Steven Spielberg Brainstorming 'Jurassic Park 4' with Writer Mark Protosevich

Steven Spielberg has dinosaurs back on the brain lately. In addition to the impending launch of the television series Terra Nova on Fox in the fall, Spielberg has been meeting with screenwriter Mark Protosevich to kick around ideas for how to re-boot the Jurassic Park franchise.

Several years ago, the Oscar-winning director worked with Protosevich on a potential remake of Chan-wook Park's Oldboy that was to star Will Smith. That film ran into rights problems and didn't come to fruition, but Spielberg, who directed the first two Jurassic Park films and was an executive producer on the third, has since met twice with Protosevich to fashion a story for a potential fourth film in the franchise.

Both Universal, which released the trilogy, and Spielberg's camp stress that no one has been engaged to write a script and that the discussions have been purely exploratory. But the idea is kind of a no-brainer.

The franchise, born of the late Michael Crichton's 1990 novel, has been in stuck in amber since 2001, when Joe Johnston directed Jurassic Park III from a script by Peter Buchman, Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne. That last entry signaled the series' fading fortunes, as it grossed just $369 million worldwide -- Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park grossed $915 million and $619 million, respectively.

Spielberg's original 1993 film adaptation, which came on the heels of James Cameron's groundbreaking Terminator 2: Judgment Day, greatly advanced CGI technology (courtesy of ILM) in its depiction of colossal dinosaurs re-animated in the modern day. With the recent rebirth of 3D and soaring improvements in digital design marshaled by everyone from Cameron to Pixar, Jurassic Park is ripe for evolution into a 21st century phenomenon.

And Universal could use the revived sci-fi tentpole.The Fast and the Furious franchise remains healthy, but The Mummy has lost momentum, the Bourne series lost star Matt Damon (a reboot with Jeremy Renner is in the works) and Van Helsing, The Wolfman and Land of the Lost never caught fire. Battleship remains a gamble for summer 2012 but could spark a new alien-related franchise.

Stampeding dinosaurs endangering humans, fighting each other and smashing things never gets old, and Cameron showed how far an ambitious filmmaker can push an integrated, immersive 3D world with Avatar. A new Spielberg-produced Jurassic Park that takes full advantage of those tools could be (pre)historic.

The CAA-repped Protosevich recently had a story credit on Marvel Studios' Thor, and he is working on an adaptation of the Ape Entertainment comic Freakshow that he would also direct. He co-wrote the screenplay for I Am Legend and wrote both The Cell and Poseidon.

The CAA-repped Spielberg is finishing up The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn for Paramount and War Horse for DreamWorks/Disney, both scheduled for holiday releases. He next plans to direct Lincoln for DreamWorks/Touchstone.

My suggestion for an update on the theme song:

NSFW:

My suggestion for an update on the theme song:

NSFW:

'Jurassic Park 4' is in the works, Steven Spielberg confirms

Steven Spielberg has confirmed that work has started on a fourth Jurassic Park film. The director announced that the long-awaited dinosaur sequel has a story and a writer during his first ever appearance at Comic-Con, reports Total Film.

The movie legend was in San Diego to pick up a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to cinema.

Spielberg commented: "Jurassic Park 4 has a story. We have a writer, and we’re hoping to make Jurassic Park 4 within the next two or three years."

Spielberg directed the original adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1990 novel along with its sequel The Lost World, and was an executive producer on 2001's Jurassic Park 3.

He is also due to launch a dinosaur-themed TV series on US network Fox in the autumn.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Spielberg had been "kicking around ideas" for a fourth instalment in the franchise with screenwriter Mark Protosevich.

'Jurassic Park 4' scriptwriting gets under way

Scriptwriting has started for Jurassic Park 4, director Steven Spielberg has confirmed.

The fourth instalment of the dinosaur franchise was confirmed at the San Diego Comi-Con over the summer. But the director told Empire magazine that the project is now well under way. He said:


Spielberg directed the original adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1990 novel along with its sequel The Lost World, and was an executive producer on 2001's Jurassic Park 3.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Spielberg had been "kicking around ideas" for a fourth instalment in the franchise.

The director is also due to launch a dinosaur-themed TV series on US network Fox.

Spielberg's latest film, The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn, is currently on general release. The film stars Billy Elliot's Jamie Bell and Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz actor Simon Pegg.

Steven Spielberg rules himself out of 'Jurassic Park 4'

Steven Spielberg has said that he will not direct Jurassic Park 4.

A fourth movie in the blockbusting dinosaur franchise has been in the works for some time. But now the directing giant has said that while he is involved in the development, he will not helm the movie.

He told Collider: "I don’t want to talk about Jurassic Park 4 yet - it's too early - but I can tell you that I'm not directing it. I'm producing it though."

Neither would the director confirm whether the movie would be a direct sequel to Jurassic Park 3 to mark the original’s 20th anniversary, or a reboot of the original story: "I can't say. I will when the time is right, but for now I can't talk about it."

Spielberg recently expressed his desire to post-convert the original into 3D. His producing partner Kathleen Kennedy recently said of the concerns over a fourth movie: "A great script is what it's gonna take to get a fourth Jurassic Park. We have a very high bar for ourselves because we're just like the audience, we don't wanna make the movie if there's not a reason to make the movie."

She continued: “So we've kinda created the dilemma ourselves because it was never intended to be a franchise, so there's an argument to be made - 'Why are you doing a fourth Jurassic Park?' So we've gotta find a good reason for why we're doing a fourth Jurassic Park and we're in the midst of working on that right now."

Universal Sets ‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Scribes For ‘Jurassic Park 4′

While Universal Pictures has been trying all summer to generate new franchises, the studio is getting moving with the fourth installment of its biggest one, Jurassic Park. Universal is setting Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver to write the script for the fourth film, which will be produced by Steven Spielberg and Kennedy/Marshall’s Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. Spielberg won’t direct this one. The first three films, which started with the Spielberg-directed 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park based on the bestselling novel by Michael Crichton, have grossed over $1.9 billion worldwide collectively. Universal is rereleasing the original film in 3D on July 19, 2013. The scribe are repped by CAA and attorney Don Steele.

I've got a great idea.

Don't do one.

Is there anything more than needs to be done with Jurassic Park? Seems to me they stretched that concept out as far as it can go and really it was pretty tapped out after the first movie. Man creates dinosaur amusement park....things go horribly wrong. Done.