JP3 on ET, Access Hollywood
ETOnline.com has posted a nice behind-the-scenes look at the animatronic raptor, controlled partially by ET corespondent Julie Moran -- you can view the streaming video (apparently not exciting enough for the TV show) here. In similar news, tomorrow's Access Hollywood will feature a segment on JP3. "They were talking about [last night's] press screening (I'm assuming)," says 'Coasterhead'. "They were saying that jp3 was very scary, and maybe 'too scary' as they put it.. (Also thanks Ryan) Update: Tonight's ET did feature a short clip on JP3. It's nothing special, but 'Varan101' digitized into a RealVideo file, here.

Win the inkWorks! JP3 Cards
In what is apparently the first of several JP3 contensts Jawad has planned, you can enter to win one of five inkWorks! JP3 trading card sets over at the DreamWorks SKG Fansite. For those of us who don't win, the cards will be available all over the country starting next Thursday. In other JP3 contest news, Nis reports German TV channel "Premiere World" is running a contest where you can win tickets to the JP3 premiere in LA on July 12th.

Honda JP3 Designs Debut
JPAftermath.com reminds us that the debut of the Honda racing team's JP3 designs is rapidly approaching: Ezra Lusk will drive the JP3 CR250R motocrosser at Budds Creek, Md. this weekend (airing this Saturday at 1pm on ESPN2), while Nicky Hayden will try not to crash his JP3 RC51 Superbike (pictured, airing next Saturday at 12:30pm on Speedvision) at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on July 6-8. More info on Hayden's bike can be found here.

June 26, 2001

"I would say that the script took me by surprise when I read it," [Leoni] said. "I was fully prepared to be second fiddle again to a very large co-star. When I read the script, I was very impressed that I did care about these people, and I didn't want to see one go--and I was surprised at who didn't make it through the rest of the film."

"The dinosaurs are a whole new bag," she said. "The raptors stand about our height on back legs. We had probably about six of them, and they each had such different looks. You could see the difference between the males and females, not just in their physical design, but their behavior. "

Win a JP3 'VIP Experience'
Hollywood.com is running a contest where you can win a trip for 4 to Universal Studios Hollywood to "get drenched with the dinosaurs on their wetter-and-better JP3 Summer Splash Ride". You must be 18 to enter. (Thanks 'Gnawgahyde')

New GBA Pic
'Justin' sends along this new pic of Konami's upcoming GBA game, "JP3: The DNA Factor" from the new issue of Nintendo Power. "On Isla Sorna, something is terribly wrong, as you're about to learn," the news bite says. "Your job is to retreive capsules of DNA that were aboard a crashed cargo plane. Needless to say, you're going to run into some wild dinos along the way." ('DNA Factor' is due out July 17th)

Johnston, Winston Talk Rex/Spino Battle
British sci-fi magazine SFX sat down with JP3 director Joe Johnston and special effects guy Stan Winston about JP3's dinos for an article entitled "Dino Wars", published in this months issue. Some excerpts from the talk, which include an amusing anecedote about some big kids playing with big toys: (Thanks Tom)

"One of our main goals was to out T-Rex the T-Rex and that’s what we did," enthuses creature designer Stan Winston. "Now," he adds, "we were building a 24,000 pound character that was going to do battle with an 18,000 pound character in real life on the set. It’s a pretty amazing thing to see... We wanted to save some of the actual performance of the battle between these two big characters in real time to the end of the shooting schedule because we said, ‘You know what we’re going to do? We’re going to go for it; we’re going to actually let them do battle and if we have to we’ll break them as long as we know we won’t have to shoot with them again.’ So we did the battle in post-production where the two characters get it on and there is some pretty awesome stuff that you’ll see on screen that is an actual battle. And, of course, there will be a lot of CG as well. In the real world, the Spinosaur literally ripped the head off the T-Rex. Hydraulic fluid was spraying all over the place. It was a pretty amazing thing."

