Return to Jurassic Park
A multi-part documentary about the making of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each part walks through the making of part of one of the films, including the hurricane during the shooting of the first film, and how advances in CGI for Jurassic Park helped change the world of special effects forever. All interviews for these retrospective documentaries come with comments from Spielberg, Johnston, Neill, Dern, Goldblum, the effects crews, the child actors, and Peter Stormare. This documentary is broken into six parts: Dawn of a New Era (25 min), Making Prehistory (20 min), The Next Step in Evolution (15 min), Finding the Lost World (28 min), Something Survived (16 min), and The Third Adventure (25 min).
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Main Cast
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, writer and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spielberg is the recipient of various accolades, including three Academy Awards, a Kennedy Center honor, four Directors Guild of America Awards, two BAFTA Awards, a Cecil B. DeMille Award and an AFI Life Achievement Award. Seven of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He moved to California and studied film in college. After directing several episodes for television including Night Gallery and Columbo, he directed the television film Duel (1971) which gained acclaim from critics and audiences. He made his directorial film debut with The Sugarland Express (1974), and became a household name with the 1975 summer blockbuster Jaws. He then directed huge box office successes Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and the Indiana Jones original trilogy (1981-89). Spielberg subsequently explored drama in the acclaimed The Color Purple (1985) and Empire of the Sun (1987). After a brief hiatus, Spielberg directed the science fiction thriller Jurassic Park (1993), the highest-grossing film ever at the time, and the Holocaust drama Schindler's List (1993), which has often been listed as one of the greatest films ever made. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the latter and for the 1998 World War II epic Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg continued in the 2000s with science fiction films A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005). He also directed the adventure films The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Ready Player One (2018); the historical dramas Amistad (1997), Munich (2005), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015) and The Post (2017); the musical West Side Story (2021); and the semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans (2022). He has been a producer on several successful films, including Poltergeist (1982), Gremlins (1984), Back to the Future (1985) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) as well as the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001). Spielberg co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks, and has served as a producer for many successful films and television series. He is also known for his long collaboration with the composer John Williams, with whom he has worked for all but five of his feature films. Several of Spielberg's works are among the highest-grossing and greatest films all time. Premiere ranked him first place in the list of 100 Most Powerful People in Movies in 2003. In 2013, Time listed him as one of the 100 most influential people.
Known For
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as Jurassic Park (1993) and Independence Day (1996), as well as their respective sequels, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and Independence Day: Resurgence (2016). Goldblum also starred in films including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Big Chill (1983), and Into the Night (1985), before coming to wider attention as Seth Brundle in The Fly (1986), which earned him a Saturn Award for Best Actor. His other films include The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), The Tall Guy (1989), Deep Cover (1992), Powder (1995), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Cats & Dogs (2001), Igby Goes Down (2002), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Adam Resurrected (2008), Le Week-End (2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Goldblum has also starred in several TV series, including the eighth and ninth seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Zack Nichols. He directed the short film Little Surprises, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Description above is from the Wikipedia article Jeff Goldblum, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Sam Neill
Sir Nigel John Dermot 'Sam' Neill, KNZM OBE (born September 14, 1947) is an Ireland-born New Zealand actor. His career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III. He has also had a number of high-profile roles including: the lead in Reilly, Ace of Spies, the adult Damien in Omen III: The Final Conflict, Merlin in the miniseries Merlin, Captain Vasily Borodin in The Hunt for Red October, Lord Friedrich Hoffman in Snow White: A Tale of Terror, and Alisdair Stewart in The Piano. He also portayed Cardinal Thomas Wolsey on Showtime's The Tudors.
