Sarah Danielle Madison Joins Cast
IGN FilmForce alerted me to this article from the Chicago Sun-Times, who reports that newcomer Sarah Danielle Madison (no IMDb entry) has joined the cast of JP3. "The recent Amherst College biology grad has snared several roles in independent films and co-starred on the Fox series 'Time of Your Life,'" says the Sun-Times.

More on the JP DVD Hotlink
There's been a little confusion over the upcoming "Hotlink to the set of JP3", included on the JP + TLW DVD's as a DVD-ROM only feature. While there are conflicting URL's and mailing lists to sign up for, 'Varan101' reports that this is the URL you're directed to, where you can sign up a familiar-yet-different mailing list.

October 17, 2000

Laura Dern Cameo, Plot Details
Wondering what happened to Grant and Ellie's relationship after everything they went through on Jurassic Park? Well, Bob from Hawaii Movie Tours has the scoop, reporting that the rumors were right -- Laura Dern will be back for a cameo in JP3. (big spoilers ahead!) Several scenes in JP3 feature Ellie interacting in some way with Grant (highlight to read): An exterior shot of a suburban backyard with Ellie holding Grant's baby "as Mark (?) comes out of the house", a dinner scene, a goodbye scene where Ellie presumably sees Grant off on his adventure, and Ellie receiving a frantic call from Grant in her home. Just to confirm this, I received a report earlier last night from 'creed', who says that yesterday's Access Hollywood mentioned that Dern will indeed have a cameo in JP3.

More News from Universal
Fortunately for us, someone over at the new JP3 section of Countingdown.com must have a season pass to Universal Studios, since they have posted some more pictures from a recent trip to the studios. Here are four of the backlot with various props (including the 'Raptor Boat', back from it's trip to Hawaii), but check out the site for more:

October 14, 2000

We're all Monkeys
Okay, this is not JP3-related news at all, but bear with me.. My bud Jack (Aka 'Crash' aka 'TRIVIA-DJ' aka 'the Lighter Side of TLW guy') has become quite the entrepreneur, and has started his own line of clothing, called MonkiBrand. If you'd like to support a long-time member of the JP+TLW community, and want to make your Abercrombie+Fitch-wearing friends jealous in the process, head over to MonkiBrand.com and buy a t-shirt. Make sure you tell em Dan sent you!

October 12, 2000

Filming at Universal Begins Tomorrow
Looks like Universal Studios is ready for the JP3 cast and crew (see next story), as Dark Horizons received a report from someone who was there and learned that the actors are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. According to their source, a "massive" set has been built on Stage 12, featuring "a huge indoor rainforest, reaching up to the rafters with lots of 10k and 5k lights above (possibly for daylight). There was a 15-foot tall dinosaur at one end (I have no idea what kind -- it looked ferocious) that was being prepped with a final paint job. A sunken track ran throughout the stage, which I'm guessing is for the dinosaur to run through."

Pics from Universal
The JP3 section of the vast Countingdown.com network (now run by JP3 HQ's Jon) posted a long report of a trip to Universal Studios, complete with lots of pretty pictures of JP3's outdoor sets. Here's some of the good stuff (Make sure you check out the Countingdown.com site for more!)

Here's the dry lake bed we've been hearing about, with the cliff being constructed for JP3.

Filming at LA College
Corona received a report from someone who was taking a tour of Occidental College in Los Angeles when they noticed a crew readying for filming. "All that was happening was that lots of crewmen were setting up a big white tent, and what looked like two smaller tents. Also, our guide pointed out that they had changed the doors on one of the main buildings for filming as well." (Thanks inGenNET) Update: Dark Horizons received some news from someone else about filming at the college, who adds that the scene took place in "Thorne Hall" (pic), and featured Sam Neill (highlight to read) "giving a lecture to about five hundred of what seemed to be students and visitors. They then shot a scene were he answered specific questions regarding his lecture. I was told that the scene helped establish Sam Neill's return to the project."

October 11, 2000

Win a Panasonic DVD Player
'Big Razzie' sends word that the UK "Jurassic Park & The Lost World" official DVD website" is now open, which is oddly similar to the Australian site, with one notable difference -- a contest where you can enter to win a portable Panasonic DVD player.

About the "Hot Link" on the DVD's
Probably my biggest concern about the just-released DVD's is the so-called "Hot link to the set of JP3" which is a promised DVD-ROM feature on both discs. Fortunately, it's nothing more than a link to jurassicpark.com, says 'GoldblumRules', so presumably even those of us without a DVD-ROM drive will be able to access these online events. Update: This is the URL you're directed to, where you can sign up for a Universal DVD mailing list.

October 10, 2000

One Last DVD Review
The webmaster of DVD Journal posted a long-winded review of the JP+TLW DVD's over at AICN. It's an interesting read, with the author relating his "eleven reasons why The Lost World has risen in my esteem -- possibly above Jurassic Park.. on home video." ("#9 - It has a better, albeit tacked-on, climax")

October 7, 2000

Development Begins on PS2 JP3 Video Game
PS2.Ign.com is reporting today that they have reason to believe that the "upstart development team" Savage Entertainment has begun working on a JP3 game for the upcoming Playstation 2 console. Savage is the creator of the cutting-edge "Sabertooth Engine", which features "cutting-edge abilities, such as hardware transformation and lighting, spline surfaces, and pixel shaders." The picture on the right is from Savage's prototype application -- more screenshots are available on Savage's website. (Thanks 'Ultraraptor')

Win the JP+TLW DVD's!
Over at the Spielberg-Dreamworks Fansite, you can enter to win one of three copies of the JP or TLW DVD's. The contest runs through October 12th at 12:01 a.m. Good luck!