Jurassic Park Page #8

GRANT:

What are they doing?

As they watch, a giant crane lowers something large down into

the middle of the jungle foliage inside the pen. Something very large.

It's a steer. They poor thing looks disconcerted as hell,

helpless its in a harness, flailing its legs in the air.

HAMMOND:

Feeding them.

(moving along)

Alejandro is preparing a delightful meal for us. A

Chilean sea bass, I believe. Shall we?

Grant goes up to the viewing deck. The others follow, staring

as the steer disappears into the shroud of foliage. The line from the

crane hangs for a moment.

The jungle seems to grow very quiet. They all stare at the

motionless crane line. It jerks suddenly, like a fishing pole finally

getting a nibble. There's a pause - -

- - and then a frenzy. The line jerks every which way, the

jungle plants sway and SNAP from some frantic activity within, there is

a cacophony of GROWLING, of SNAPPING, of wet CRUNCHES that mean the

steer is literally being torn to pieces and is almost makes it worse

that we can't see anything of what's going on - -

- - and then it's quiet again. The line jerks a few times, then

stops. Slowly the SOUND of the jungle starts up again.

HAMMOND:

Fascinating animals, fascinating.

ELLIE:

Oh my God.

HAMMOND:

Give time, they'll out draw the T-rex. Guarantee it.

GRANT:

I want to see them. Can we get closer?

Ellie puts a hand on his arm, like calming an overexcited child.

ELLIE:

Alan, these aren't bones anymore.

HAMMOND:

We're - - still perfecting a viewing system. The

raptors seem to be a bit resistant to integration into a

park setting.

A VOICE comes from behind them.

VOICE (O.S.)

They should all be destroyed.

They turn and look at the man who spoke. ROBERT MULDOON, the

grim-faced man who was present at the accident in the beginning, is

fortyish, British.

He joins them and takes his hat off. When Muldoon talks, you

listen.

HAMMOND:

Robert. Robert Muldoon, my game warden from Kenya. Bit

of an alarmist, I'm afraid, But he's dealt with the

raptors more than anyone.

GRANT:

(introducing himself)

Alan Grant. Tell me, what kind of metabolism do they

have? What's their growth rate?

(or)

rate of growth.

MULDOON:

They're lethal at eight months. And I do lethal. I've

hunted most things that can hunt you, but the way these

things move - -

GRANT:

Fast for biped?

MULDOON:

Cheetah speed. Fifty, sixty miles per hour if they ever

got out in the open. And they're astonishing jumpers.

HAMMOND:

Yes, yes, yes, which is why we take extreme precautions.

They viewing area below us will have eight-inch tempered

glass set in reinforced steel frames to - -

GRANT:

Do they show intelligence? With the brain cavity like

theirs we assumed - -

MULDOON:

They show extreme intelligence, even problem solving.

Especially the big one. We bred eight originally, but

when she came in, she took over the pride and killed all

but two of the others. That one - -when she looks at

you, you can see she's thinking (or) working things

out. She's the reason we have to feed 'em like this.

She had them all attacking the fences when the feeders

came.

ELLIE:

The fences are electrified, right?

MULDOON:

That's right. But they never attack the same place

twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses.

Systematically. They remembered.

Behind them, the crane WHIRRS back to life, raising the cable

back up out of the raptor pen. The guest turn and stare as the end

portion of the cable becomes visible. The steer has been dragged

completely away, leaving only the tattered, bloody harness.

Hammond claps his hands together excitedly.

HAMMOND:

Who's hungry? After you, my dear.

30INT.VISITOR CENTER PRESENTATION ROOM - DAY

HAMMOND, GRANT, ELLIE, MALCOLM, and GANNARO eat lunch at a long

table in the visitor's center restaurant.

There is a large buffet table and two WAITERS to serve them.

The room is darkened and Hammond is showing slides of various

scenes all around them. Hammond's own recorded voice describes current

and future features of the park while the slides flash artists'

renderings of all them.

The real Hammond turns and speaks over the narration.

HAMMOND:

None of these attractions have been finished yet. The

park will open with the basic tour you're about to take,

and then other rides will come on line after six or

twelve months. Absolutely spectacular designs. Spared

no expense.

More slides CLICK past, a series of graphs dealing with profits,

attendance and other fiscal projections. Donald Gennaro, who has

become increasingly friendly with Hammond, even giddy, grins from ear

to ear.

GENNARO:

And we can charge anything we want! Two thousand a day,

ten thousand a day - - people will pay it! And then

there's the merchandising - -

HAMMOND:

Donald, this park was not built to carter only to the

super rich. Everyone in the world's got a right to

enjoy these animals.

GENNARO:

Sure, they will, they will.

(laughing)

We'll have a - - coupon day or something.

Grant looks down, at the plate he's eating from. It's in the

shape of the island itself. He looks at his drinking cup. It's got a

T-rex on it, and a splashy Jurassic Park logo.

There are a stack of folded amusement park-style maps on the

table in front of Grant. He picks one up. Boldly, across the top it

says, "Fly United to Jurassic Park!"

HAMMOND:

(on tape)

- - from combined revenue streams for all three parks

should reach eight to nine billion dollars a year - -

HAMMOND:

(to Gennaro)

That's conservative, of course. There's no reason to

speculate wildly.

GENNARO:

I've never been a rich man. I hear it's nice. Is it

nice?

Ian Malcolm, who was been watching the screens with outright

contempt, SNORTS, as if he's finally had enough.

MALCOLM:

The lack of humility before nature that's been displayed

here staggers me.

They all turn and look at him.

GENNARO:

Thank you, Dr. Malcolm, but I think things are a little

different than you and I feared.

MALCOLM:

Yes, I know. They're a lot worse.

GENNARO:

Now, wait a second, we haven't even see the park yet.

Let's just hold out concerns until - -

(or alt. version)

Wait - we were invited to this island to evaluate the

safety conditions of the park, physical containment.

The theories that all simple systems have complex

behavior, that animals in a zoo environment will

eventually begin to behave in an unpredictable fashion

have nothing to do with that evaluation. This is not

some existential furlough, this is an on-site

inspection. You are a doctor. Do your job. You are

invalidating your own assessment. I'm sorry, John - -

HAMMOND:

Alright Donald, alright, but just let him talk. I want

to hear all viewpoints. I truly do.

(or)

I truly am.

MALCOLM:

Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're

doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force

ever seen on this planet. But you wield it like a kid

who's found his dad's gun.

MALCOLMGENNARO:

If I may....It is hardly appropriate

to start hurling

Excuse me, excuse me - -generalizations before - -

I'll tell you.

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