First look at Davis' JP3 Score
With a headline entitled "JP3 Score is 'Pure Davis'", John Williams fansite JWFan.com reports Don Davis' score for JP3 is really his own creation, and not simply a rehash of Williams old themes. "I was just on our stage listening to Don Davis' excellent score for "Jurassic Park III" and was shocked to learn that he did all his own orchestration!" the source says. "Davis is using Williams' theme to an extent but just about the entire score is pure Davis. When I stand at the rear of the stage, the overal sound quality is very much the way the orchestra sounds on the CD of North's "Cleopatra." Fortunately, [the sound engineer] doesn't use too much added reverb so the texture of the room is still there." (Thanks inGenNET)

May 24, 2001

"You see the blood pulsing in their veins, and their eyes looking and blinking at you, pupils dilating," says co-star Michael Jeter, who found the reptilian replicas eerily lifelike. "I felt like a 5-year-old afraid of things under the bed."

[On the plane crash scene] "This is not a lot of make-believe for the actors," says actor William H. Macy. "They've got a plane on a gimbal, and it goes nose down to 160 degrees."

[On the T-rex/spino fight] "The reason I wanted to see these two dinosaurs fight is it's what I remember as a kid," Johnston says. "Every dinosaur movie made before 1960 had a big dinosaur fight, and we haven't seen that lately. I thought it would be great, with computers, to see what these guys can do."

New JP3 Ride at Universal Studios?
The first hint at a new JP3 ride at Universal Studios Hollywood came in an mailing list-type email sent to a few people, 'Tyrannosaur' and 'Embryo' among them. According to the email, the new attraction will open in the summer, called "Jurassic Park 3: Summer Splash" -- apparently some sort of water ride/attraction. Besides the tagline ("Now wetter than ever with three times the attitude." -- uh, okay), the message didn't contain any other details.

Neill Still 'Friends' With T-Rex
'BuzzSpendus' sends along this snippit from the current issue of "Maxim", which features a look at BIG summer movies, JP3 obviously included. "I think we can safely assume that there will people who will be consumed with some pleasure by large creatures," he says about the plot of the film. "These things are quite dangerous. Fortunately, I've escaped their wrath, and we're still friends. I mean, I've known T-Rex for years."

ET 'First Look' Clip
The site for everything Tea Leoni, LeoniOnline, has digitized the First Look clip from Tuesday's edition of Entertainment Tonight -- if you missed the segment, which featured short interviews with Leoni, Macy, and Neill in addition to a behind-the-scenes look on the set, you can download the 3mb MPEG clip right here. Here's a shot from the clip, where we see Macy in a precarious situation:

JP3 in New Sound Format
Glen noticed that JP3 is listed on the Dolby webpage as one of the few films this year being released in Dolby Digital Surround EX, a fairly new sound standard for theaters (and DVDs), with 7 channels -- front L + R, front center, rear L + R, sub-woofer, and a new rear center channel. You can use the search engine on the Dolby site to find a theater near you using the new technology.

May 23, 2001

More on 'JP3: ScanCommand'
When I received this pic (right) with shots from the three upcoming Knowledge Adventure PC games last week, I scratched my head over exactly what this thing might be. Fortunatly, JP3HQ found this description of the game from Monday's edition of the Detroit News:

Knowledge Adventure, maker of reading and math software for children, has developed a 3-D computer game that could turn kids into cashiers. "ScanCommand: A Jurassic Park III Game" is based on the "Jurassic Park" movie coming out this summer and includes a handheld scanner toy that kids use to read bar codes on products around the house. Different bar codes produce different powers. The title, which will run on Windows 95 and higher, is due out this fall and will cost $50.

Few games [at E3] were different enough -- or odd enough -- to stand out from the crowd.

Take ``Scan Command'' ($50) from Knowledge Adventure. The goal of the game is to build a better dinosaur, so you can defeat other creatures lurking in the park. To do that, you must find bits of DNA. But, unlike most games, where the DNA would be scattered throughout the game itself, ``Scan Command'' lets you find bits of genetic material by going into the real world with a hand-held bar code scanner, which will be included in the package.

