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In the informative history of Jurassic Park trivia, one of the most remarkable stories comes from the time that the cast and crew were unexpectedly visited by natural disaster. As the on-location shoot for one of Steven Spielberg’s contributions to the best ’90s movies ever was about to wrap in summer 1992, Hurricane Iniki would arrive and have a massive impact.
The bigger picture is a story that includes some rather interesting developments and aspects. With everything from Sir Richard Attenborough being able to sleep through the chaos, to a stunt performer risking life and limb to get weather updates, this Jurassic Universe story is further proof that life can truly find a way; especially when you throw in a chance encounter that ties Raiders of the Lost Ark to this sci-fi movie masterpiece.
CinemaBlend readers, and my dear Jurassic Park fans, welcome to the story of Hurricane Iniki.
Hurricane Iniki: The Natural Disaster That Eerily Mirrored Jurassic Park’s Plot
Between September 5th and September 13th, 1992, Hurricane Iniki took shape in the Central Pacific region, eventually becoming a Category 4 storm. As Jurassic Park was nearing the end of its shooting schedule on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, initial reports stated that the hurricane was projected to hit Oahu, 100 miles southeast.
That would not be the case, as producer Kathleen Kennedy explained to author James Mottram in the book Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History. Here’s how Kennedy recalled the moment that defined the rest of the film’s shoot, from the section entitled “The Power of Iniki”:
The hurricane had turned ninety degrees, and was headed right for us. I had to tell Steven [Spielberg] that there was no possibility of getting anyone out, that we were going to have to ride this out.
That knowledge is an eerie coincidence that draws a parallel to Jurassic Park’s plot. Game warden Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) warns of a tropical storm raging “75 miles west of us” as the tour is about to begin. Hinging their hopes on the storm changing course away from Isla Nublar, John Hammond (Sir Richard Attenborough) gives Ray Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) the go ahead to start the tour program.
But as we know, Jurassic Park’s equivalent of an influencer preview turned into a modern fight for survival against prehistoric creatures. In the real world, however, as Sam Neill’s own Jurassic hurricane story revealed, cast and crew saw worsening conditions that posed a very real threat.
The Chance Encounter That Helped Kathleen Kennedy Get The Jurassic Park Cast And Crew Out Of Kaua’i
Kathleen Kennedy could be considered the Ellie Sattler of Jurassic Park’s production thanks to her resourcefulness and a hell of a trek on foot. In the moments leading up to Hurricane Iniki’s impact, Kathleen Kennedy requested that Universal Pictures send a jet that would transport cast and crew off of Kaua’i and back home to California. Unfortunately, in another parallel to the Jurassic story, communications were down in this literal disaster area.
Once Hurricane Iniki had dissipated, the producer took a ten-mile round trip run to Lihue Airport in order to check on the location’s condition. As she did this, the Jurassic crew, led by head greensman Danny Ondrejko, provided vital assistance in clearing storm debris in Kaua’i.
Kennedy would then take a Jeep back to Lihue Airport in order to talk her way onto a flight to Oahu, which would hopefully help her secure passage home for everyone. All of this travel was necessary so that the Jurassic Park producer could continue her quest, while also assuring families back home that everyone was ok.
And this is where life imitating art took a kinder turn, thanks to a chance encounter with Hawaiian Airlines pilot, and one-time actor Fred Sorenson. You probably don’t recognize the man by name, but you’d definitely know him through his singular acting gig, shown below:
That’s right! Sorenson’s claim to fame, besides being a real-life Jurassic Park hero, was playing Jock, the pilot who saves Harrison Ford’s life in the opening sequence to Raiders of the Lost Ark. The funny thing is, Fred was an actual pilot cast at the last minute, taking him away from his gig at Hawaiian Airlines.
To be fair, Kathleen Kennedy didn’t recognize him at first either, as she recalled to authors Don Shay and Jody Duncan. Here’s how that story unfolded in their 1993 book, The Making of Jurassic Park: An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making:
A guy came up to me, and said ‘Do you know who I am?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Does the line ‘That’s my pet snake Reggie,’ mean anything to you?’ It was the pilot from Raiders of the Lost Ark! I couldn’t believe it! He had been flying a DC-3 in and out of Kaua’i, loaded with medical personnel and supplies.
