For most people currently in their late 20s the memory of seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen is a vivid one. As young children the big screen was new. Going to the movies meant Disney films, but here we were presented with larger than life dinosaurs. The blend of digital and practical effects still hold up to this day.
Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the writing team behind the surprisingly good Apes prequel, have been hired to write a fourth film. This is an incredibly difficult task.
In a previous article we’ve already discussed the need for heightening. This is where the atrocious third film went wrong.
The first movie had the illusion of safety. These people were in a controlled environment that went wrong. To kick up the tension the second film had them entering an island without fences. There was no safety net. The third film did that same exact thing. There was no heightening.
This is where writing the newest film becomes a challenge. Where do you go from here? The second film showed already that moving the Dinosaurs to a city is very boring, but it is the next logical step. The ‘Apes’ team wrote a great attack scene on the city of San Francisco, but this won’t work with dinosaurs. They have quite the task ahead of them, because if they screw up people who’s lives were changed by the first (movie movie podcast) will not be quiet about their opinions.
A strong script is the first step to a good movie, and the hiring of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver is a great move in that direction. I’m also excited for the possible 3D rerelease of the first Jurassic Park a year from now.
Simple heightening possibilities. Dinosaur eggs accidentally get put onto a space shuttle headed for a long orbit around Mars. Or! Raptors sneak onto a submarine right before a covert operation that doesn’t allow them to surface.
YOU NEED TO WRITE A FAKE MOVIE FRIDAY!