Jurassic Park behind-the-scenes stories tend to mirror the movie itself; both are filled with action and excitement. Both also have a streak of humor running right down the middle. Steven Spielberg’s 1993 adventure was more than a blockbuster – it was an outright phenomenon.People went to see it multiple times, dazzled by the groundbreaking visual effects that realistically made dinosaurs come back to life. The memorable characters and nail-biting suspense were draws, too.
From a malfunctioning Tyrannosaurus rex, to the unusual way the raptors’ sound was created, to a literal hurricane, the cast and crew of Jurassic Park overcame many challenges. The following stories from the making of this modern classic will give you the scoop on how it all went down. You’ll have an even stronger appreciation for the movie after you know all the care and devotion that went into bringing Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel to the screen.
1. Jeff Goldblum’s Character Was Supposed To Be A Coward When The T. Rex Came, But Goldblum Was Having None Of That
Ian Malcolm has long been a fan favorite. The character, played by Jeff Goldblum, is a math whiz, but instead of being stereotypically nerdy, he radiates cool. Had the role been played as originally intended, Malcolm might not have made such an impact.
Initially, he was supposed to turn and run when the characters are attacked by the T. rex. Goldblum nixed that idea, suggesting that Malcolm use himself as bait to distract the dino while Grant rushes in to save the children. Spielberg liked the idea, and the character became heroic.
2. Excessive Rain Made The T. Rex Malfunction And Come Alive, Terrifying The Crew
The scene in which the T. rex reveals itself has become a classic moment of cinematic suspense. When it emerges from the dark, rainy night, the audience gets a chill. Filming that scene proved just as scary for the crew as it would for the audience.
The dinosaur puppet was powered by electricity. When the rain machines were turned on, the excessive amount of water got absorbed by the material used to make its skin. That, in turn, messed with the electronics, causing the dinosaur to malfunction. Its head would begin to shake unexpectedly, which made it seem to be coming alive on its own.
Crew members solved the problem by continually drying it off with towels.
3. The Triceratops Poop Was Covered In Honey To Attract Flies
No one who’s seen Jurassic Park could forget the massive mound of dinosaur excrement that figures prominently into the plot. Laura Dern’s character famously sticks her arm into it at one point. Creating fake feces required a combination of elements, including honey.
The poop itself was a mixture of clay, mud, and straw – innocuous objects that look pretty gross when mixed together. As icing on the cake, the crew drizzled honey all over the big pile in order to draw swarms of flies. It was that little touch that really sold the illusion.
4. Spielberg Made Dinosaur Noises On Set To Help The Actors, But It Made Their Job Harder
Because there were obviously no actual dinosaurs on set, the cast of Jurassic Park had to use their imagination. As is often the case with CGI-heavy movies, tennis balls were used to help the actors know where to look. Director Steven Spielberg attempted to help further by making dinosaur noises on the set, but at least one of his stars didn’t feel that was helpful.
Sam Neill described the filming of the scene in the raptor pen, saying Spielberg “was holding a bullhorn and roaring in a not very convincing way. It’s difficult enough acting to a tennis ball, but it’s even harder when you’re trying not to laugh.”
5. Wayne Knight Got Extra Makeup On ‘Seinfeld’ Because The Dinosaur Spittle Dyed His Skin Purple
Wayne Knight was having a hot year in 1993. Aside from having a significant supporting role in Jurassic Park, he was a recurring actor on Seinfeld, then the most buzzed-about sitcom on TV. These two jobs ended up clashing in a very unusual way, though.
Knight filmed the scene in which his character, Dennis Nedry, is attacked by a Dilophosaurus that spits purple goo at him. The ingredients used for that goo ended up dying his face purple. When he returned to Seinfeld, staff had to apply extra makeup to him so that the purple wouldn’t show. The sitcom’s producers were apparently not too happy about the situation. Knight later recalled the embarrassing situation:
One night, I went back to shoot a ‘Seinfeld’ [episode] and I came back while we were shooting ‘Jurassic [Park],’ and I said, ‘You know when you did the thing with the spitter?’ They go, ‘Yeah.’ [I said] ‘It kind of dyed my face purple.’ He [dinosaur creator] goes, ‘Yeah, it’ll do that,’ So there was a make-up problem going back to TV, we had to like cover the spot … and they basically said, ‘Don’t blink, because we’ll do it again.’
6. The T. Rex Puppet Was So Big, The Building It Was In Had To Be Enlarged
Although many of the dinosaurs were CGI, several scenes required the use of puppets in order to interact with the human stars. That included the T. rex. Special effects whiz Stan Winston was brought on to design it.
True to form, the tyrant lizard puppet was massive – 36 feet long and 18 feet tall, to be precise. In fact, it was so big that Winston realized the building that housed it needed to be enlarged. To accomplish this, the roof was raised and a bigger door was installed so the crew could get the puppet out.
The final puppet was, according to First Assistant Director John Kretchmer, “absolutely breathtaking. It was the most incredible puppet you could imagine seeing.”
7. Many Of The Dino Sounds Were Made From Recordings Of Real Animals Having Sex
Sound designer Gary Rydstrom had the task of creating dinosaur sounds that seemed authentic. If the dinos sounded fake, it would ruin the effect. His solution was to utilize recordings of real animals having sex.
The barking noise made by the velociraptors, for example, is tortoises mating. The stampede of Gallimimus that chase Grant and Satler across a field make the sound of a female horse becoming aroused by a male.
Joked Rydstrom, “If people knew where the sounds in Jurassic Park came from, it’d be rated R!”
8. A Hurricane Hit Hawaii As The Movie Was Being Filmed
The cast and crew of Jurassic Park were several weeks into filming. Things were going well, given how complicated the shoot was. Then Hurricane Iniki hit Hawaii, seriously disrupting production.
Everyone hid out in the ballroom of the Westin Kauai Hotel. Outside, roads became flooded and the roofs of buildings were blown right off. Communication equipment got knocked out, leaving the staff at Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment office unable to contact him. That led to a rumor that he’d gone missing on the island. In fact, he was safe and sound inside the concrete-walled room.
According to Laura Dern, “We walked through a natural disaster together, and so we were so, so bonded. For the next several months when we were filming, we were like, ‘We went through everything.’ Given that there was a hurricane in the movie and everything was so radical on this island, it just changed the whole experience.”
9. Joseph Mazzello Got Knocked Down By A Raptor Claw On His Birthday And The Crew Sang To Cheer Him Up
The movie’s characters get knocked around by the dinosaurs. At least one of the actors got knocked around, too. And it was poor Joseph Mazzello’s birthday!
The young star was filming the scene where Tim and Lex are in the kitchen. One of the fake raptors was being pushed on wheels when its metal claw collided with Mazzello’s face:
It was a raptor on wheels that was to follow me, and I’m supposed to go left, and it’s supposed to go to the right. We did a bunch of takes. And one time I went left and I sort of turned around to look up and see the raptor turning the same way as me. And its claw, which was metal, hit me in the head because I was that height. And I fell down. I was a little bit dazed.
Things improved slightly from there. According to the actor:
I fall on the ground, I’m dizzy. Everybody comes over, running, and Steven comes over, ‘Joe, Joe, you OK? You OK?’ I’m a little like, ‘yeah, yeah. I think so,’ And he goes, ‘Well, I think this is as good of a time as any. Ready everyone? Happy Birthday to you,’ and the entire crew is singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me while I’m on the floor, dizzy from getting hit by the claw of the raptor.