Author | Michael Crichton |
---|---|
Cover artist | Chip Kidd |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | November 20, 1990 [1] |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
Pages | 399 |
ISBN | 0-394-58816-9 |
OCLC | 22511027 |
813/.54 20 | |
LC Class | PS3553.R48 J87 1990 |
Followed by | The Lost World |
Jurassic Park is a 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton; [2] it is a cautionary tale about genetic engineering that presents the collapse of a zoological park which showcases genetically recreated dinosaurs to illustrate the mathematical concept of chaos theory [3] and its real-world implications. A sequel titled The Lost World , also written by Crichton, was published in 1995. Two years later, both novels were republished as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World.
Jurassic Park received a 1993 film adaptation of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film ever at the time and spawning the Jurassic Park franchise, including multiple film sequels.
In 1989, strange animal attacks occur throughout Costa Rica. One of the species behind the attacks is believed to be Procompsognathus , an extinct dinosaur. Paleontologist Alan Grant and his paleobotanist colleague Ellie Sattler are contacted to confirm the animal's identity, but are abruptly whisked away by billionaire John Hammond, the founder of bioengineering firm InGen, for a weekend visit to a "biological preserve" he has established on Isla Nublar, near Costa Rica.
The "preserve" is a cover for the construction of Jurassic Park, a theme park showcasing living dinosaurs. Construction is nearly complete; the dinosaurs have been recreated using ancient DNA found in the blood inside insects that were fossilized and preserved in amber. Gaps in the genetic code were filled in with reptilian, avian, or amphibian DNA. All dinosaurs are engineered to be female, to prevent unauthorized breeding.
The recent attacks have made Hammond's investors skittish. Hammond requests that Grant and Sattler tour the park and endorse it ahead of the park's opening. They are joined by mathematician and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm, and a lawyer representing the investors, Donald Gennaro: both of whom are pessimistic about the park. Malcolm, consulted before the park's creation, is emphatic that the park will collapse. Hammond also invites his grandchildren, Tim and Alexis 'Lex' Murphy, to join the tour. The park staff present comprise engineer John Arnold, biotechnologist Henry Wu, game warden Robert Muldoon, PR manager Ed Regis, chief programmer Dennis Nedry, veterinarian Harding, and several laborers. While touring the park, Grant finds a Velociraptor eggshell, seemingly proving Malcolm's assertion that the dinosaurs are breeding against the geneticists' design. Grant deduces that using frog DNA to fill gaps in the dinosaurs' genetic code resulted in an environment that was conducive to dichogamy, causing some of the female dinosaurs to become males and establish a breeding population. The park's automated computer tally failed to include newborns, having been programmed to stop counting once the expected total number of animals was found.
Nedry, disgruntled with Hammond due to the latter's pushing out-of-scope work in developing the park's software systems, commits corporate espionage for Lewis Dodgson: an employee of InGen's rival Biosyn. Activating a backdoor he wrote into the park's software, he disables the security systems and steals frozen embryos for the park's fifteen dinosaur species. Attempting to rendezvous with Dodgson's agent, he becomes lost due to a tropical storm. Without Nedry to reactivate the park's systems, the dinosaurs can roam freely due to electric fences being turned off. He is killed by a Dilophosaurus , and a Tyrannosaurus rex attacks the tour group. Grant saves the children before escaping with them into the jungle, Regis is killed by a juvenile T. rex, and Malcolm is gravely injured but rescued by Muldoon and Gennaro.
The park staff try rebooting the park's computers to reverse Nedry's sabotage but fail to notice that only the auxiliary power generator restarts. Its fuel supply soon runs out, again shutting down the park. The park's intelligent and aggressive Velociraptors escape their enclosure before killing Arnold and Wu. Grant, and the children make their way back to the island's control complex by rafting down a jungle river, narrowly escaping multiple dinosaur attacks. Grant turns on the park's main generators, and Tim reactivates the park's systems. Gennaro recalls a supply boat traveling from the island to the mainland, acting on the suspicions of Grant and the children that dinosaurs are aboard.
Hammond, walking outdoors while contemplating InGen's future, is killed by a pack of Procompsognathus after he falls down a hill and breaks his ankle. Grant, Sattler, Muldoon, and Gennaro find the wild raptor nests and compare hatched eggs with the island's revised population tally, before realizing that raptors are attempting to migrate off the island.
