San Diego is a city / county located in the southernmost region California, south of Los Angeles. It was to be the location of Jurassic Park: San Diego and the site of a major incident in 1997 which saw a Tyrannosaurus rex from Isla Sorna go on a rampage throughout the city.
San Diego features heavily in the climax of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Background[]
San Diego was originally inhabited by California Native Americans for thousands of years. It was eventually colonized by the Spanish Empire much like other lands in the Americas such as Costa Rica. In 1821, San Diego and the wider region of California would become part of the newly independent nation of Mexico. Some decades later it was then taken over some decades later by the United States with the rest of what became the American Southwest.
In modern times San Diego is part of the U.S. State of California and serves as a border city with Tijuana, Mexico. Some of its famous attractions are the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego. Its former football team was the San Diego Chargers.
Jurassic Park[]
Before his acquisition of Isla Nublar, venture capitalist John Hammond had plans to build his dream theme park, Jurassic Park, within San Diego. This was to be a zoological attraction which would feature genetically cloned dinosaurs. The plan went far along enough that a large amphitheater was built on the planned site. However, the acquisition of Isla Nublar from the Costa Rican government saw Hammond build Jurassic Park there instead. The amphitheater would then sit abandoned for years.
After the 1993 Isla Nublar incident, which saw the dinosaurs escape and the park shut down, Hammond lost control of his company InGen and all his assets, including the original Jurassic Park site. His nephew Peter Ludlow had the amphitheater finished and the site renamed Jurassic Park: San Diego. InGen's new plan was to capture already created dinosaurs living in the wild on the island of Isla Sorna to be housed at the park as new attractions. However, the expedition to Isla Sorna went awry resulting in many deaths and only the successful capture of only two animals: a male Tyrannosaurus rex and its young offspring.
However, due to not dosing the Tyrannosaur properly, it awoke midway on the journey by boat and killed the crew of the S.S. Venture which then crashed onto the San Diego harbor. It then went on a rampage throughout the city. It attacked several areas as well as ate two human victims (one of which was Peter Ludlow, when he tried recapturing the infant by himself in the ship's cargo hold, the adult broke his leg and was eaten by the infant) and a dog before being cornered back in the hull of the S.S. Venture by Ian Malcolm and Sarah Harding (who drew him there with his infant). The animal was then brought back to Isla Sorna and the subsequent theme park shut down.
In 2001, Dr. Alan Grant brings up the incident in San Diego at a press conference as a question that should not be asked due to not being present for those events.
Appearances[]
Films[]
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Jurassic Park III (mentioned only)
Books[]
Behind the Scenes[]
The scenes portraying San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park were majority shot in Burbank, California. Only one scene - aerial shots of downtown San Diego and the Tyrannosaurus roaring at buildings - were shot in San Diego. Major sets built were the entire docks as well as a Blockbuster Video. Exterior shots on streets were shot behind barricades to maintain secrecy.
Trivia[]
- The role of San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a homage to classic dinosaur adventure films Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World and King Kong.