December 8, 2008
Is It Curtains for Jurassic Park IV?
When I know I’m in the mood for a movie but don’t know what I want to watch, I often put Jurassic Park III in the DVD player. Not because it’s a good movie—quite the contrary—but because I love seeing the digital dinos create havoc on-screen. The story might have been silly and the acting sub-par, but at least the dinosaurs looked good.
Three Jurassic Park films might have been enough for Universal, however. Ever since the last one fizzled at the box office, there has been speculation about when (if ever) we are going to see a fourth movie. Every now and again a rumor pops up about a potential story, actors confirm or disavow their involvement, and fans upload homemade JP IV trailers to YouTube.
But according to Jurassic Park producer Kathleen Kennedy, the franchise may have met its demise. When asked whether a fourth film was still in development, she said, “No… I don’t know. You know, when Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s a sign that we don’t mess with it.”
Crichton was not involved in the creation of the third film and had not been mentioned in connection with the fourth, but the death of special effects guru Stan Winston this past year may also hinder efforts to bring the dinosaurs back. Winston and his team had created the life-size dinosaur puppets and animatronics for the series, and had been working on the effects for Jurassic Park IV.
Then again, in Hollywood, anything can happen, and maybe we will one day see another Jurassic Park. If producers decide to develop it, though, the most significant obstacle they will face will be the development of an original story. I’d say they’ve tapped out the “trapped on an island with dinosaurs” genre, and like many other fans I’d like to see the dinosaurs run around on the mainland. What about you? What would you like to see in a fourth Jurassic Park film?
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JP3 opened at #1 with $50 million and was one of the top movies of the year overall, raking in nearly half a billion worldwide. Not exactly Dark Knight or JP1 numbers, but far from a “fizzle.”
I don’t buy into the deaths of Crichton or Winston having any bearing on the future of the film franchise. As stated, Crichton’s involvement in the sequels was already minimal (a “based on characters by” credit was his only contribution to the third). With all due respect to Stan Winston’s brilliance, GCI (when done right) has already surpassed full-size puppets in terms of realism (compare the limber, agile CGI compies in JP2 to their stiff, mechanical counterparts), budget, and practicality. Even so, Stan Winston Studios still lives on in the absense of its founder.
What I think they are wisely doing is simply waiting. Let a little more time pass to distance the series from the next movie rather than rushing something out.
What they really need to do is get back to the tone of the original film: the sequels were straight-up action flicks, but a little science lesson never hurt anyone. I would really like to see a potential fouth film tie up some of the loose ends in the other movies, and bring to the screen some of the scenes from the wonderful novels that haven’t been done yet.
Get rid of Horner. That’s the first step. After that, we need a new cast of characters. Maybe a prequel? Show how Hammond got the idea and started the project. Show the process by which the park was built and the dinosaurs raised. The trials and errors. The settlement of two different islands (Isla Nubla & Sorna).
The “action” plot could revolve around Dodson’s company (I forget its name) inserting a spy into the science staff to figure out how Hammond is cloning dinosaurs.
I’m in for another SO long as it is either, way more scientifically sound than JP3 OR so outlandish no one can mistake it for real facts. I’m so sick of kids telling me Spinosaurus was a mighty Dino killer (granted it’d no doubt put some mighty fear into the local fish!).
The idea of raptors tweaked to carry guns and hunt other Dinosaurs had me pretty primed to be honest. So stupid its cool!
Though an intellegent movie with Dinos acting as a metaphor for introduced alien species would be cool. Especially if it didn’t have a fix the overall problem by the end solution, but rather left the Dinos and thus the real problem of foreign species in the audiences mind as they left the theatre… and of course the door wide open for more movies ;p
A prequel sounds good but, at his point, I’d be happy as long as they make it or say their not going to. I’m sick of all the rumors and delays. I want to see it.
What I want in the next film? Let’s see…
1. Paleontologically accurate.
2. Good Story
3. Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant
4. Bring the characters form the first film back.
5. NO SPINOSAUR!!!!
6. Maybe, keep the Rex…
7. Dinos on the Mainland.
8. Add some elements from the book
9. Reference back to Chaos Theory and InGen.
10. AND….Possibly…get rid of Horner or hire more Paleontologists with Horner(like Jurassic Fight Club or Walking with Dinosaurs)
11. Oh yeah…Spielberg in the Dino Directors chair. Johnston ruined the Franchise.
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