Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 11, 1993 TAG: 9306110096
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN HORNASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
Rarely has a film arrived with the level of anticipation surrounding this lavish dinosaur story, opening in 2,200 theaters, including the Tanglewood Mall Cinema in Roanoke today. The reasons for its almost certain popularity are numerous:
The film brings Spielberg back from his highbrow clunkers "Empire of the Sun" and "Always" to such crowd-pleasing spectacles as "Jaws" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."
Novelist Michael Crichton's book about contemporary pteranodons was a big best seller with 4 million copies in print.
"Jurassic Park" is accompanied by a huge marketing and merchandise campaign valued in excess of $65 million.
Kids love dinosaurs. They may not be able to tell you who's vice president, but they know a tyrannosaurus rex by name.
Says producer Kathleen Kennedy: "I can't think of a situation that quite lends itself to timing like this one."
However, "Jurassic Park" doesn't have normal star appeal. Its cast includes Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Sam Neill. The real draw here is the dinosaurs, an array of theoretically lifelike reptiles created by a team of special-effects experts. Spielberg has said the creatures are so menacing he considered releasing "Jurassic Park" with an R rating, instead of the PG-13 it carries.
The film is set inside a modern-day, tropical amusement park where genetic engineering has brought dinosaurs back from extinction. The dinosaurs eventually rampage, turning the park into a terrifying experiment gone wrong.
Goldblum says he jumped at the chance to be in "Jurassic Park" as soon as he read the script: "It was a great part, a fun adventure. As far as the animals were concerned, I figured Steven could pull them off; he has done some fantastic things already."
The movie was produced at a cost of about $56 million, according to those familiar with the film's budget. But that figure does not include Spielberg's deferred salary, overhead for his Amblin Entertainment production outfit and Universal Pictures, interest and marketing and distribution costs.
All told, it may cost more than $100 million to get "Jurassic Park" into theaters, making it among the most expensive movies ever released.
Nevertheless, there is little doubt the film will be hugely profitable.
"There's an old story that goes something like this," says Tom Pollock, chairman of Universal parent MCA Motion Picture Group. "The devil came to this movie producer and said he could have one wish. And the producer wished for wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. And the devil gave him nothing, because nothing is beyond the dreams of avarice.
"That's a roundabout way of making the point that we expect everything. But I've seen the movie. I don't know that it's bad that our expectations are as high as they are, but they are very high."
Crichton, who co-wrote the film's screenplay, says Spielberg was the best candidate for directing his story.
"He probably has made more of these movies than anyone else -- if you count pictures like `E.T.,' `Close Encounters' and then the `Raiders' trilogy. He is somebody who absolutely dominates the technology instead of letting the technology dominate him," Crichton said. "He gets what he wants and is completely unintimidated by the complexity and difficulty of what he's undertaking."
Thanks to the film's incredible word-of-mouth, Universal has been able to extract highly favorable contract terms with theater owners. Instead of the customary 50 percent of ticket sales most studios collect, Universal will receive as much as 65 percent of the movie's gross.
"Our goal is to be playing all summer long," Pollock said. "We want to be the biggest film of the summer, not necessarily the biggest opening in history."
Privately, executives at struggling Universal believe "Jurassic Park" will bring in $200 million in North American theaters. That would put it in the company of such blockbusters as "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Ghost" and "Dances With Wolves."
Unlike those films, however, "Jurassic Park" has limitless exploitation possibilities in such ancillary markets as merchandise and theme park rides.
Water-themed "Jurassic Park" rides are tentatively scheduled to open at Universal's Hollywood and Florida theme parks in 1995; an animated television show is in development; an MCA subsidiary is publishing four "Jurassic Park" books.
Universal (and, to a lesser degree, Spielberg) will earn a royalty on each piece of "Jurassic Park" merchandise sold.
There are more than 100 companies worldwide cranking out paraphernalia linked to the movie. The list of 1,000 items ranges from the logical (dinosaur toys, T-shirts) to the bizarre ("Jurassic Park" lip balm and temporary tattoos).
Demand already is great.
"The response so far has been overwhelming. We're a little bit behind but we're getting the stuff out," said Sal Ferrara, whose Ferrara Pan Candy is making "Jurassic" ju-jus, fruit snacks, gummie dinosaurs and velociraptor eggs.
"You've got candy, children, dinosaurs and Steven Spielberg. What else do you need?" Ferrara said.
Both Universal and Amblin have been vigilant in approving "Jurassic Park" merchandise. Manufacturers are given a design style guide so that everything from the "photo activity pack" to the "molded soap dish" has a consistent look.
Furthermore, both Amblin and Universal must approve all of the merchandise so that the shameless exploitation at least doesn't look too shameless -- and make "Jurassic Park" synonymous with dinosaurs.
"`Jurassic Park' will make all other dinosaurs extinct," boasts Linda Berkeley, who heads the merchandising effort as MCA's senior vice president of business development. "We will become the brand-name dinosaur."
MCA detectives already are prowling stores looking for unauthorized dinosaur merchandise, which is a little hard to prove since you can't copyright a species.
Even though the film is rated PG-13, there is speculation the film is too violent and intense for children. The book itself was grisly, complete with eviscerations.
However, young viewers play a pivotal role in the ultimate success of "Jurassic Park." If they come, Universal may have the next "Home Alone." If they don't, the movie could lose tens of millions in ticket sales.
Crichton says he won't let his 4-year-old daughter see the film. Producer Kennedy puts the cutoff point at 9 or 10.
"It had never occurred to me that it would be anything but PG-13 and that the violence in the book would be changed," Crichton says. "There was a very early agreement that Steven and I had to" soften the novel, he said.
"The reason for that is that when you write violence in a book, the reader can be his or her own censor. The book requires you to imagine -- you imagine to the extent that you want to imagine, it's not images being forced on you.
"In a movie, the situation is quite different. In fact, what happens with explicit violence in movies is that it throws the audience out of the film, you break your association."
Until the film opens, all Universal can do is hope the hype doesn't get even further out of control. Asked what he thinks of the anticipation, MCA's Pollock replies: "It's already too high."
by CNB