Malcolm dies from his injuries. Everyone is evacuated by the Costa Rican Air Force, which declared the dinosaurs hazardous and razed the island with napalm. The survivors are detained in a Costa Rican hotel. Weeks later, Grant is visited by Dr. Martin Gutierrez: an American doctor who lives in Costa Rica. Gutierrez informs Grant that an unknown pack of animals has been migrating through the Costa Rican jungle, indicating that dinosaurs have escaped the island and returned to Earth's ecosystem.
Crichton began working on the project in 1981, but soon set it aside because there "seemed to be an enormous mania about dinosaurs" at the time, and he was hesitant to "ride a current fashion". He eventually proceeded after concluding that the public's fascination with dinosaurs "was permanent." [4] The novel began as a screenplay, completed by Crichton in 1983, about a graduate student who recreates a pterosaur. [4] [5] According to Crichton, "It was a very different story. It was about the person who did the cloning, operating alone and in secret. It just wasn't satisfactory." [6] He said further, "I just waited to see if I could ever figure out how to make it work. It took quite a few years." [6]
Eventually, given his reasoning that genetic research is expensive and "there is no pressing need to create a dinosaur", Crichton concluded that it would emerge from a "desire to entertain", leading to a wildlife park of extinct animals. [7] From there, Crichton chose to proceed with the story as a novel rather than a screenplay, later explaining "it wasn't clear that anyone would ever make this story into a movie, because it would be very expensive." [6]
The novel was originally told from the point of view of a young boy, who is present at the park as the dinosaurs escape. Crichton had a handful of people who he relied upon to give opinions on his early drafts; the group unanimously "hated" his first draft of Jurassic Park but could not pinpoint why. Crichton wrote two more drafts, which also failed to impress the group. One of the readers then realized that the story would function better if it were told from an adult point of view. Crichton followed this advice and eventually won over the group. [4]
Jurassic Park critiques the dystopian potentialities of modern science. Ian Malcolm is the conscience that reminds John Hammond of the immoral and unnatural path that has been taken. The final condition of the park is epitomized by the word "hell", which highlights the nature of Hammond's sacrilegious attempt. [8]
Crichton's novel is another version of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus , where humanity creates something without truly knowing anything about it. Henry Wu is unable to name the things that he creates, which alludes to Victor Frankenstein not knowing what to call his flawed imitation of God's creation. The immorality of these actions lead to human destruction, echoing Frankenstein. [9]
As Dale Speirs notes at p. 18 of "Vanished Worlds: Part 6" in Opuntia 483 (Sept. 2020), [10] Jurassic Park resembles Katharine Metcalf Roof's November 1930 Weird Tales story "A Million Years After", about dinosaurs hatching from millions-of-years-old eggs. [11]
Similar to how his other novels represent science and technology as both hazardous and life-changing, Crichton's novel highlights the hypocrisy and superiority complex of the scientific community that inspired John Hammond to re-create dinosaurs and treat them as commodities, which only lead to eventual catastrophe. Crichton uses the opening of the book to highlight the shift of scientific research from occurring in universities for the betterment of all mankind, to private labs where research is conducted "...in secret...in haste, and for-profit". The similar fears of atomic power from the Cold War are adapted by Crichton onto the anxieties evoked by genetic manipulation. [12]
The book became a bestseller and Crichton's signature novel, with largely favorable reviews by critics. In a review for The New York Times , Christopher Lehmann-Haupt described it as "a superior specimen of the [Frankenstein] myth" and "easily the best of Mr. Crichton's novels to date". [13] Writing for Entertainment Weekly , Gene Lyons held that the book was "hard to beat for sheer intellectual entertainment" largely because it was "[f]illed with diverting, up-to-date information in easily digestible form". [14] Both Lyons' Entertainment Weekly piece and Andrew Ferguson's review in the Los Angeles Times , however, criticized Crichton's characterization as heavy-handed and his characters as clichéd. Ferguson further complained about Ian Malcolm's "dime-store philosophizing" and predicted that the film adaptation of the book would be "undoubtedly trashy". He conceded that the book's "only real virtue" was "its genuinely interesting discussions of dinosaurs, DNA research, paleontology and chaos theory". [15]
In 1996, it was awarded the Secondary BILBY Award. [16]
The novel eventually led to the Jurassic Park franchise, starting with a 1993 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. It was distributed by Universal Pictures, which acquired the film rights to the novel in 1990. Crichton performed early work on the film's screenplay, with David Koepp eventually taking over. [6]
The film adaptation excised much of the scientific dialogue, with Crichton saying, "I feel very strongly that books should be the best books they can be, and you should not worry about what the movie will do. In movies, a little bit of that kind of dialogue goes a long way. A movie like Jurassic Park is not the format to have extended discussions on the scientific paradigm." [6] The film was a critical and commercial success, [17] leading to a sequel novel by Crichton, titled The Lost World and published in 1995. Spielberg returned to direct the 1997 film adaptation, titled The Lost World: Jurassic Park .