Known For
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, Dern embarked on an acting career in the 1980s and rose to some prominence for her performances in Mask (1985) and David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild at Heart (1990). She received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of the titular orphan in the drama film Rambling Rose (1991) and achieved international recognition for her role in Steven Spielberg's adventure film Jurassic Park (1993), a role that she reprised in the 2001 sequel Jurassic Park III. After winning two Golden Globe Awards for her performances as Katherine Harris in the television film Recount (2008) and Amy Jellicoe in the comedy-drama series Enlightened (2011–2013), Dern garnered her second Academy Award nomination for her work in the biopic Wild (2014). In 2017, she began starring as Renata Klein in the drama series Big Little Lies, winning a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award, and reunited with David Lynch for Twin Peaks: The Return. She has since played supporting roles in the films Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Marriage Story (2019), and Little Women (2019). Her performance in Marriage Story won her an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award, both for Best Supporting Actress. Description above from the Wikipedia article Laura Dern, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Fay Wray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Fay Wray (born Vina Fay Wray; September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress. Through an acting career that spanned 57 years, Wray attained international stardom as an actress in horror film roles, leading to many considering her as the first "scream queen". After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention being selected as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars". This led to Wray being signed to Paramount Pictures as a teenager, where she made more than a dozen films. After leaving Paramount, she signed deals with various film companies, being cast in her first horror film roles. For RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., she starred in the film with which she is most identified, King Kong (1933). After the success of King Kong, Wray appeared in more minor film roles and on television, leading to her final role in 1980. Description above from the Wikipedia article Fay Wray, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008), best known as Michael Crichton, was an American author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted into films. In 1994, Crichton became the only creative artist ever to have works simultaneously charting at #1 in television, film, and book sales (with ER, Jurassic Park, and Disclosure, respectively). His literary works are usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. His novels epitomize the techno-thriller genre of literature, often exploring technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and science background. He was the author of, among others, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Travels, Sphere, Rising Sun, Disclosure, The Lost World, Airframe, Timeline, Prey, State of Fear, Next (the final book published before his death), Pirate Latitudes (published November 24, 2009), and a final unfinished techno-thriller yet to be released. Forbes listed Crichton in tenth place in its list of "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities" of 2009.
Known For
Joseph Mazzello
Joseph Francis Mazzello (born September 21, 1983), sometimes credited as Joe Mazzello, is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park (1993), Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network (2010) and Queen bass player John Deacon in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). His first film appearance was a small role in 1990 film Presumed Innocent. He then went on to appear in Radio Flyer, Jersey Girl and the TV film Desperate Choices: To Save My Child in 1992. In 1993, he gained further recognition after starring in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park as Tim Murphy and in Richard Attenborough's Shadowlands. He later appeared in 1994's The River Wild. In 1995, he had roles in The Cure and Three Wishes. His first film role in 2001 was in Wooly Boys. In 2002, he made his television debut on Providence. He then appeared on CBS' hit shows CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace. Afterwards, he appeared in Raising Helen (2004), The Hollow (2004), The Sensation of Sight (2006), and the short film Beyond All Boundaries (2009). He made his directorial debut with the short film Matters of Life and Death (2007). In 2010, Mazzello played Dustin Moskovitz in the David Fincher-directed film The Social Network. His performance was well-received by critics, and he and the cast were nominated for several awards. He went on to appear in G.I. Joe: Retaliation as G.I. Joe operative Mouse in 2013, and starred as John Deacon in the 2018 Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. Description above is from the Wikipedia article Joseph Mazzello, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Ariana Richards
Ariana Clarice Richards is an American award-winning painter and actress. She is best known for her role as Lex Murphy in the blockbuster film Jurassic Park. She won several Young Artist Awards for her acting as a child, but as an adult has focused primarily on her art career.
Known For
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before experiencing wider recognition with the 1996 movie, Swingers. He has since appeared in numerous films including The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Cell, Zoolander, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Anchorman (1 & 2), Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wedding Crashers, Four Christmases, The Break-Up, Couples Retreat, The Dilemma, The Internship, Hacksaw Ridge, and Freaky, among others.
