Line #36 Trivia/JurassicPark1993


1	This page is for trivia about the first ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' film specifically. For trivia about the franchise as a whole, go [[Trivia/JurassicPark here]].
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3	* AbilityOverAppearance: Alan Grant is described in the novel as a bearded, barrel-chested man. Which doesn't sound like Creator/SamNeill at all.
4	* AccidentallyCorrectZoology:
5	** The velociraptors are nothing like and much larger than real-life ''Velociraptor'', and are based on ''Deinonychus'' instead (at the time of the book's writing, it was briefly hypothesized that the two were species of the same genus). However, after filming had started an even larger species than the movie raptors called ''Utahraptor'' was discovered. In the years since then, another dromaeosaur has been found matching ''Jurassic Park'''s raptors for size, ''and'' it lived in roughly the same time and place as the raptor Grant was digging up. It's called ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakotaraptor Dakotaraptor]]''. Both are still not complete matches, since ''Utahraptor'' and ''Dakotaraptor'' had feathers (the arm bones of ''Dakotaraptor'' even have quill knobs to prove it) unlike the raptors in the book and movie. Also, ''Utahraptor'' turned out to be more bizarre-looking than JP's raptors.
6	** Some of the dinosaurs have changed from female to male, which Grant theorizes to be the result of having amphibian DNA. Sex change have since been observed in birds, which are dinosaurs’ direct evolutionary descendants.
7	** The ''Dilophosaurus'' was depicted with a more robust skull and lips covering the teeth, long thought to be one of the main inaccuracies of the film's animal along with the venom and frill. Later in 2020, it would turn out ''Dilophosaurus'' actually did have a head more like that of the film version.
8	** Though Alan Grant describes the ''Velociraptor'' to use its sickle-shaped claw to disembowel prey, the raptors in the film never [[InformedAbility actually get to do so]]. The most visible kill with [[spoiler:Muldoon]] shows the raptor using her jaws to bite his head and throat, with the legs being static as if she's pinning him down rather than slashing him. This turns out to be closer to how real ''Velociraptors'' use their sickle claws, as studies in 2005 reveal that the oversized claw was poorly designed for disemboweling and instead was more likely used for stabbing or pinning down prey.
9	* ActorInspiredHeroism:
10	** Shaped more by the [[Creator/StevenSpielberg director]] than the actor, but John Hammond went from being a ManipulativeBastard who wants his park open and making money no matter what problems there may be to a kindly, grandfatherly AuthorAvatar as played by Creator/RichardAttenborough. {{Downplayed}} since Hammond is still portrayed as a cost-cutter who's willfully blind to the flaws in the park's setup.
11	** Malcolm distracting the dinosaur with a flare was included at Creator/JeffGoldblum's suggestion, as he felt a heroic action was better than going by the script, where like Gennaro, Malcolm would get scared and run away.
12	* AlternateDVDCommentary: There's a Podcast/RiffTrax for the first movie featuring Music/WeirdAlYankovic. This also doubles as a ShoutOut to Weird Al's "[=MacArthur Park=]" FilkSong parody, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0 Jurassic Park]]".
13	* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/WayneKnight signed on to the film because they liked the idea of playing characters who get eaten alive by dinosaurs. Unfortunately though, both actors were disappointed that their characters' deaths were not shown in the finished film. Knight's character Nedry's death doesn't happen directly on-camera, and the scene where Jackson's character Arnold gets killed never got filmed (see WhatCouldHaveBeen).
14	* {{Blooper}}: Some of the labels for the dinosaur embryos are spelled incorrectly.
15	* CareerResurrection: This movie gave a much-needed boost to Creator/MichaelCrichton's flagging career. After the global success of this movie, Crichton became a hot commodity in Hollywood, with many of his novels adapted into movies.
16	* CastTheRunnerUp: Cameron Thor initially auditioned for the role of Ian Malcolm, before trying out for the role of Dodgson.
17	* ColbertBump: A [[https://www.cracked.com/article_32324_that-time-jurassic-park-almost-drove-a-species-to-extinction.html demand]] for Chilean sea bass (the dish served during the lunch scene) rose after the movie premiered. It was so big that the ''Patagonian toothfish'' that made up the dish ''nearly went extinct'' and a campaign was needed to stem the demand.
18	* TheDanza: Jophery, the worker who gets pulled into the raptor pen at the beginning, is played by Jophery C. Brown.
19	* DeletedScene: There was originally going to be a scene explaining that all the dinosaurs on the island had short, painful lives, due to how they were made.
20	* DescendedCreator: Dr. Harding, the veterinarian in the ''Triceratops'' scene is played by producer Jerry Molen. The making ofs even say his first name is [[TheDanza Gerry]].
21	* DevelopmentGag: One exchange between Grant and Malcolm ("We're out of a job", "Don't you mean extinct?") was first said by Phil Tippett and Spielberg when the latter showed him ILM's demo of computer-generated dinos that would make his [[StopMotion Go-Motion]] expertise unnecessary.
