Jurassic Park III

Jurassic Park III

Film poster with a logo at center of a skeleton of a Spinosaurus, with its mouth wide open and hands lifted up. The logo's background is red, and right below it is the film's title. A shadow covers a large portion of the film poster in the shape of a flying Pteranodon. At the bottom of the image are the credits and release date.

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joe Johnston
Produced by Kathleen Kennedy
Larry J. Franco
Written by Peter Buchman
Alexander Payne
Jim Taylor
Based on Characters created 
by Michael Crichton
Starring
Music by Don Davis
John Williams (original themes)
Cinematography Shelly Johnson
Edited by Robert Dalva
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • July 18, 2001
Running time
 93 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $93 million[2]
Box office $368.7 million[2]

Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction adventure film. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park film series and a sequel to the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It is the series' first film that was not directed by Steven Spielberg nor based on a book by Michael Crichton (though numerous scenes in the film were ultimately taken from Crichton's novels Jurassic Park and The Lost World). The film takes place on Isla Sorna, off Central America's Pacific coast, the island featured in the second film, where a divorced couple has tricked Dr. Alan Grant into going in order to help them find their son.

After the success of Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Joe Johnston expressed interest in directing a sequel, a film adaptation of The Lost World. Spielberg instead gave Johnston permission to direct the third film in the series, if there were to be one. Production of Jurassic Park III began on August 30, 2000. Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews, with many praising the visual effects and action scenes but finding the plot clichéd and unoriginal. Despite being less well-received than the previous films, Jurassic Park III was a box office success, grossing $368 million worldwide.

A sequel, titled Jurassic World, is set to be released on June 12, 2015.

Plot

Despite dangerous incidents being connected with Isla Sorna, tourists Ben Hildebrand and Eric Kirby decide to parasail around the island. A dinosaur of unknown species attacks and kills the boat crew when it passes through a fog bank, but Ben uncouples the line and with Eric (they are bound together) go sailing into the wilderness of Isla Sorna.

Meanwhile, Dr. Alan Grant has become reluctantly famous as a result of his survival and involvement in the scandal of Jurassic Park. Struggling to raise support for his research, he believes that the creatures of Jurassic Park are theme park monsters, and not real dinosaurs. Ellie Sattler has married a lawyer named Mark Delger and has a son, Charlie, who mostly calls Alan "The Dinosaur Man." One afternoon, while out on a dig, Alan's assistant Billy Brennan demonstrates how he can use a 3D printer to replicate the larynx of a Velociraptor. They also discuss how raptors are far more intelligent than they had previously believed, and had a complex social structure and hunting pattern.

A wealthy couple, Paul and Amanda Kirby, arrive and offer Alan some generous funding for his research if he will give them an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. Desperate for the money to fund further research, Alan reluctantly agrees. He flies there along with Paul, Amanda, Billy, and the Kirbys' associates, Udesky, Cooper and their pilot, Nash in a Beechcraft King Air B200. On board the plane, Alan learns that the Kirby's plan is to land on the island, which contradicts what they had promised earlier. When he objects, he is knocked out by Cooper, only to awaken to the sound of Amanda calling out to someone on the island using a bullhorn. This attracts a hungry Spinosaurus; Cooper leads it into the path of the plane before he is devoured. The plane then crashes into the trees in the surrounding jungle, and is quickly destroyed by the Spinosaurus. The carnivore pulls Nash out of the plane and devours him. After fleeing the wreckage of their plane, the survivors manage to briefly lose the Spinosaurus when it gets caught between two trees. As they flee to safety, a Tyrannosaurus feasting on a carcass appears, and the Spinosaurus returns, but the humans escape while the two distracted dinosaurs fight each other; the Spinosaurus, unable to overpower the T-Rex, desperately kills it by snapping its neck.

