Alan Grant

"Good, this is good. Here we are in the worst place in the world and we're not even being paid." Dr. Alan Grant - Jurassic Park III

Dr. Alan Grant is one of the main characters in the Jurassic Park Franchise. He is a paleontologist who was invited by John Hammond to his theme park, Jurassic Park. Since then he is involved with the dinosaurs. Alan's fate is very different in the various canons: in Operation Genesis he only leads excavations and never encounters the actual creatures, while in Jurassic Park Adventures: Prey he will live years on a research center to study the creatures. In all media he is socially awkward and can live years without a girlfriend.

Jurassic Park
In the Jurassic Park novel, Grant is described as a bearded, red haired, forty-year old chief paleontologist. At the time of the InGen incident, and the time of the publication of the book, it can be assumed that Grant was born in either the year 1950 or 1949. In the novel, Grant tells Tim Murphy that he is a widower. In the book, it says he helped describe the Maiasaura with Jack Horner. Actually, Grant is based on Horner himself - one of the scientific advisers for Jurassic Park - rather than on Bob Makela (1940-1987), Horner's co-author for Maiasaura.

Grant had uncovered a Velociraptor skeleton in Montana, when he was invited to Jurassic Park, a jungle island where genetically engineered dinosaurs were being created. It was there that he met Tim Murphy, and supposedly becomes good friends with him. He was the one who confirmed the breeding problem in among the Jurassic Park Othnielia, Velociraptor, Maiasaura, Procompsognathus and Hypsilophodon.

Later, he was witness to the Tyrannosaurus escaping its paddock, and subsequently attacking the remainder of the tour group. In the ensuing carnage, Ian Malcolm was severely wounded when the Tyrannosaurus threw him in the air. Shortly following the attack, he escapes with John's grandchildren. Grant and the children successfully crossed the Tyrannosaurus paddock and spend the night in a large tree. When they wake up, they cross over the perimeter fence, make it back to the visitor's center, and reunite with Ellie.

On returning to the Visitor Center, Grant realizes the Velociraptors had escaped. The laboratory holds syringes filled with deadly toxins in case the scientists ever needed to quickly kill a dinosaur. Knowing that Velociraptors probably were scavengers and would eat dinosaur eggs, Grant injects several incubating eggs with the poison and rolls them out toward the raptors. Two of the raptors die in this fashion, but the third one outsmarts his trick and Grant has to kill it by physically sticking it with the syringe. After Tim restores power, the living protagonists are saved.

Grant, together with Ellie, Muldoon and Donald Gennaro, investigate an underground nesting place of Velociraptor. The creatures go outside in response of the sound of helicopters. The Costa Rican air force has landed on the island and saves the survivers; but Hammond is not among them. He was eaten alive by Procompsognathus.

The Lost World
Grant is only mentioned very briefly in The Lost World when it is said that he proposed a theory that Tyrannosaurus Rex could not function in the rain, and also spoke in conferences in Paris and Peking about new tyrannosaur fossil finds.

Jurassic Park
In Jurassic Park Alan Grant is a world renowned paleontologist working at a dig site just outside Snakewater, Montana. He is descibed in the script as:

DR ALAN GRANT, mid-thirties, a ragged-looking guy with intense concentration you wouldn't want to get in the way of.

He was invited by John Hammond to his theme park: Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. He and his partner Ellie Sattler accepted the offer, in exchange for a further three years of dig funding. When they arrived, he was astonished by the sight of a Brachiosaurus eating and wondering the area. Dr. Alan Grant saw how the DNA was extracted and witnessed the birth of a Velociraptor.



But the day quickly turned upside down when the Tyrannosaurus Rex escaped her exhibit and other carnivores made Dr. Alan Grant run for his life. He protected Lex Murphy and Tim Murphy while they tried to make it through the park. This included evading a falling Land cruiser down a 20 foot tree, running from a herd of Gallimimus, and climbing over an electric fence. Lex was able to get to the Visitor Center's computer room and restart all of the systems in the park. Grant and the kids were then attacked by raptors and made it to the front of the Visitor Center where Hammond picked them up. Grant told Hammond that he decided not to endorse his park and Hammond agreed. They got on a helicopter and left the island. He grew to like kids during the experience on the island.

Jurassic Park III
Dr. Grant appears again in Jurassic Park III, since the first movie a lot has changed. Grant has continued to work as a paleontologist, this time at a dig site near Fort Peck Lake, Montana. His relationship with Ellie has ended. Now he has a new partner in Billy Brennan, his apparent protege, but it is Grant who must rein in Billy's headstrong tendencies.

He visits Ellie and her family. In a way, he envies Ellie her happy family and wonders why he shies away from marriage and fatherhood.