Director Joe Johnston admits that it wasn’t exactly an even match, with the T-Rex being a 300 horsepower animatronic character and the Spinosaur being about 1,000. "We were getting some pretty good stuff," he says, "when T-Rex blew a hydraulic line. You could hear it all the way across the stages. It was like an oil well gushing. I had no idea what was going on except that T-Rex stopped because he lost all of his hydraulic pressure... So we patched him up and got a few more shots. I have to say that T-Rex was the loser in that battle. For JP4 they’ll have to build a new T-Rex."

JP3 Popcorn!
Be on the lookout for this nifty-lookin' JP3 popcorn bucket at your local movie theater, reports 'Ewacked'. Uhh, I don't have much more to say about that, but I need to write more to fill up space so it doesn't mess up the next story. Okay, I think that should be enough. Have a nice day.

Buy Cool DansJP3Page.com Mousepads, Cheap!
By popular demand, I present the brand-new DansJP3Page.com Mousepad, featuring a high-quality shot from JP3 of our bud Dr. Grant surrounded by a herd of hungry raptors. "Don't Mess With the Hat" is printed below, a stirring warning to the raptors and one by which to lead your daily life. SAVE $5! Cafepress.com, the company which prints all of the DansJP3Page.com merchandise, is running a sale only until this Saturday, June 30 -- all mousepads are on sale, meaning you can buy one for a measly $6.99! Buy a shirt or mug at the same time and save on shipping.

June 25, 2001

"Down To the Wire"
According to JP3 producer Kathleen Kennedy in last Friday's Variety, Joe Johnston and company are working on JP3 "down to the wire". Says Joe himself in an email to this site: "We're still waiting for some final shots from ILM." When they insert the new shots they may make some adjustments to the surrounding ones, he said, but nothing will really change from here on out. The first press screening of the film is scheduled for tomorrow in LA.

Voice of the JP3 Commercials Revealed
Ever wonder about the guy whose booming voice gives movie commercials and trailers (including JP3's) that distinct sound? Well, reporter Susan Tuz of the Danbury News-Times pulls the veil off "voice of choice" Don Morrow in this article, exposing Morrow as a 74-year-old voice-over veteran who has done everything from announcing game shows to documentaries, to an estimated 15,000 commercials.

Universal Admits To Using Actors in Ads
While Universal Studios had managed to stay out of the recent controversy surrounding fake movie critics and paid actors appearing in testimonial TV commercials for movies, a spokesperson has admited to the Washington Post that, "actors posing as fans appeared in commercials for the submarine thriller 'U-571'". Universal joins Artisan, Sony, and Fox, all of whom have admitted to using phony testimonials.

June 24, 2001

Bozeman Tickets On Sale
Nate reports tickets for the July 17th Bozeman, Montana premiere of JP3 at the Museum of the Rockies are now on sale to the general public. According to Nate, the tickets are $75, which includes the film (7:30pm in Ellen Theater) and the reception afterwards, which will be attended by JP3 director Joe Johnston, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and dino-consultant Jack Horner. Call Sandy at 1-406-994-5283 for more information. Anyone else going?

DC Premiere Date Changed
In other premiere news, it looks like the date of the Washington, DC premiere has changed.. the Washington Post Contest Page now lists the date as Monday, July 16, not the 12th as was originally listed. And just a reminder, you can start to enter the WP contest starting tomorrow. (Thanks James)

More Script Questions Answered
Bob temps us with yet more Questions and answers about his JP3 script at Hawaii Movie Tours, including an interesting hint at a scene where the raptors (spoilers!) hold someone hostage. As Bob says, "They aren't going to be happy until they get the results they want from the group." As for his overall impression of the script, Bob says, "For plot lines, my opinion is [the JP3 script] has much more going for it than TLW. It definitely has a lot more humor and entertaining scenes than TLW." (Thanks 'CrookedLine1') and 'Varan101')

