|
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Starring Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, and Richard Attenborough. Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. Edited by Michael Kahn. Produced by Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson. Written by David Koeopp. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
After barely escaping the first Jurassic Park island, the survivors settle back into their normal lives. One day Dr. Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) receives a call from John Hammond (played by Richard Attenborough), the eccentric multibillionaire behind the dinosaur experiment, asking him to join his girlfriend Dr. Sarah Harding (played by Julianne Moore) on what is being referred to as “Site B”. It seems that InGen Bioengineering had set up a second site eighty seven miles south of their theme park as a breeding ground for the animals. Hammond is concerned that “Site B” will soon be exploited and begs Malcolm to study the inhabitants before it’s too late. But by the time Malcolm and his team can arrive, it is already too late.
With the exception of the Indiana Jones chronicles, Steven Spielberg has had little to do with the sequels that spin off of his films (Jaws has had three follow-up movies and Poltergeist has had two). After the original Jurassic Park tore apart the box office in 1993, discussions for creating a franchise came quickly. Michael Crichton, the author of the first Jurassic Park novel, acted as the catalyst for the sequel when he started working on a new dinosaur story.
With Crichton’s rough manuscript in hand, Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp began to assemble a script that they felt they could get their team behind. But before launching into production on his new sequel, Spielberg took a well deserved break from filmmaking; though that’s not to say that he was entirely inactive. It was during this time that Spielberg, along with the multimillion dollar team of David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founded DreamWorks SKG, which would become the largest production studio launch in over half a century.
After his three year hiatus, Spielberg was back in the director’s chair with his enormous production. As with the first film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a showcase for unbelievable special effects. George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic had already evolved way beyond their capacity for CGI effects in the first project and were able to provide Spielberg with more effects for less money. Stan Winston’s studio had also taken huge leaps forward in the art of animatronics and was likewise able to do more for less.
So with the additional resources at his disposal, Spielberg was able to pack his project full of new and improved dinosaur action that would keep his audiences on the edge of their seats. When the sequel finally hit theaters, The Lost World: Jurassic Park set records with the biggest opening weekend ever. The poor reviews and disappointed audiences didn’t even seem to douse the fire. It didn’t end up earning as much as its predecessor, but two hundred some million dollars in America and over six hundred million worldwide is nothing to be disappointed with (financially anyway).
Budget: $73,000,000
Total US Gross: $229,086,679
Genre: Science Fiction
Runtime: 129 Minutes
US Release Date: 5/23/97
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Awards:
Academy Awards:
Nominated for best visual effects.
Tagline: Something Has Survived.
Quote: “Let me get this straight John; there's a new island with dinosaurs. And this time no fences. And you wanna send people in there? On the ground? Right?”
|
