JURASSIC PARK III

Year: 2001
USA: Universal Pictures
UK: UIP
Cast: Sam Neill, Tea Leoni, William H Macy, Alessandro Nivola, Laura Dern, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter, John Diehl, Bruce A Young, Taylor Nichols, Mark Harelik, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Sarah Danielle Madison, Linda Park, Sonia Jackson
Director: Joe Johnston
Country: USA
UK: 92mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence
UK Certificate: PG
USA Release Date: 18 July 2001
UK Release Date: 20 July 2001


Synopsis

He devoted his entire life to the study of dinosaurs, but he never imagined he'd have to be face-to-face with them ... again.

One of the world's foremost palaeontologists, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) was extremely sceptical eight years ago when he accepted an invitation from industrialist John Hammond. Hoping to gain Grant's endorsement, Hammond had offered the scientist and several colleagues a preview tour of his company InGen's latest brainchild, a unique tourist attraction located on Isla Nublar, a remote island located near Costa Rica. Unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, Jurassic Park would allow visitors to interact with genetically engineered dinosaurs.

But for everyone who accompanied Hammond on the fateful trip, the experience quickly turned into a terrifying nightmare as the cloned Velociraptors, T-rexes and other prehistoric creatures claimed the would-be amusement park as their own. Narrowly escaping death, Grant was determined to put the incident behind him. Although personally shaken, his commitment to the study of dinosaurs remained firmly intact.

Eight years later, InGen's debacle as well as the political and economic climate have taken their toll in the area of dinosaur research, as public and private funding are becoming increasingly extinct. Desperate to fund research for his new theory of Velociraptor intelligence, Grant is particularly vulnerable when wealthy adventurer Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) and his wife Amanda (Tea Leoni) approach him with a proposition. They will open their check book to him if he will accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Soma, a second InGen site. Just adjacent to Isla Nublar, this quarantined island has become both a primordial breeding ground for John Hammond's creations and a magnet for thrillseekers eager to encounter them.

Accompanied by his protege (Alessandro Nivola), Grant suspects that something's not right when the pilot prepares to actually land on the island. Angry and alarmed, Grant begins to protest when out of nowhere an enormous creature appears in the path of the plane, forcing it to crash into the jungle treetops.

Once again stranded on an island inhabited by genetically cloned dinosaurs, Grant finally discovers his deceptive hosts' true reason for inviting him on this journey. This excursion was never intended to simply be an aerial tour but, in fact, a search and rescue mission. The Kirbys are actually a middle class, divorced couple reunited for the sole purpose of finding their 14-year-old son Eric (Trevor Morgan), who disappeared while vacationing with Amanda's boyfriend. Aware of Grant's prior trip to Jurassic Park as well as his current financial hardship, the couple desperately concocted this elaborate scheme hoping to find an experienced guide to lead them to their child. But they overlooked the fact that Grant's prior visit was to Isla Nublar, not Isla Sorna.

Now, as they attempt to locate Eric and find a way to escape with their lives, the marooned group must encounter terrifying new creatures undisclosed by InGen, including the massive Spinosaurus, which can hunt both on land and underwater, and the flying Pteranodons. And Dr. Alan Grant is forced to learn the dreadful implications of his raptor intelligence theory firsthand.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment present JURASSIC PARK III, which continues the adventure that began with JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD. Kathleen Kennedy and Larry Franco are the producers and Spielberg is executive producer. Based on characters created by Michael Crichton, JURASSIC PARK III was written by Peter Buchman and Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Paleontologist Jack Horner, who served as technical advisor on JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD is back to reprise those duties. JURASSIC PARK III began production in Hawaii on August 30, 2000. After four weeks of filming on the islands of Oahu, Molokai and Kauai, the company settled in at Universal Studios, where production wrapped on January 20, 2001.