If you scan a box of crackers, for example, the game uses the numbers on the bar code to create a make-believe piece of DNA in the game. Each piece is packed with various combinations of strength, energy, and intelligence. If you need extra strength to battle a larger dinosaur, just keep scanning bar codes until you find one that gives you DNA packed with muscle. Then, all it takes is a little on-screen genetic manipulation to incorporate that DNA into your dinosaur's genetic makeup and, bingo, you've got a creature with super strength.

For the record, the folks at Knowledge Adventure are saying they have no plans to use the game to promote specific products, even though certain brands might be willing to pay big bucks to have their bar codes linked to coveted bits of dinosaur DNA.

Shooting Script, Page 6
Despite his recent tangle with the Universal legal department, Bob from Hawaii Movie Tours has posted page 6 of his Shooting (one-liner) script. Minor spoilers in here about a scene early in the film, so watch out. (Thanks Malcolm from JPDatabase.)

May 22, 2001

Macy Chat Highlights
The MSN chat with William H. Macy just concluded, here's some highlights!

[About characters returning from the first two films] "The only person in JP III that was in a previous one is Sam Neill and Laura Dern, although Laura shot from the shores of Jersey while everyone else was running from dinosaurs in the jungle. (laughs)"
[About his character] "I think my character is likeable. He's deceptive at first, but JP III is a rescue mission and with Tea we're out to save our son and he's a likeable character for that."
[About whether JP3 will be "fresh and new"] "I think they spent a little more time developing the human plots, but mostly JP III will be a big fat adventure film. We annoy a spinosaurus at the beginning and it's a big mistake because he chases us the next 90 minutes."
[About the final scenes] "No, the spinosaurus (Spoilers!)isn't in the final scene, Sam chases it off with a flair gun. The final scene has pteranodons, they are very scary, they are like volkswagon sized pterodactyls."
[About the animatronics] "[T]he puppets are all new and better than before. The Velocaraptor, you could see their heart beating, they were so realistic it was freightening to be around them. It made acting easy. There is one scene where one was sniffing Tea Leoni, and it's not computer generated and it will boggle your mind!... It's a long and laborious process working with the animatronics, while the audience is gape-mouthed from them, so are we. The pteranodons could whip it's head at 2 Gs. There's one scene where a spinosaurus that grabs a seat from a plane in it's teeth and yanks it out. That was sort of scary because that was a dangerous stunt."
[What did Bill take from the set?] "Nothing. I don't have a thing. Many times actors will want to keep a piece of their costume, but I wore the same costume for 5 months and I never want to see it again."
[About the rex/spino battle] "As a matter of fact, T-Rex has been kicked off it's throne. There is a confrontation between a pteranodon and a T-Rex and the T-Rex gets his ass kicked. There's a new kid on the block."
[Was Steven ever on set?] "Steven did visit the set, but he was directing A.I. at the same time, so we only saw him a couple of times. Joe did 'Jumanji' and it was a pleasure to have him as a director, he was exquisitely prepared and a delight to hang out with for five months."
[About working with Sam Neill] "[Sam is] a joy to work with, a consummate professional. Yes, he did give advise. He was reassuring us when looking at a cardboard dinosaur, he was good about saying, just wait until they put in the real one, it will be scary."
[When will he see the film?] "I know they are going down to the wire, it's so technical. They might do a screening for us before it's finished."
[The hardest thing he had to do on set?] "For me, it was a shot on a crane. We were at this man-made lake at Universal and I was at the top of a 35 ft. crane in a thunderstorm, while the spinosaurs are attacking the crane. For saftey they had me chained to the crane. Before we started shooting, I said 'if this crane topples over, I'm going with it...'"
[About the "mystery" cameo] "I don't know about the cameo. But I can't wait to see who it is."
[Does he think JP fans will like JP3?] "Yes, I think so. I think a good sign is that Steven Speilberg loves it, and that's got to be hard since he directed the first two. He's a huge fan."
[Is he interested in a JP4?] "I think there will be [a JP4] and I took great pains to drop my wallet on one of those islands, so I have an excuse to go back."
[Does he die?] "I make it through. That's another thing.. in most other films I die... I'm wet and dead (Laughs) In this one I'm only wet."
[About "Can't help but be a little offended..."] "(laughs) It's a good line and I got to say it!"
[How to convince a non-JP fan to see JP3?] "It's worth the price of admission to see Tea Leoni change her clothes."