He gave lectures on the intelligence of raptors, however, his listeners were only interested in the events in 1993, and the San Diego incident. He stated nothing could get him to The Five Deaths (Isla Sorna/SiteB). He was later bribed into going to Isla Sorna by so-called wealthy couple Paul Kirby and his wife Amanda Kirby on an aerial tour. Dr. Alan Grant invited his paleontology colleague Billy Brennan to accompany him on the trip.

While they where flying over the island, Dr. Alan grant notices that the pilot is going to land. Dr. Grant begins to protest but is knocked unconscious by one of the mercenaries hired by the Kirbys. When Grant wakes up, they have landed on the island already. Then after a failed take off disrupted by a Spinosaurus, Grant and the others are trapped on the island. Grant discovers that the Kirby's are not wealthy or married, just middle class people who were searching for their son, Eric, who had gotten lost on the island eight weeks before. After the Kirby's realize Grant had never been on Isla Sorna, he leads the group, being the only person who has been on this experience. Grant, using his knowledge of dinosaurs, survives with the Kirby's and an injured Billy.

Dr. Grant's hat
One of the most apparent characteristics of Dr. Grant is his cowboy hat. In the first movie he always wears a hat, until it is blown from his head by the T. rex. In Jurassic Park III he is again wearing a hat at the dig, in the plane and at the island. He loses his hat in the Aviary while fleeing from the Pteranodons. At the end of the movie, when Billy and Alan meet again, Billy hands over Alan's hat. "Look, I've saved your hat." Alan responds rather jokingly, "Well that's the important thing," and immediately puts it on his head.

Grant's habit to wear a hat and his devotion to it is not just an odd characteristic of Grant. For many paleontologists hats are very important. Jack Horner wrote about it in his book How to build a dinosaur:

"I can't say hats are as precious to paleontologists as they are to Texans, but they can be something of a signature, or talisman... Excavations are never, ever done in the shade. Where there is erosion and exposure, there is inevitable sun, and a hat, which is absolutely necessary, can gather memories and significance."

Alan Grant's books
In the various canons of the Jurassic Park Series Alan Grant writes a number of books, of at least the first two it is clear that they had become popular.

The Lost World of the Dinosaurs
It is clear from the film Jurassic Park that Dr. Grant argued in this book that dinosaurs evolved into birds. It was also fully illustrated.

In Jurassic Park Adventures: Survivor a couple of quotes from the book appear:

''When (the sauropods) ate North America empty, to travelled south to South America until that was empty. They just ate themselves out of existence.''

''Many scientists believe the dinosaurs never really died out 65 million years ago. These scientists believe dinosaurs live on today - as birds. The dinosaurs were too large and their food supply is too small, so the dinosaurs became a likely example of natural selection - in short, they were forced to adapt or perish.''

Book about Jurassic Park
In Jurassic Park III Eric mentions a book that Alan Grant wrote about the Isla Nublar Incident. Eric sensed from this book that Alan somewhat disliked dinosaurs after the incident.

Pteranodon book
At the end of Jurassic Park Adventures: Flyers Alan Grants says he's planning to write a book about Pteranodons and their attack of Universal Studios.

Jurassic Park inspired games

 * Alan Grant is the main playable character in the Jurassic Park SNES game. His appearance is based on the first film. He is armed with a gun.


 * He is also playable in the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game alongside the Velociraptor.


 * He is again playable in Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues and Jurassic Park III: Island Attack.


 * He appears in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis where he notifies the player on fossil hunts.


 * He makes a cameo appearance in the ending of the arcade Jurassic Park game.


 * He is a playable character in the Jurassic Park mobile game, alongside Malcolm.

Comic books
Alan Grant is the main character in the comic series Jurassic Park: Raptor, Jurassic Park: Raptors Attack and Jurassic Park: Raptors Hijack.

Trivia

 * In the film, Grant can dislikes kids at first, contrary to the father-like figure in the first Jurassic Park novel.
 * Grant is based on Jack Horner, a real-life paleontologist that helped the movie crew in making dinosaurs bases on facts.

Quotes
"Turn off the light, turn off the light" - Grant after seeing Lex turn on a light moments after the T-Rex escapes.

''"IAN FREEZE!" - to Dr. Malcolm''

"Mr. Hammond, the phones are working" - to John Hammond

"Mr. Hammond, after much consideration, I have decided NOT to endorse your park!" - to John Hammond

"Mr. Kirby, there's no such thing as Kirby Enterprises?" - to Paul Kirby

"As far as I'm concerned, you're no better than the people who built this place!"- to Billy Brennan

"Well, that's the important thing" - response to Billy saving his hat