No further novels were written by Crichton, although the film series would continue, with Spielberg involved as executive producer. Jurassic Park III was released in 2001, and the Jurassic World series began in 2015. Although not based directly on the novels, these films do include elements from the novel that were unused in the first film. [18]
John Michael Crichton was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. Crichton's novels often explore human technological advancement and attempted dominance over nature, both with frequently catastrophic results; many of his works are cautionary tales, especially regarding themes of biotechnology. Several of his stories center on themes of genetic modification, hybridization, paleontology and/or zoology. Many feature medical or scientific underpinnings, reflective of his own medical training and scientific background.
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen, and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough. It is the first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and is based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp. The film is set on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, off Central America's Pacific Coast near Costa Rica, where a wealthy businessman John Hammond (Attenborough), and a team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs. When industrial sabotage leads to a catastrophic shutdown of the park's power facilities and security precautions, a small group of visitors, including Hammond's grandchildren, struggle to survive and escape the now perilous island.
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the final film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, following The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). It is also the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as the first not to be based on a novel by Michael Crichton; however, the film features characters and ideas by Crichton. Sam Neill and Laura Dern reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan and Michael Jeter. The plot involves a divorced couple who, via subterfuge, enlist the help of paleontologist Alan Grant to find their son, who has gone missing on Isla Sorna.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 American science fiction action film, directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp. It is the second installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the original Jurassic Park trilogy. A sequel to 1993's Jurassic Park, it is loosely based on Michael Crichton's 1995 novel The Lost World. Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough reprise their roles from the original film with Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, and Arliss Howard joining the cast.
Dr. Alan Grant is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is a paleontologist and is introduced in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, which began the franchise. Crichton based Grant on the paleontologist Jack Horner who was by happenstance technical advisor for the movies. Director Steven Spielberg helmed the 1993 film adaptation, and several actors were considered for the role of Grant. It ultimately went to Sam Neill, becoming one of his most popular roles. Spielberg gave the character a dislike of children, and put him in a relationship with Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist who is Grant's student in the novel. Sattler, portrayed by Laura Dern, wants to start a family with Grant, who is resistant to the idea.
Jurassic Park: The Ride, also known as the Jurassic Park River Adventure is a water-based amusement ride based on the Steven Spielberg 1993 film Jurassic Park and Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name which the film is based on located at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. It was formerly located at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, where it was turned into Jurassic World: The Ride on July 12, 2019.
Dr. Ellie Sattler is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. She is introduced in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, which began the franchise. Steven Spielberg directed the 1993 film adaptation, casting Laura Dern as Sattler and giving the character a more substantial role compared to the novel. She is a paleobotanist in both the novel and its film adaptation. In the novel, she is a student of Dr. Alan Grant. For the film, Spielberg made them a romantic couple, with Sam Neill portraying Grant.
Jurassic Park, later also referred to as Jurassic World, is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment bought the rights to Crichton's novel Jurassic Park before it was published. The book was successful, as was Steven Spielberg's 1993 film adaptation. The film received a theatrical 3D re-release in 2013, and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Crichton's 1995 sequel novel, The Lost World, was followed by a 1997 film adaptation, also directed by Spielberg. Crichton did not write any further sequels in the series, although Spielberg would return as executive producer for each subsequent film, starting with Jurassic Park III (2001).
The Lost World is a 1995 science fiction action novel written by Michael Crichton, and the sequel to his 1990 novel Jurassic Park. It is his tenth novel under his own name and his twentieth overall, and it was published by Knopf. A paperback edition (ISBN 0-345-40288-X) followed in 1996. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World, which is unrelated to the 2015 film of the same name.
