Jurassic Park Author Didn’t Screenwrite Popular 1993 Movie

Jurassic Park is undoubtedly one of the greatest movies to hit theaters and television screens. It influenced modern society and various forms of entertainment and media. And created a massive franchise filled with movies, series, video games, and toys.

Many creative minds contributed to the creation of this monumental movie. One of the most prominent was Michael Crichton, the author of the original 1990 novel. He helped put together the original script for Jurassic Park. But did you know that he was not the screenwriter for the final product?

Recounting The Tale of Jurassic Park

As many people know, Jurassic Park follows a group of people on a tropical island. An eccentric businessman invited them to test his new theme park and resort. The surprise is that dinosaurs brought back through genetic science roam the landscape. But the security systems suddenly malfunction, releasing all the prehistoric reptiles from captivity. Now, the people must escape the island or fall to the ravenous carnivores stalking them.

Crichton Passes on Writing Final Script

During the early development of Jurassic Park, Universal hired Michael Crichton to be the screenwriter. He and Steven Spielberg worked to choose which aspects of the novel to adapt. Afterwards, Crichton began creating the first draft for the script. It came out unappealing, though Spielberg had a sound idea regarding its improvement. He suggested to Crichton that he should write the new draft in forty-page chunks.

The advice proved ideal, and the movie production began moving forward smoothly. Sadly, Crichton had grown tired of writing about an island of dinosaurs. He was ready to move on, which he did after completing his latest draft. Crichton made his exit, and David Koepp came on to finish the job. And what we got in the end was the movie we all know and adore.

Final Thoughts

It surprised me to learn that Michael Crichton was involved in producing Jurassic Park. Yet, it makes sense since J.K. Rowling helped develop the Harry Potter films. Nothing ensures the success of a novel-to-movie adaptation more than having the author offer assistance. However, another part of me cannot help wondering what the Crichton script was like. And how the 1993 flick might have been like if he had stayed.

Still, what we ultimately received was an incredible movie that remains timeless. Jurassic Park has been a massive part of countless childhoods, especially mine. Some of my favorite memories involve watching the film and playing with the toys. And I owe them all to Crichton for starting things off with Steven Spielberg.