Re: RAPTOR WRONG (LONG)

[dunn1@IDT.NET]

From:          franczak@ntplx.net (Brian Franczak)

> The source of all this
> confusion becomes readily apparent upon reading the introduction to
> Lessem's book. It is a paean to Steven Spielberg, who is, in Lessem's own
> words, a man who "...knows something about dinosaurs..." He very well may
> know something, but he is hardly an authority. Spielberg is a filmmaker,
> not a paleontologist.

Speilberg certainly isn't a dinosaur expert.  Like most people who 
liked dinosaurs as a child, his knowledge (such as it is) of 
dinosaurs atrophied as he grew older.

Nor is he particularly interested in dinosaurs now.  Read his 
comments about the JP movies -- he is openly derisive about them and 
their stars (the dinosaurs), comparing them to Godzilla movies, and 
openly states a complete lack of personal interest in, or passion 
for, the movies.

Steven Spielberg is a huge fan of King Kong and at first wanted to 
portray the Tyrannosaur like it was in King Kong because that's the 
way people identified Tyrannosaurus.  It took Mike Trcic, who was 
hired to sculpt a concept piece for Winston, to prove to Spielberg 
that that real T. rex could be at least as interesting as the Kong 
one.  Winston's artist "Crash" McCreery had done up a Kong-esque T. 
rex for Mike to sculpt and Mike more or less refused.  I'd love to 
see the initial, Spielberg-inspired T. rex concept sketches, which 
got whisked away (and destroyed?)!

There's something you won't read in a "Making of . . . " puff 
piece!

Larry

"Atheism: a non-prophet organization"