Dr. John Hammond is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is introduced in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, which began the franchise. Steven Spielberg directed the 1993 film adaptation of the same name, casting Richard Attenborough as Hammond.
Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition is a 1994 side-scrolling video game developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. It is the sequel to Sega's previous Jurassic Park video game, based on the film of the same name and also released for the Genesis. Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition is a revamped version of its predecessor, featuring similar gameplay with several changes, and a new story that continues from where the previous game ended.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 science fiction action film directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow. The sequel to Jurassic World (2015), it is the second installment in the Jurassic World series and the fifth installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, and Jeff Goldblum reprise their roles from previous films in the series, with Toby Jones, Ted Levine, and Rafe Spall joining the cast. The story follows Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as they return to the fictional Central American island of Isla Nublar to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from an impending volcanic eruption, only to discover a mercenary team's ulterior motives to bring them to the US mainland.
Production of the 2015 film Jurassic World was stalled for years in development hell while the film's storyline underwent numerous revisions. Development of the film, known then as Jurassic Park IV, began in 2001. William Monahan was announced as screenwriter in 2002, and the film was scheduled for a 2005 release. When Monahan left to work on another project, he was replaced in 2004 by John Sayles. By 2005, the start of production had stalled, as executive producer Steven Spielberg was not satisfied with any of the script drafts. In 2006, Jurassic Park III director Joe Johnston was set to direct the film. After missing a 2008 release, Johnston and Spielberg intended to work on the film following the completion of their own respective film projects. Writer Mark Protosevich was hired in 2011, although two story treatments by him were rejected.
Dr. Ian Malcolm is a fictional character from the Jurassic Park franchise created by Michael Crichton and portrayed by Jeff Goldblum. Malcolm is a gifted mathematician who specializes in chaos theory. The character was inspired in part by American historian of science James Gleick and French mathematician Ivar Ekeland. In Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park and its 1993 film adaptation, Malcolm is invited by insurance lawyer Donald Gennaro to notice any problems with John Hammond's dinosaur theme park, Jurassic Park. Malcolm was intended by Crichton to fill in the role of the audience in the scenarios he is put through. Malcolm is a secondary protagonist in the original novel and the main protagonist in the sequel, The Lost World, due to positive fan reception from Goldblum's performance as the character in director Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of the original novel.
Jurassic Park, later also referred to as Jurassic World, is an American science fiction adventure media franchise. It focuses on the cloning of dinosaurs through ancient DNA, extracted from mosquitoes that have been fossilized in amber. The franchise explores the ethics of cloning and genetic engineering, and the morals behind de-extinction.
Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar is a legacy board game, the first to be developed by Funko's design division, Prospero Hall. It is based on the first five films in the Jurassic Park franchise. After years in development, the game was announced in September 2021. It was launched as a Kickstarter project six months later, and quickly achieved its $100,000 fundraising goal. It was released in October 2022. Early reception was generally positive.
Dr. Henry Wu is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is introduced in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, which began the franchise. He also appears briefly in the novel's 1993 film adaptation and plays a larger role in the Jurassic World film trilogy. Dr. Wu is the lead geneticist for the dinosaur theme parks Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, overseeing the de-extinction of dinosaurs through genetic engineering. He is killed by a Velociraptor in the book, but survives throughout the film series, in which he is portrayed by actor BD Wong. Although Wu is a supporting character in the novel, he has a drastically reduced role in the film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg. Wong and Wu are both Asian-American, and the actor believed that the role was reduced, to his disappointment, because of "racial exclusion in Hollywood".
Owen Grady is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is introduced in the fourth film Jurassic World (2015), which is also the first installment in the Jurassic World trilogy. Colin Trevorrow directed and co-wrote the film, casting Chris Pratt as Owen. He is one of the three main protagonists in the trilogy, along with his love interest Claire Dearing, and his adoptive daughter, Maisie Lockwood, who made her debut in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Owen is a U.S. Navy veteran and animal behavioral scientist researching Velociraptor at the dinosaur theme park Jurassic World, located on Isla Nublar. By the end of Jurassic World, he and Claire begin a relationship.
Rexy is the colloquial nickname for a fictional Tyrannosaurus that appears throughout the Jurassic Park franchise. She first appeared in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, and made its onscreen debut in the 1993 film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg. She returns in the 2015 film Jurassic World and its sequels, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).