22	* DuelingDubs:
23	** The film has been dubbed in Hindi twice. The first dub was produced by Sound & Vision India. In 2006, a second dub was produced by Treasure Tower International for STAR Gold.
24	** There are three Brazilian Portuguese dubs: Alamo (home video, TV, and Netflix), Herbert Richers (Rede Globo), and Delart (3D theatrical re-release/Blu-Ray). Delart's dub kept much of the Herbert Richers cast.
25	* DuelingMovies:
26	** With ''Film/{{Carnosaur}}'' and ''Raptor''. Everyone remembers them... right?!
27	--->'''Creator/RogerEbert:''' ''(on ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', to Creator/GeneSiskel)'' ''You'' liked ''Carnosaur 2''!
28	** ''Jurassic Park'' also went up against ''Film/LastActionHero'' at the box office. ''Last Action Hero'' was already scheduled to June 1993 when ''Jurassic Park'' got the week before, and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger eventually pressed Columbia Pictures to move it to later knowing how hyped the dinosaurs were. The studio refused, thinking it was not a threat, resulting in a BoxOfficeBomb.
29	* EnforcedMethodActing:
30	** Creator/LauraDern was crying for real and was genuinely frightened in the scene in which Ellie (Dern) encounters the raptor in the maintenance shed scene.
31	** Likewise she was also crying ''real'' TearsOfJoy when she saw the Triceratops for the first time as the actors hadn't had a chance to see the huge animatronic before interacting with it.
32	** According to rumors, the ''T. rex'' robot was not supposed to smash through the roof window of the jeep, merely bump into it. The reaction from the kids as they raise their hands to block the window was apparently genuine.
33	* FakeAmerican: Grant is played by (Northern Irish-born) Kiwi actor Creator/SamNeill.
34	* FakeScot: John Hammond is played by Cambridgeshire-born Creator/RichardAttenborough.
35	* GenreKiller: A rare example where the film was such a smash hit and iconic that it became impossible for subsequent films to live up to it. Its own franchise notwithstanding, almost no one has bothered to make a serious live-action dinosaur movie afterward; and all films and video games that have happened to feature dinosaurs have, almost without exception, contained conscious nods to the franchise.
36	* IAmNotSpock: Even though Creator/JosephMazzello has acted well into his adult years, including major roles in popular works like ''Series/ThePacific'', ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'', and ''Film/BohemianRhapsody'', he's ''still'' known by the press and public as "the kid from ''Jurassic Park''".
37	* MemeAcknowledgment: Phil Tippet is fully aware of the meme as a "Dinosaur Supervisor" and [[https://imgur.com/sbxHK getting backlash for having dinosaurs escape, especially the raptors in the kitchen]]. He ran with it, and posted "[[https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10152135757907068&set=pb.100050272128501.-2207520000 I have one job]]" on his Website/{{Facebook}} account involving ''Film/JurassicWorld''.
38	* OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt: Universal greenlit ''Film/SchindlersList'' on the condition that Spielberg made ''Jurassic Park'' (which Spielberg learned of even before publication, as he and Michael Crichton discussed the script that would become ''Series/{{ER}}'') first. As soon as ''Jurassic Park'' wrapped he travelled to Poland to start the other film, along the way supervising (with the help of his friend, George Lucas) post-production in an experience described as using "every ounce of intuition on ''Schindler's List'' and every ounce of craft on ''Jurassic Park''".
39	* OneTakeWonder: Creator/JeffGoldblum claimed that his reaction to seeing a Brachiosaurus for the first time was captured in one take ("you crazy son-of-a-bitch, you did it"), with Creator/StevenSpielberg dictating to him off-camera what expression he wanted.
40	* PlayingAgainstType:
41	** The chief engineer of Jurassic Park was one of Creator/SamuelLJackson's earlier roles before he became known as the MemeticBadass he is today from films like ''Film/PulpFiction'' and ''Film/TheAvengers2012''. It can be a little odd for a viewer used to his other roles to see Mr. [[Film/SnakesOnAPlane Muthafuckin Snakes]] play a nerdy computer programmer (although he certainly has the hard-assed demeanor typical of those later roles).
42	** Creator/SamNeill's Dr. Alan Grant is probably the coolest headed member of the cast, in stark contrast with Neill's other roles, who tend to be varying levels of crazy, such as his role as [[Film/InTheMouthOfMadness Jonathan Trent]] only a year later.
43	* ProductionNickname:
44	** The ''T. rex'' was nicknamed "Roberta" by Phil Tippett. Still, the fandom prefers "Rexy", which Muldoon uses in the novel.
