Jurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, 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 visit the park. Sabotage sets the dinosaurs on the loose, and 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 mixed with newly developed computer-generated imagery by Industrial Light and Magic. Jurassic Park is regarded as a landmark in the usage of CGI effects and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the effects (though reaction to other elements of the picture, such as character development, was mixed). Jurassic Park spawned a franchise of films and other media, and was followed by The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997 and by Jurassic Park III in 2001, with Jurassic Park IV currently in development.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

68: Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide after he was deposed by the Senate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero)

1310: Italian artist Duccio's Maestà with Twenty Angels and Nineteen Saints, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, was unveiled and installed in Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maest%C3%A0_%28Duccio%29)

1772: In an act of defiance against the Navigation Acts, American patriots led by Abraham Whipple attacked and burned the British schooner HMS Gaspée. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasp%C3%A9e_Affair)

1856: Mormon pioneers began leaving Iowa City, Iowa and headed west for Salt Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_handcart_pioneers)

1928: Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew landed their Southern Cross aircraft in Brisbane, completing the first ever trans-Pacific flight from the United States mainland to Australia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsford_Smith)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

perforce: By force; of necessity; at any rate. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/perforce)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Be a clown, be a clown, All the world loves a clown. Act the fool, play the calf, And you'll always have the last laugh. -- Cole Porter (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cole_Porter)