CNN: Jurassic Redux

[Betty Cunningham <bettyc@flyinggoat.com>]

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"Jurassic" Redux
Reuters      05-AUG-99

NEW YORK (Variety) - Dinosaurs will once again roam the earth when the
third installment of "Jurassic Park" starts production, possibly as soon
as early 2000. 

 Universal and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment have set
"Jumanji" director Joe Johnston to direct "Jurassic Park 3," based on a
story hatched by Spielberg. 

Plot details are being kept secret, but expect a larger concentration of
the ferocious dinos. Craig Rosenberg is writing in close collaboration
with Johnston. 

In the new talent configuration, Michael Crichton, who wrote the novels
on which "Jurassic Park" and its sequel "The Lost World" were based,
will likely get a producing credit but will have a passive involvement. 

When Spielberg last year expressed a desire to continue the
dino-franchise, he expected to be at the helm for the third time. But he
will be busy directing Tom Cruise and possibly Matt Damon in the
Fox-DreamWorks co-production "Minority Report," which is expected to
begin production Oct. 11. 

Johnston is coming off the critically acclaimed, but modest grosser,
"October Sky." With "Jurassic Park 3," he is back in what many consider
his forte -- big, special-effects driven pictures such as "Honey, I
Shrunk the Kids," "The Pagemaster" and "The Rocketeer." 

Rosenberg is a newcomer to the dinosaur genre. His writing credits
include "Hotel de Love" (which he also directed), "Eliot Loves
Gabriella" and "She." 

The dinosaur franchise has been Universal's biggest asset, earning more
than $1.5 billion in combined worldwide box office revenue and
translating into strong theme park, merchandising, TV, music, video and
publishing outlets. The 1993 original grossed a whopping $913 million
globally, while the 1997 sequel pulled in more than $600 million. 
-- 
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