Jurassic Park is a
1993 science fiction thriller film directed by
Steven Spielberg and based on the
novel of the same name by
Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of
Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an
amusement park of
cloned dinosaurs. John Hammond (
Richard Attenborough) invites a group of scientists, played by
Sam Neill,
Jeff Goldblum and
Laura Dern, to inspect the park prior to its public opening. Sabotage sets the dinosaurs loose, and the technicians and visitors attempt to escape the island.
Spielberg acquired the rights to the novel before its publication in
1990, and Crichton was hired to adapt his novel.
David Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, and also made numerous changes to the characters. Spielberg hired
Stan Winston Studios to create
animatronics to portray the dinosaurs, shots of which were then mixed with newly developed
computer-generated imagery by
Industrial Light & Magic. Paleontologist
Jack Horner aided the actors and the special effects team in creating authenticity (although aspects of the animals' depictions became outdated due to changes in evolutionary theories). Filming took place from August 24 to November 30, 1992, in
Kauaokinai,
Ookinaahu, and
California.