45	** The two raptors during the kitchen sequence were nicknamed "Randy" and "Kim" according to the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/jurassicpark/images/a/a2/Kitchendiagram.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20161104023918 storyboards made for the scene]]. "Randy" was the raptor who got locked in the freezer, while "Kim" was the one who followed Lex and Tim to the control room.
46	* RealitySubtext: An underlying subplot of the movie came to be where Grant and Elle had to contemplate that with REAL dinosaurs to look at their original profession has been changed forever and may have to start looking for a new job. The film was originally going to depict the dinosaurs with StopMotionAnimation done by the legendary Creator/PhilTippett, but in early production some computer animators showed what they can accomplish and Creator/StevenSpielberg immediately signed them on to drive the VFX. Tippett was very saddened knowing that this was going to be the start of a major VFX revolution (he was quickly re-hired as an animation director, since his experience there was still unrivaled). When Spielberg asked him how he felt he said "I feel like I've gone extinct" and Spielberg replied "I'm using that line."
47	* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/JeffGoldblum and Creator/LauraDern began a romantic relationship and were engaged for two years before breaking up.
48	* ScienceMarchesOn: Ironically enough. ''Jurassic Park'' was a standard-bearer of the Dinosaur Renaissance in the public consciousness, and much press was made that it would be the most scientifically up-to-date dinosaurs on film. And it certainly was...for ''1993''. However, a considerable number of discoveries, such as the fact that dromaeosaurs such as ''Velociraptor'' (and many other dinosaurs, including — perhaps — ''T. rex'') either had feathers or feather precursors, has left the film nearly as dated as the swamp-dwelling lumbering reptiles ''Jurassic Park's'' dinosaurs supplanted. Plus it was eventually estimated that DNA has a half life of 521 years, meaning it would be in no kind of salvageable state after 65 million years.
49	* SelfAdaptation: Michael Crichton was the first screenwriter and is one of the two credited writers, noting his script had "10 to 20 percent of the novel's content" for both toning down the violence and cutting what couldn't be done for budgetary and practical reasons.
50	* StarMakingRole: The second of two for Creator/JeffGoldblum. He wasn't exactly unknown before this film, having had roles in hits like ''Film/TheBigChill'' and his first example of the trope, ''Film/TheFly1986''. However, this is the one that made him a household name, especially overseas.
51	* TechnologyMarchesOn:
52	** It's a little strange seeing Timmy and Lex flip out at the sight of the [=CD-ROM=] inside the Jeeps.
53	--->'''Lex:''' Wow! An interactive CD-ROM!
54	** The bizarre 3D interface [[http://www.siliconbunny.com/fsn-the-irix-3d-file-system-tool-from-jurassic-park/ was a real file-browsing tool]] made for a custom UNIX distro that shipped with Silicon Graphics workstations.
55	** When Nedry's seemingly talking on a videoconference call, he's actually just talking to some [=QuickTime=] movies. Moviegoers these days are more likely to detect and understand the scrollbars on the bottom of the screen.
56	** It's now very striking that no one in the movie has a cell phone. Admittedly, it wouldn't change the plot too much since cell service would presumably disappear after the island lost power. Really, the part that seems dated is that when the characters say, "the phones are out," they're talking about landlines.
57	* ThrowItIn:
58	** The shot of waves breaking over a pier in the storm is actual footage of Hurricane Iniki making landfall in Hawaii that Spielberg filmed outside the crew's hotel.
59	** While ILM's artists jumped off plastic tubes to give footage reference for the ''Gallimimus'' leaping over a fallen tree, one ended crashing to the ground. [[http://www.fxguide.com/featured/welcome-back-to-jurassic-park/ As a result, one of the dinos falls on the scene too, as the animators felt that "If it happened to Ty, it would likely have happened in the wild."]]
60	** During filming of the scene of Lex falling through the ceiling while fleeing a raptor the stunt woman accidentally looked up at the camera for a split-second. ILM were able to [[DigitalHeadSwap replace her face]] with that of Ariana Richards, allowing them to keep the shot in the movie and adding to the tension of the moment.
61	** When Gennaro runs into the bathroom, and backs up and lands on the toilet, Martin Ferraro actually did land on the toilet which Spielberg kept in due to its authenticity.
62	** When Muldoon and Ellie arrive at the ''T. rex'' paddock, Bob Peck slips in the mud in the background while rounding the corner of the remaining Explorer before catching himself and continuing the scene like nothing happened.
63	* TroubledProduction: While production went mostly right, even with all the complex effects, a hurricane destroyed all sets (as listed above, the storm in the film includes footage of that) which led to some scenes being left unfilmed. Of note is the puppet of the ''T. rex'', which soaked up water from the rain in its first scene, stressing the internal mechanism until it started shaking, and the crew would need to literally towel off all the excess water before resuming filming.
64	* UncreditedRole: Malia Scotch Marmo did some re-writes on the final script, but remains uncredited.
65	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/JurassicPark Shares part of a page]].

Context Trivia / JurassicPark1993