JP3 on ET
Well, this certainly came out of the blue. Several people reported seeing a behind-the-scenes segment tonight on Entertainment Tonight, apparently with a look at the spino and a shot of the parasailing scene. 'RaptorBoy' sends some info: "It's terrifying," Leoni said. "I am not kidding you it's really scary.. I've got brusies all over, I'm cut up." Macy adds, "We were in this airplane and the spinosaurus -- our old friend spiney -- rolls it across the sound stage. It's like spending the afternoon in a dryer." (West coast people, be on the lookout -- if anyone wants to send pics and/or video, it'd be appreciated!)

Chat With Macy Tonight
Oops, almost forgot to mention this -- JP3 star William H. Macy will be chatting live on MSN People at 8pm ET/5pm PT. See you there! (Thanks Paul). [Update: Macy has been delayed -- the chat is now scheduled to begin at 9pm.]

Trading Cards Release Date
'Oviraptor' noticed this Ebay auction, a inkWorks! "Sell Sheet" promoting the upcoming trading card set from the company. "A new dimension in trading cards," it says. "the dinosaurs seem to jump off the cards! Plus, you can enjoy the bright colors and clear picwtures with or without the 3D glasses!" The sheet also announces that the cards are set for release on July 5, 2001.

Neill on ADD
Overly medicated children of the world, unite! The Philadelphia Daily News ran an interesting article last week on Sam Neill, where the JP3 star reveals he "stammered badly as a child" and beleives he had Attention Deficit Disorder, which Neill says actually helped him as an actor: "[Actors] do a lot of things for a short period of time, and then have to move on the next thing to be stimulated on another level." (Thanks 'Peanut222')

May 21, 2001

Burger King Doing JP3 Promo
Countingdown.com is reporting that according to a industry magazine, Burger King will once again be promoting JP3 with an in-store tie-in, including a "series of JP3 toys, as well as a 200g box of dinosaur cookies and a drinking cup with every kid's meal." Strangly, the article says it is a "Canada-only offer", though it could probably be assumed US BK's will do similar promotions.

Neill Talks JP3
The Boston Herald talked with JP3 star Sam Neill in last Friday's edition of the paper about his character and more about how they were wet the whole time during filming: (Thanks JP3HQ)

After taking a break from the sequel, Neill returns to the land of dinosaurs in this summer's "Jurassic Park III." "It's probably the most difficult shoot I've ever done," Neill said. "I was warned to beef up by director Joe Johnston. It was pretty tough going. We spent a week in a lake with a rain machine. We were pelted with the coldest water imaginable."

Neill said his character is "older and grumpier" now. "He resents being sent back to hell on earth. It's a very, very good film. Seven years in technological development is a long time

May 20, 2001

Neill in TV Movie
Sam Neill fans take note: 'Oviraptor' reminds everyone that Neill is starring in a new made-for-tv movie on NBC tonight entitled "Submerged", which he actually filmed after JP3 wrapped. It airs at 9pm.

Return of Chat
Since the old chat server went kaput a few weeks ago, the chat page has been down. However, I put up a suitable replacment, thanks to irc.americom.net. If no one is in the channel, check out "#jpdatabase" -- JPDatabase.net uses the same server as well.

May 19, 2001

JP3 Trailer on Coming Attractions
'JP Animal Control' sent an email to E! Entertainment Television's "Coming Attractions" show (which plays trailers of upcoming movies) asking when the JP3 trailer would be aired. Surprisingly, Todd Newton, the host of the show (!), responded with word that it would appear on Monday's edition. No word as to whether this is the old trailer, or the slightly new one which should appear before "Pearl Harbor" on Friday. [Update: It was the old version.]

[News from May 13th through May 18th]