JP3 119 Minutes?
More running time rumors: The Coming Soon page of Australian movie site Greater Union is listing JP3 as 119 minutes, though there's no word as to where the site got the information. Past reports said JP3 clocked in under 90 minutes, though JP3 director disputed that in a conversation with this site. (Thanks Daniel)

Remote Control Spino Toy Commercial
Wowwee.com has a short Quicktime video available for download of their new remote-controlled JP3 "Dinotronics Spinosaurus" toy. "Be amazed as your spinosaurus walks, roars, and swings its ultra-realistic head, searching for its next prey!" Oooo kaay. And while we're on the subject of toys, if you haven't noticed yet, JP3 toys are all over the place. Here's a report from 'Ash is Groovy':

"Although the Spino is the star of JP3, T-Rex seems to be the star of the toys! New things include a "T-Rex Flashlight, with incredible detail & sounds from the movie!", the "T-Rex Jaw Chomping Action Game, which is hidden inside a T-Rex's mouth & digitized sounds from the movie 'beware of the rex'!" A "Dinosaur Tracking Set", which comes with a triceratops & velociraptor action figure, a human hunter complete with Dr. Grant's old Jurassic Park weapons! A "Raptor Attack Playset", which is just a kinda of remake of the JP compound. And our store finally recieved the Spino vs. Rex punching game, which is the same as Battling Raptors only different dinos!"

June 23, 2001

JP3 In Foxtrot
Yesterday's edition of the Foxtrot comic strip featured a subtle JP3 mention -- look at the third panel... Though this one is still my favorite recent Foxtrot comic. :) (Thanks JP3HQ)

New Pics!
Movie website Cinema.com has several new pictures from the movie in their JP3 image gallery. Check 'em out, yo:

June 22, 2001

Bob Answers Some Script Questions
Bob from Hawaii Movie Tours has posted a FAQ page on his site, answering some questions about the film he's received since he let everyone know he had aquired a copy of the JP3 script a few months back. Bob doesn't reveal anything amazing, though does vaguely talk about the end of the film, hinting that it leaves the door open for JP4: "The final scene of the film will let your imaginations go wild with what could happen beyond that," he said. "Obviously, I won't tell you what happens...." Bob promises more Q+A in the future, so stay tuned. (Thanks 'Malcolm' and 'Zoologist21')

Macy in Maxim
We heard about this chat with Bill Macy in Maxim magazine a few days ago, but Rob Walls noticed the Maxim website now has the interview online, with some RealAudio clips of some of Macy's answers. "He’s tangled with pregnant police chiefs and promiscuous porn starlets," says the article's headline. "Jurassic Park III’s leapin’ lizards should be no problem.".

Neill on JP3
SciFi.com chatted with JP3 star Sam Neill about how "JPIII is better than II". Some excerpts:

Sam Neill, who reprises the role of Alan Grant in the upcoming sequel Jurassic Park III, told SCI FI Wire that he believes the third installment in the dinosaur franchise will surpass the last one, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which he passed up. "Ironically, the faster and more action there is in the film, the slower they are to make," Neill said in an interview from his home in New Zealand. "In order to keep morale up, [the producers] would show us cut footage--which was breathtaking."

Neill--a genre favorite in films like the first Jurassic Park and Bicentennial Man--said the new dinosaurs are better than before. "The animatronic creatures that we were working with were extraordinary--not just realistic, but the things you can do with them was incredible," he said. "If a 44-foot high creature ... is looming over you bigtime, it's not difficult to feel fear, if that's what's required in the script. ... There was a remarkable day when one dinosaur mortally wounded another dinosaur. That was more terrifying than you could imagine."

When asked about his favorite scene, Neill immediately pointed to a brief reunion between himself and fellow Jurassic Park cast member Laura Dern. "I have some scenes with Laura Dern, who I hadn't worked with for ... years," he said. "It was very nice being back with her again." Jurassic Park III opens July 20.

[News from June 12nd through June 20th]