Jurassic Park 3 - S16 E127

Welcome back to Shoot the Hostage, the movie podcast where we tackle your favourite films one themed season at a time. We are officially five episodes deep into Dan’s “Size Doesn’t Matter” season and we’ve hit the apex of early 2000s studio chaos. This week we’re talking about Jurassic Park 3 (2001) – the shortest, weirdest and most script-deficient entry in the pantheon of dinosaur movies.

To say this film had a troubled production is an understatement; director Joe Johnston famously ran the cameras without a finished script, resulting in a cast that was visibly questioning their life choices on screen. We have William H. Macy and Téa Leoni playing an estranged couple with zero romantic chemistry, whose entire parenting strategy is screaming “Eric!” and “Mr Udeski!” into the jungle. Then there’s Alessandro Nivola as Billy, a man who somehow invents 3D printing in 2001 using only a toothbrush and Michael Jeter as a highly unconvincing mercenary. This is also the first time we’re talking Sam Neill movies on the main feed. We unpack why the iconic actor turned down Lord of the Rings to get chased by Raptors, how Laura Dern secured the ultimate daily rate and why we’re still salty at the Spinosaurus bullying the T-Rex.

What to expect from the episode:

Why Dr. Grant agreeing to go anywhere near Isla Sorna makes zero-character sense.

We discuss how Billy basically pioneered the future of 3D printing in 2001.

We look at the failed 2001 marketing disaster involving a competition and 1000 Jurassic Park themed disposable mobile telephones.

Why starting a $93 million blockbuster without a completed script made William H. Macy and Téa Leoni miserable.

We have fun talking about that infamous talking raptor dream sequence that Stan Winston called “the great Muppet shot”

We debate whether a fight against fifty tiny ankle biting dinosaurs is actually safer than facing a single Spinosaurus.

Why the movie should have skipped the pro-military rescue and instead cut to a rogue rocket blowing up the helicopter, leaving the pterodactyls beautifully silhouetted against the fireball

This season has eight episodes, concluding September 21st

Would you like to see the full lineup for season 16? The only place you can see it is on Patreon but you don’t need to be a paying member. Sign up for a free membership and get access to the lineup.