It is the series' first film that was not directed by Steven Spielberg nor based on a book by Michael Crichton (though numerous scenes in the film were ultimately taken from Crichton's novels Jurassic Park and The Lost World). The film takes place on Isla Sorna, off Central America's Pacific coast, the island featured in the second film, where a divorced couple has tricked Dr. Alan Grant into going in order to help them find their son.
After the success of Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Joe Johnston expressed interest in directing a sequel, a film adaptation of The Lost World. Spielberg instead gave Johnston permission to direct the third film in the series, if there were to be one. Production of Jurassic Park III began on August 30, 2000. Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews, with many praising the visual effects and action scenes but finding the plot clichéd and unoriginal. Despite being less well-received than the previous films, Jurassic Park III was a box office success, grossing $368 million worldwide. A sequel, titled Jurassic World, was released on June 12, 2015.
Publication Information
- Title : Jurassic Park III
- 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, Michael Jeter
- Music by : Don Davis
- Cinematography : Shelly Johnson
- Edited by : Robert Dalva
- Production company : Amblin Entertainment
- Distributed by : Universal Pictures
- Release dates : July 18, 2001
- Running time : 93 minutes
- Country : United States
- Language : English
- Budget : $93 million
- Box office : $368.8 million
Despite dangerous incidents being connected with Isla Sorna, tourists Ben Hildebrand and Eric Kirby decide to parasail around the island. A creature of unknown species attacks and kills the boat crew when it passes through a fog bank, but Ben uncouples the line and with Eric (they are bound together) go sailing into the wilderness of Isla Sorna.
Meanwhile, Dr. Alan Grant has become reluctantly famous as a result of his survival and involvement in the scandal of Jurassic Park. Struggling to raise support for his research, he believes that the creatures of Jurassic Park are theme park monsters, and not real dinosaurs. Ellie Sattler has married a lawyer named Mark Delger and has a son, Charlie, who mostly calls Alan "The Dinosaur Man." One afternoon, while out on a dig, Alan's assistant Billy Brennan demonstrates how he can use a 3D printer to replicate the larynx of a Velociraptor. They also discuss how raptors are far more intelligent than they had previously believed, and had a complex social structure and hunting pattern.
A wealthy couple named Paul and Amanda Kirby arrive and offer Alan some generous funding for his research if he will give them an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. Desperate for the money to fund further research, Alan reluctantly agrees. He flies there along with Paul, Amanda, Billy, and the Kirbys' mercenary associates, Udesky, Cooper and their pilot Nash in a Beechcraft King Air B200. On board the plane, Alan learns that the Kirby's plan is to land on the island which contradicts what they had promised earlier. When he 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 hungry Spinosaurus; Cooper leads it into the path of the plane before he is killed. The plane then crashes into the trees in the surrounding jungle, and is quickly destroyed by the Spinosaurus. The carnivore pulls Nash out of the plane and devours him. After fleeing from the wreckage of their plane, the survivors manage to briefly lose the Spinosaurus when it gets caught between two trees. As they flee to safety, a Tyrannosaurus feasting on a carcass appears, and the Spinosaurus returns, but the humans escape while the two dinosaurs are distracted and fight each other. The Spinosaurus overpowers the T-Rex and kills it by snapping its neck.
Cast
- Main article : List of Jurassic Park III characters
- Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, the world-famous paleontologist who survived the incident on Isla Nublar and has since developed an apathetic attitude towards the creatures he once admired.
- 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 former wife who accompanies the group to Isla Sorna to search for her son.
- Alessandro Nivola as Billy Brennan, a young and over-enthusiastic graduate student from Grant's dig site.
- Trevor Morgan as Eric Kirby, Paul and Amanda's 12-year-old son, stranded on Isla Sorna.
- Michael Jeter as Udesky, one of the mercenaries.
- John Diehl as Cooper, a mercenary and weapons specialist.
- Bruce A. Young as M. B. Nash, another of the mercenaries who serves as the group's pilot.
- Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Degler, née Sattler, a paleobotanist who also survived Isla Nublar.
- Taylor Nichols as Mark Degler, Ellie's husband.
- Mark Harelik as Ben Hildebrand, Amanda's boyfriend.
- Julio Oscar Mechoso as Enrique Cardoso, the owner and operator of the "Dino-Soar" parasailing service.
- Blake Michael Bryan as Charlie Degler, Ellie and Mark's 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.
- Main article : List of cloned animals in Jurassic Park III
- Ankylosaurus
- Brachiosaurus
- Ceratosaurus
- Compsognathus
- Corythosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Pteranodon
- Spinosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus
- Velociraptor
- 2001 - Saturn Awards - Best Science Fiction Film - Nominated
- 2001 - Best Special Effects - Jim Mitchell, Stan Winston (uncredited), Danny Gordon Taylor, Donald R. Elliott, John Rosengrant - Nominated
- 2001 - Satellite Awards - Best Visual Effects - Nominated
- 2001 - Best Sound Mixing - Howell Gibbens - Nominated
- 2001 - Golden Trailer Awards - Best Horror/Thriller Film - Nominated
- 2001 - Golden Reel Awards - Best Sound Editing – Effects & Foley - Howell Gibbens, Christopher Boyes, James Likowski, Frank E. Eulner and Ken Fischer - Nominated
- 2001 - Sierra Awards - Best DVD - Won
- 2001 - BMI Film Awards - Best Music - Don Davis and John Williams - Won
- 2001 - Golden Raspberry Awards - Worst Remake or Sequel - Nominated
- 2001 - Stinkers Bad Movie Awards - Worst Actress - Tea Leoni - Nominated
- 2001 - Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million Worldwide Using Hollywood Math - Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, based on the book by Michael Crichton - Nominated
- 2001 - Worst Sequel - Nominated
- A sequel, titled Jurassic World, was released on June 12, 2015.
- 1993 - Jurassic Park
- 1997 - Jurassic Park (The Lost World)
- 2001 - Jurassic Park III
- 2015 - Jurassic World