Thanks to this serendipitous meeting, Kennedy and Sorenson worked out a strategy that would not only get vital medical personnel and supplies out to Kaua’i, but would also allow Jurassic Park’s cast and crew to evacuate as a result. Through the use of a Hawaiian AIrlines DC-8 and a Universal private jet, it only took 48 hours to execute this plan.
Of course, Fred Sorenson had a real sense of humor about his role in making this all happen. Kathleen Kennedy made that fact perfectly clear in her story for Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History, which added this fun detail:
He was singing the theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark! When the plane took off, we all cheered.
When all was said and done, director Steven Spielberg claimed in an interview for that same book that only a day of shooting was scrapped to Hurricane Iniki. Several days after their flight to safety, Jurassic Park would pick up its shooting schedule once more on the Universal lot.
While not much time was lost, there was a bit of a tradeoff that took place. As the production would gain some actual footage from the hurricane’s earlier phases, which was used in the film. a pretty big scene had to be scrapped because of the devastation.
How Hurricane Iniki Wound Up In Jurassic Park, And The Big Scene It Scrapped
Telling his side of the Jurassic Park story involving Hurricane Iniki, cinematographer Dean Cundey revealed during a 2009 episode of Storm Stories that Steven Spielberg actually had a quick idea to take advantage of the storm. Before conditions forced everyone to take shelter, the E.T. director approached Cundey with the following pitch:
Steven came to me and said, ‘You know, we oughta get a couple of shots of this really great ocean. So I said great. … We were watching as the waves would get bigger and bigger, and pretty soon they were pretty huge. … One of the hotel security guys came down, and said it was no longer safe. We had to go to the ballroom.
If you recall the brief shots of disaster that show huge waves crashing over barriers, just before Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) is about to sabotage the park, that’s the footage that came from this crazy shoot. However, the storm giveth and the storm taketh away, as Samuel L. Jackson would eventually reveal in an interview for Jurassic Park’s 20th anniversary.
Published in the September 2013 issue of Empire, the feature “When Dinosaurs Roamed The Earth,” which is currently shared on author Nick de Semlyen’s website, a whole bunch of Jurassic history was discovered. That included the story where the MCU veteran revealed why we never saw Ray Arnold die at the claws of a Velociraptor pack. Jackson’s explanation, and his reaction to the change of plans, was the following:
I was supposed to go to Hawaii and shoot a big death scene, and then the hurricane went through and destroyed the set. So I never got to shoot the demise of Ray Arnold. You were going to see me get physically chased by the ’raptors and then be slain by one of them. I wanted to do it!
Years after that admission, Jackson continued to tell that Jurassic tale, and it’s one of the greatest “what ifs” in Jurassic Park history. Besides, of course, ‘what if Jurassic Park’s original ending remained intact?’ In the grand scheme, the loss is still heartbreaking, but thankfully it wasn’t a deal breaker for the production’s June 1993 release date.
Also, at least Samuel L. Jackson didn’t have to endure Hurricane Iniki firsthand. That was an experience that had most of Jurassic Park’s cast and crew shaken, except for one notable exception.
Sir Richard Attenborough’s Curious Reaction To Hurricane Iniki
I’d like to end with one final anecdote from Sam Neill, courtesy of Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History. More specifically, I feel like it’d be a waste to not recall Sir Richard Attenborough’s reaction to the events that were unfolding.
You see, while most everyone involved was rattled, and rightfully so, the person who seemed to weather the storm the best was the Gandhi director, who was cast as the park’s visionary creator, John Hammond.
Neill’s recollection of why that happened to be is a humorous button to a serious story. At the same time, it feels like a moment where actor and character come together in a comfortable chuckle, as you’ll read below:
They had got him a beach chair, and he lay down and slept through it pretty much. But at one point, he was sitting up, and Laura [Dern] went over to him and said, ‘Sir Richard, are you okay?’ And he went, ‘Darling, I went through the Blitz!’ and laid back and closed his eyes.
30 years later, Jurassic Park is still a marvel of blockbuster filmmaking, and if you’re ready to return to Isla Nublar, you can do so with a Netflix subscription. But whenever you partake in this adventure 65 million years in the making, keep the history told above in mind.
For all of the danger and devastation that Hurricane Iniki delivered to Kaua’i, the fact that the cast and crew made it through safely feels like a miracle. To remember that only makes the end result all the more astonishing.