Demanding the truth from the Kirbys, Alan learns that they're actually a middle-class divorced couple who are using their life savings to look for their lost son, Eric, who disappeared with Ben eight weeks ago near Isla Sorna. Alan is dubious that Eric could have survived eight weeks on Isla Sorna. Further exploration leads them to find the parasail entangled in a tree, with Ben's decomposing body still attached to it. A video recorder shows them Ben and Eric's final descent onto the island. When they stumble upon some raptor nests with eggs, they flee, taking the parasail with them. They find an abandoned InGen compound and search in vain for functioning communications equipment. After finding several broken-down vending machines and phones, they make their way to a derelict laboratory.

Amanda sees a Velociraptor and is ambushed. The group manages to trap the raptor, but Alan witnesses the raptor signaling "calling for help" before fleeing. The raptor escapes and signals its pack mates to chase the group. During the ensuing chase, Udesky and Grant become separated from the others after causing a herd of Corythosaurus and Parasaurolophus to stampede; Alan grabs Billy's satchel that he dropped, and Udesky is pinned to the ground and wounded by the raptors. The group makes it to safety up the trees, but discover Udesky, who is still alive, on the ground. When they try to help him, they realize it was a trap set by the raptors, one of which then kills Udesky by snapping his neck. Alan suspects the raptors are searching for something when he sees the male and an albino female raptor communicating. Alan is ambushed and cornered by the raptors, but he is rescued by Eric, who has managed to survive for eight weeks in an overturned supply truck. Eric recognizes the sound of his father's satellite phone, which was lost when Nash was devoured; they're reunited with the Kirbys and Billy before the Spinosaurus arrives again with the satellite phone, ringing from inside the beast. They hide inside a small building and bar the doors until the Spinosaurus leaves.

Billy becomes possessive of his satchel; Alan realizes he has taken two eggs from the raptor's nest hoping the contents will fund their next dig, and this justifies the raptor attacks. Alan berates Billy for his careless behavior saying "You are no better than the people who built this place". Alan tries to throw the eggs out a broken window, but decides to take them because if the raptors find the group without the eggs, they will most likely kill them. The survivors make their way to a large outdoor complex, and Alan realizes in horror that the complex is a giant aviary to house Pteranodons, which attack the group and fly away with Eric, taking him as food for their young. Billy uses the remnants of Ben's parasail to rescue Eric, shortly before he falls into the river below, then is attacked and seemingly killed by some of the Pteranodons. The rest of the group find their way out of the cage, leaving the door unlocked in their panic, and make their way down river using a small boat. Later, they encounter a herd of several herbivorous dinosaurs on the riverside.

By nightfall, the group finds and retrieves the satellite phone from inside the feces belonging to the Spinosaurus. After retrieving the phone, they are confronted by a Ceratosaurus, which leaves after sniffing the feces on the humans. Later, as rain falls, the Spinosaurus once again follows them down river silently, where it begins attacking and capsizing the boat as Alan tries to contact Ellie. He is only able to convey the words "The River, Site B" before the phone disconnects. Alan and Paul manage to scare off the Spinosaurus for good by lighting the boat's fuel on fire. The next day, the group starts making their way towards the shoreline. Close to their goal, they are surrounded by the raptors once again. Using the imitation raptor larynx, Alan manages to confuse them, and Amanda surrenders the stolen eggs before the sound of helicopters startle off the raptors.

Returning to the beach, they find that Ellie had called in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy to rescue them. They discover that Billy, while seriously injured, is alive. As they leave the island, they see the Pteranodon group flying free, and Alan muses that it's time for them to find their place in the world again.

Cast

Creatures on screen

Production

Joe Johnston had been interested in directing the sequel to Jurassic Park and approached Spielberg, a friend of his, about the project. While Spielberg wanted to direct the first sequel, he agreed that if there was ever a third film, Johnston could direct.[3] Universal Pictures announced the film on June 29, 1998, with Spielberg acting as a producer. Michael Crichton was reportedly going to collaborate with Spielberg to create a storyline and write a script. The film was set for release in summer 2000.[4]

In June 1999, Craig Rosenberg wrote a draft of the script involving teenagers who get marooned on Isla Sorna.[5] Johnston was announced as the film's director in August 1999, with Rosenberg still attached. Production was expected to begin in early 2000.[6][7]

