly known until very recently). Also for ‘Jurassic World’, there is no mention of the “Stegoceratops“: a second hybrid dinosaur that was originally planned to be in the film, and even had a toy made for it!
The previous book had spent a lot more time detailing most of the different scripts for the films. This book does this at times but to a lesser degree. While it was nice to learn a little more about the Jaffa/Silver script for example, it still just grazed the surface. And since this script can’t be found anywhere online currently, a more detailed summary would have been amazing. For example, was the concept art that was shown in one of the Blu-Ray bonus features (and not in this book) of the Indominus attacking a robotic T-Rex coming out of a waterfall (ala ‘Jurassic Park: The Ride’) something from this script?
MORE LOVE FOR THE SEQUELS
This is another reoccurring issue, but it just feels like more focus is given to the first film of the trilogy (despite me just complaining I wanted more from it!) with less invested in the sequels; ‘Fallen Kingdom’ and ‘Dominion’. More details about their different scripts, more inserts related to them (A pull-out Hammond painting from ‘Fallen Kingdom’ would have been awesome!), or even the mention of certain deleted scenes we know were filmed thanks to still images (that aren’t in this book): such as Iris’s death from the Indoraptor & a dead/decayed Stegosaur that Owen and his team come across as they search for Blue on Nublar.
According to more “hush-hush” behind-the-scenes stories, we also know that ‘Fallen Kingdom’ was going to originally involve Isla Sorna, a ‘Gene Ship’ for Wu’s experiments, and more of Ian Malcolm. He was going to try and sabotage the rescue mission on the Arcadia! ‘Dominion’ was originally going to be two films that would have been filmed at the same time. But again, none of these details are brought up.
In an ideal world, each film in the series would have gotten its own book. This would have allowed much more breathing room to fully explore all these things, and more. Perhaps that is just not economically feasible anymore, even for a big franchise? Especially when, let’s be honest, the sequels in each trilogy are not as popular or well-regarded as their first entries. While a slew of die-hard fans would have clamored for a ‘Fallen Kingdom’ making-of book, for example, is it really something that would sell well? Especially now? Sometimes these sorts of “package deals” are the only way to at least get what we are able to.
SO, SHOULD I GET IT?
I think‘Jurassic World’ fans shouldabsolutely get this book. My complaints, as you’ve read, only really dwell with what isn’t in it. While the omissions are disappointing, it isn’t so egregious that it takes away from what is included. There’s a wealth of information, concept art, photographs, and nice inserts (the “concept art booklets” being my favorite) that are all woven together wonderfully. In most ways it improves upon their ‘Jurassic Park’ book, and in retrospect I may have originally been a little too critical on it. But if being a little harsh helped make this book better, well, that’s why I still felt the need to point some things out this time, too.
What I didn’t expect to feel while reading and looking through this book was how much nostalgia it gave me. The first film in this trilogy is nearly a decade old, and it’s crazy how time flies. Books like Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History help preserve these films beyond the screen, along with all our memories that come with them.
The feelings we had in anticipation for these films, the news as details were revealed, the organized screenings every time they came out, and the events we attended where other people obsessed with this series finally felt like they belonged. Friendships made, perhaps even hearts broken, or miraculously the bond of marriage formed. We all have our stories. And when you go through these pages, I can almost guarantee that at least one image, maybe something obscure not literally in the film that you would never expect to elicit an emotion, reminds you of a time that once was. And you remember your place in that time, and perhaps realize just how different you are now; or the same.
This trilogy, and our time in it, is over. But like everything in nature, it will evolve. And so will you.
What are some of your favorite memories related to the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy? Did you go to a fun event, see any of the films with someone you loved, or make new friends because of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and may the joy you have for these films never go away!
ADDENDUM: In celebration of the release of “Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History”, Insight Editions presents author James Mottram in conversation with Jurassic World Animation Director/Paleoartist Glen McIntosh. Discussion moderated by Derrick Davis, Writer at Jurassic Outpost & Creator of Jurassic Time! Intro/Outro by Insight Edition’s Marketing & Publicity Strategist Amanda Hariri. Live Book Release Event via Crowdcast (10/25/22).
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