Have you seen it?
Rory CashinWhen author Michael Crichton released his book Jurassic Park in 1990, followed by the massive blockbuster adaptation by Steven Spielberg in 1993, Hollywood rushed to his catalogue to source the next big hit from him. In quick succession, we got big screen versions of Rising Sun, Disclosure and Congo, while on the small screen, he hit it big with medical drama ER.
Upon investigation of the craft, the team discovers that it actually isn't alien, but has travelled back in time from the distant future, and on board is a huge, floating, perfectly spherical golden ball. One by one, the sphere begins to influence the members of the crew, as well as apparently manifesting some of their biggest fears, up to and including the creation of a giant squid which attacks the Habitat.
It also didn't help that the movie was directed by what, in hindsight, seems like a truly dreadful choice: Barry Levinson. The Oscar-winning helmer of Good Morning Vietnam and Rain Man had done decent business directing Disclosure four years earlier, that movie making over $214 million from a $55 million budget. But Disclosure was more of an erotic thriller with some weird pseudo-sci-fi elements , and the character work was well within Levinson's wheelhouse.
That was not the case with Sphere, which was halted before production over budgetary concerns. Warner Bros. eventually agreed to assign $80 million to the movie, which even in 1998, wasn't enough. At the same time, Armageddon was costing $140 million and Godzilla had a $150 million price tag. Blockbusters were costing more and more money, and Sphere clearly wasn't going to get the money that it needed to fully realise its potential.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
25 years ago, 'Jurassic Park with aliens' turned into one of the biggest flops ever | JOE.ieThe plot involves a spacecraft, presumed to be of alien origin, suddenly discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean
Read more »
PlayStation VR2 feels like it came from 20 years in the future | JOE.iePlayStation VR2 feels like it came from 20 years in the future
Read more »
PlayStation VR2 feels like it came from 20 years in the future | JOE.iePlayStation VR2 feels like it came from 20 years in the future
Read more »
On walls, park benches: Moscow's silent calls for peaceDespite strict government censorship and the threat of jail, residents of Russia's capital are finding subtle ways to express alarm and dissent over the Kremlin's year-long offensive in Ukraine.
Read more »
M. Night Shyamalan producing new movie set in the west of Ireland | JOE.ieThe filmmaker's daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, will direct The Watchers which will be adapted from the novel of the same name by Irish author A.M. Shine.
Read more »
Netflix has just added one of the worst things created due to the pandemic | JOE.ieProduced by Michael Bay, the movie actually features an impressive cast list
Read more »