New writers were brought in to scribe a story involving Pteranodon escaping from Site B and causing a spate of mysterious killings on the mainland, which was to be investigated by Alan Grant and a number of other characters including Billy Brennan, a naturalist named Simone, a tough military attaché, wealthy Paul Roby, and Roby's teenage son Miles. Grant's group crash-lands on the island, while a parallel investigation is being carried out on the mainland. The aviary sequence and laboratory set piece were initially much longer and more complex, including Velociraptor stealthily entering the hatchery as the team spends the night there. Sets, costumes, and props were built for this version.[3]

In February 2000, filming was reportedly set to begin in Fiordland, New Zealand around the end of the month.[8][9] Scenes were originally planned to be filmed there for The Lost World: Jurassic Park.[10] In March 2000, Maui, Hawaii was reportedly chosen instead of New Zealand.[11] Sam Neill signed on to the project in June 2000, with 18 weeks of filming expected to begin by August 2000, for a release in July 2001.[12] Macy originally turned down his role due to scheduling conflicts.[13] Trevor Morgan and Téa Leoni were cast in August 2000,[14] with Utah's Dinosaur National Monument and an Oahu military base being considered as possible filming locations.[15][16]

Five weeks before filming began,[3] Johnston and Spielberg rejected the entire script as they were dissatisfied with it; $18 million had already been spent on the film at that time.[17] The "rescue mission" plot, which had been suggested by David Koepp, was used for the film instead.[3] Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor began rewriting the script in July 2000.[13] Johnston said that the script was never finished during production: "We shot pages that eventually went into the final script but we didn't have a document".[5] During the pre-production phase, concept artists created advertising for the film using a number of working titles including Jurassic Park: Extinction and Jurassic Park: Breakout.[18]

Production began on August 30, 2000, at Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia, Hawaii.[19] The following month, a teaser trailer was released online.[20] Filming continued on Oahu until September 9.[21] Aerial footage of Molokai's North Shore cliffs was then shot over the next two days, followed by a week of filming in Kauai.[19][22] Filming concluded in Hawaii on September 20, 2000.[21] Production then moved to California. John August was hired to do uncredited work on the script in September 2000.[23] Scenes were filmed at Occidental College in Los Angeles on October 10, 2000.[24] Scenes were filmed at Center Bay Studios in Los Angeles at the end of October.[25] Other filming locations in California included South Pasadena and a rock quarry in Irwindale.[26] Filming also took place at Universal Studios' backlot in Los Angeles.[24] Production returned to Hawaii in January 2001, to film the movie's ending, which had yet to be written during the previous Hawaiian shoot. The ending was filmed on Kauai's Pila'a Beach.[5]

The storyline contains minor scenes from Crichton's Jurassic Park and The Lost World novels that were ultimately not featured in the film versions, such as the Pteranodon aviary and the use of the boat. In a deviation from the previous films, the Spinosaurus is considered the primary antagonist:[27] Johnston stated, "A lot of dinosaurs have a very similar silhouette to the T-Rex ... and we wanted the audience to instantly recognize this as something else."[28] The silhouette of the Spinosaurus is also on the poster behind the Pteranodon, taking the place of the Tyrannosaurus which had been used in the previous films' posters. Baryonyx was originally considered to be the "big bad" before Spinosaurus was chosen, and early concept posters reflected this. Within film dialogue, Billy interprets the animal encountered as a Baryonyx or Suchomimus, but Dr. Grant corrects his analysis based on its sail.[3]

The special effects used for the dinosaurs were a mixture of animatronics and CGI. Due to new discoveries and theories in the field of paleontology, the portrayal of several dinosaurs differed from that of the previous films. Discoveries suggesting that Velociraptor were feathered prompted the addition of quill-like structures on the head and neck of the males in the film. "We've found evidence that Velociraptors had feathers, or feather-like structures, and we've incorporated that into the new look of the raptor", said paleontologist Jack Horner, the film's technical adviser.[28]