Known For
Pete Postlethwaite
Pete Postlethwaite (February 7, 1946 - January 2, 2011) was an English stage, film and television actor. After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr. Kobayashi, in The Usual Suspects, and he appeared in Alien 3, In the Name of the Father, Amistad, Brassed Off, The Shipping News, The Constant Gardener, The Age of Stupid, Inception, The Town, Romeo + Juliet, and Æon Flux. In television, Postlethwaite's most notable performance was as the villain Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill in the Sharpe television series and television movies opposite actor Sean Bean's character of Richard Sharpe. Postlethwaite was born in Warrington, England in 1946. He trained as a teacher and taught drama before training as an actor. Steven Spielberg called Postlethwaite "the best actor in the world" after working with him on The Lost World: Jurassic Park. He received an Academy Award nomination for his role in In the Name of the Father in 1993, and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year's Honours List. He died of pancreatic cancer.
Known For
Julianne Moore
Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, as well as for her roles in blockbusters. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards. After studying theater at Boston University, Moore began her career with a series of television roles. From 1985 to 1988, she was a regular in the soap opera As the World Turns, earning a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance. Her film debut was in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), and she continued to play small roles for the next four years, including in the thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992). Moore first received critical attention with Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), and successive performances in Vanya on 42nd Street (1994) and Safe (1995) continued this acclaim. Starring roles in the blockbusters Nine Months (1995) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) established her as a Hollywood leading lady. Moore received considerable recognition in the late 1990s and early 2000s, earning Academy Award nominations for Boogie Nights (1997), The End of the Affair (1999), Far from Heaven (2002) and The Hours (2002). In the first of these, she played a 1970s pornographic actress, while in the other three, she starred as a mid-20th century unhappy housewife. She also had success with the films The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), Hannibal (2001), Children of Men (2006), A Single Man (2009), The Kids Are All Right (2010), and Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011). She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Sarah Palin in the television film Game Change (2012). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of an Alzheimer's patient in Still Alice (2014) and was named Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Maps to the Stars (2014). Among her highest-grossing releases are the final two films in the series The Hunger Games and the spy film Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). In addition to her acting work, Moore has written a series of children's books about a character named "Freckleface Strawberry". In 2015, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2020, The New York Times named her one of the greatest actors of the 21st century. She is married to director Bart Freundlich, with whom she has two children.
Known For
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the second highest-grossing actor of all time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him an Academy Honorary Award in 2022 as "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide". Jackson started his career on stage making his professional theatre debut in Mother Courage and her Children in 1980 at The Public Theatre. From 1981 to 1983 he originated the role of Private Louis Henderson in A Soldier's Play Off-Broadway. He also originated the role of Boy Willie in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson in 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He returned to the play in the 2022 Broadway revival playing Doaker Charles. Jackson early film roles include Coming to America (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Juice (1992), True Romance (1993), and Jurassic Park (1993), Menace II Society (1993), and Fresh (1994). His collaborations with Spike Lee led to greater prominence with films such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Oldboy (2013), and Chi-Raq (2015). Jackson's breakout role was in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) which earned him a BAFTA Award win and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He further collaborated with Tarantino, acting in Jackie Brown (1997), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful Eight (2015). He's known for having appeared in a number of big-budget films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The Negotiator (1997), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000) and its reboot (2019), XXX (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003), Coach Carter (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Glass (2019). He also gained widespread recognition as the Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005), later voicing the role in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and the video game Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2011). With his permission, his likeness was used for the Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury; he subsequently played Fury in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with a cameo appearance in Iron Man (2008), as well as guest-starring in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He will reprise this role in the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which is set to premiere on June 21, 2023. Jackson has provided his voice for several animated films, documentaries, television series, and video games, including Lucius Best / Frozone in the Pixar films The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018).