Given John Williams was busy writing the music for Spielberg's own A.I. Artificial Intelligence, he recommended Don Davis to write the Jurassic Park III score. Williams' original themes were integrated into the score as well as several new ones, such as one for the Spinosaurus that focused on low sounds, with tubas, trombones and timpani. The fight between him and the Tyrannosaurus, compared by Davis to King Kong fighting a dinosaur in the 1933 film, had a juxtaposition of the Spinosaurus theme with the one Williams wrote for the T. rex.[29] In addition, "Big Hat, No Cattle", a song by Randy Newman, was used in a restaurant scene.[30]

Release

The film earned $181,171,875 in the United States and $368,780,809 worldwide, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide[2] but still earning less than either of its predecessors. As with the other films in the franchise, there was a large marketing push, including seven video games[31] and a novelization aimed at young children.[32] The film was released on VHS and DVD in December 2001.[33] It was re-released with both sequels in December 2001[34] as the Jurassic Park Trilogy, and as the Jurassic Park Adventure Pack in November 2005.[35] The film has also been released as a two-disc DVD set alongside Hulk.[36] In 2011, the film was released on Blu-ray as part of the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy. The soundtrack was released in July 2001.[37]

Scott Ciencin wrote three children's books to tie in with the film; the first detailed the eight weeks Eric spent alone on Isla Sorna;[38] the second had Eric and Alan returning to Isla Sorna to rescue a group of teenage filmmakers;[39] and the last involved Eric and Alan leading the Pteranodon home after they nest in a Universal Studios theme park.[40]

Reception

Jurassic Park III has received mixed to positive reviews from critics and fans. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 49% rating based on 159 reviews. The site's consensus states: "The dinos are as cool as ever, but there's too much of a 'been there, done that' feel."[41] It also has a 42 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews.[42] On both sites, it is the lowest rated film out of the Jurassic Park trilogy.

Entertainment Weekly‍ '​s Owen Gleiberman, who praised both the previous Jurassic Park films, awarded the third film only a C grade, writing "Jurassic Park III has no pretensions to be anything more than a goose-bumpy fantasy theme-park ride for kids, but it's such a routine ride. Spielberg's wizardry is gone, and his balletic light touch as well, and that gives too much of this 90-minute movie over to the duller-than-dull characters."[43] Derek Elley of Variety Reviews felt likewise, calling the film "an all-action, helter-skelter, don't-forget-to-buy-the-computer-game ride that makes the two previous installments look like models of classic filmmaking".[44] Ben Varkontine of PopMatters called it "not as good a ride as the first", but "better than the second."[45] Much of the criticism was leveled at the plot as simply a chase movie with no character development; Apollo Movie Guide panned the film as being "almost the same as the first movie" with "no need for new ideas or even a script".[46] Empire magazine gave the film 3 stars out of 5, commenting that it was "Short, scrappy and intermittently scary" and that the film ultimately "skews young".[47]

On Ebert and Roeper, Richard Roeper gave it a Thumbs Down, while Roger Ebert awarded a Thumbs Up.[48] In a subsequent review, Ebert called it "the best blockbuster of the Summer".[49] In his written review, Ebert gave the film three stars and wrote that while the film was not as awe-inspiring as the first film or as elaborate as the second, "it's a nice little thrill machine. [...] I can't praise it for its art, but I must not neglect its craft..."[50]

Early pioneer of the dinosaur-bird connection Robert T. Bakker has quipped that the feathery quills added to the Velociraptor for Jurassic Park III "looked like a roadrunner's toupee." However, he conceded that feathers are difficult subjects for computer animation and speculated that "Jurassic Park IV"'s raptors would have more realistic thorough plumage.[51]

Awards and nominations

Award Subject Nominee Result
Saturn Awards Best Science Fiction Film Nominated
Best Special Effects Jim Mitchell, Stan Winston (uncredited), Danny Gordon Taylor, Donald R. Elliott, John Rosengrant Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Visual Effects Nominated
Best Sound Mixing Howell Gibbens Nominated
Golden Trailer Awards Best Horror/Thriller Film Nominated
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing – Effects & Foley Howell Gibbens, Christopher Boyes, James Likowski, Frank E. Eulner and Ken Fischer Nominated
Sierra Awards Best DVD Won
BMI Film Awards Best Music Don Davis and John Williams Won
Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Remake or Sequel Nominated
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards[52] Worst Actress Tea Leoni Nominated
Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million Worldwide Using Hollywood Math Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, based on the book by Michael Crichton Nominated
Worst Sequel Nominated