Known For
Stan Winston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Stanley Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, Avatar and Enthiran. He won four Academy Awards for his work. Winston, a frequent collaborator with director James Cameron, owned several effects studios, including Stan Winston Digital. The established areas of expertise for Winston were in makeup, puppets and practical effects, but he had recently expanded his studio to encompass digital effects as well. Description above from the Wikipedia article Stan Winston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
John Rosengrant
Known For
Mark 'Crash' McCreery
Known For
Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett is an American filmmaker and multi-award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, specializing in creature design, stop-motion, and computerized character animation. Over his career, he has assisted ILM, DreamWorks, and his own company Tippet Studios, with his work appearing in movies such as the original Star Wars trilogy, Jurassic Park, and RoboCop.
Known For
Dennis Muren
Dennis Muren, A.S.C. (born November 1, 1946) is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Best Visual Effects and a Technical Achievement Academy Award. The Visual Effects Society has called him "a perpetual student, teacher, innovator, and mentor." He has been identified as "a pioneer in bringing a new wave of visual effects films to the public, opening the doors for screenwriters and directors to tell stories never before possible with a new realism through the use of his skills in cinematic arts and advanced technologies." According to Spielberg, Muren "set the example at Industrial Light & Magic for visual effects excellence with effects that add strong, appropriate emotion to a shot and fit seamlessly into a movie." Description above from the Wikipedia article Dennis Muren, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Dean Cundey
Dean Raymond Cundey (born March 12, 1946) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, as well as his extensive work in the horror genre, in addition to numerous family and comedy films. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and has been nominated for numerous BAFTAs and BSC Awards.
Known For
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, Kt, CBE (29 August 1923 – 24 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and politician. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Attenborough joined the Royal Air Force during World War II and served in the film unit. He went on several bombing raids over Europe and filmed action from the rear gunner's position. As a film director and producer, Attenborough won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983. He also won four BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and Jurassic Park. He was the older brother of David Attenborough, a naturalist and broadcaster, and John Attenborough, an executive at Alfa Romeo. He was married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death.
Known For
Rick Carter
Rick Carter is an American production designer and art director. He is known for his work in the film Forrest Gump, which earned him an Oscar nomination, as well as numerous nominations of other awards for his work in Amistad and A.I.
Known For
Gerald R. Molen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Gerald Robert Molen (born January 6, 1935) is a high profile American film producer. He works very closely with Steven Spielberg, having produced five of his films, and won an Academy Award for co-producing Schindler's List. Gerald "Jerry" Molen is now semi-retired and spends his time alternating between Montana and Las Vegas, Nevada. Molen was born in Great Falls, Montana, the son of Edith Lorraine (née Meyer) and Gerald Richard Molen. He grew up in North Hollywood, California, after moving from Montana, with a number of younger brothers and sisters. His mother ran a diner, "The Blue Onion", which was located across from one of the major studios. Molen got his start in the movie business by changing tires on studio trucks. Molen has appeared in cameos in several of the films he produced, including Rain Man, Days of Thunder, and Jurassic Park. The name 'Molen' can be seen painted on the front of a large black cauldron in the movie Hook as the camera pans across the pirate docks in Neverland. Molen is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gerald R. Molen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest American composers of all time, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history in a career spanning over six decades. Williams has won 24 Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 51 Academy Award nominations, he is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars was additionally preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Williams has composed for many critically acclaimed and popular movies, including the Star Wars series, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films. He has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but four of his feature films––Duel, The Color Purple, Bridge of Spies and Ready Player One. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island. Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993, and is its laureate conductor. He was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. Williams composed the score for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).
Known For
William H. Macy
An American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though he has appeared in summer action films as well. Macy has described his screen persona as "sort of a Middle American, WASPy, Lutheran kind of guy... Everyman". He has won two Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award, being nominated for nine Emmy Awards and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards in total. He is also a three-time Golden Globe Award nominee.
Known For
Movie Details
Production Info
- Director:
- Laurent Bouzereau
- Production:
- Universal Pictures
Key Crew
- Executive Producer:
- Steven Spielberg
- Producer:
- Steven Spielberg
- Presenter:
- Steven Spielberg
Locations and Languages
- Country:
- US
- Filming:
- US
- Languages:
- en