Merchandise

Hasbro released a line of 3.75" action figures in the spring of 2001 to coincide with the release, including electronic dinosaurs, humans, and vehicles. The figures were scaled down from the original Kenner action figures from the pre-JP3 toy lines. A smaller die-cast line of toys was also produced, along with clothes, books, and an interactive game. An arcade game, produced by Konami, and a video game, were also part of the Jurassic Park 3 merchandise.

Sequel

Main article: Jurassic World

A sequel, titled Jurassic World, is set to be released on June 12, 2015.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "JURASSIC PARK III (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 2001-07-09. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Jurassic Park III (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Making of Jurassic Park III (DVD). Universal Pictures. 2005.
  4. ↑ Cox, Dan (June 30, 1998). "‘Jurassic 3′ slated by U; Spielberg, Crichton to pen pic". Variety magazine. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Jumanji's Joe Johnston Joins Jurassic". About.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2006. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  6. ↑ Petrikin, Chris (August 5, 1999). "Johnston to direct third U pic". Variety magazine. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  7. ↑ "Spielberg dodges directing 'Jurassic 3'". CNN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  8. ↑ "JURASSIC PARK 3.... some news and some musings...". www.Aint-It-Cool-News.com. February 1, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-03-03.
  9. ↑ "Further Information On JURASSIC PARK 3". www.Aint-It-Cool-News.com. February 2, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-03-04.
  10. ↑ "Scene Is Set For 'Jurassic Park' Sequel". Sun-Sentinel. October 25, 1996. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  11. ↑ Head, Steve (March 29, 2000). "Location News & Trailer Rumor". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  12. ↑ McNary, Dave (June 28, 2000). "Neill to reprise ‘Jurassic’ role; Third installment to begin shooting July/Aug". Variety magazine. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Brake, Scott (July 20, 2000). "Rewrites and New Casting For Jurassic Park 3". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  14. ↑ Head, Steve (August 9, 2000). "Jurassic Park 3, The Casting Continues". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  15. ↑ Head, Steve (August 16, 2000). "Jurassic Park 3 and the Dinosaur Quarry". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  16. ↑ Head, Steve (August 7, 2000). "Jurassic Park 3 Seeks Military Base". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  17. ↑ Masters, Kim (January 30, 2013). "Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy on 'Star Wars,' 'Lincoln' and Secret J.J. Abrams Meetings (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2015-03-09.
  18. ↑ Jurassic Park III (DVD). 2001.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Ryan, Tim (August 25, 2000). "Cameras roll soon for Jurassic Park III". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2000-10-18.
  20. ↑ Head, Steve (September 11, 2000). "Jurassic Park 3 Teaser Trailer Online". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Kieszkowski, Elizabeth (September 2, 2000). "Media gain access to 'Jurassic Park III' set". The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2000-10-18.
  22. ↑ K. Kakesako, Gregg (September 4, 2000). "Film producers catch aloha spirit". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2001-06-25.
  23. ↑ Head, Steve (September 21, 2000). "Flying Dinos for Jurassic Park 3?". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Head, Steve (October 24, 2000). "Jurassic Park 3 on the Studio Backlot". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  25. ↑ Head, Steve (October 31, 2000). "Jurassic Park 3 at Center Bay Studios". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  26. ↑ "Jurassic Park III production notes: Dinos Everywhere". CinemaReview.com. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  27. ↑ Elley, Derek (2001-07-17). "Jurassic Park III". Variety. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Production Notes". Cinema Review. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  29. ↑ The Sounds of Jurassic Park III. Jurassic Park III Blu-Ray: Universal Home Video.
  30. ↑ Plume, Kenneth (July 25, 2001). "Composer Don Davis Talks Jurassic Park III and the Matrix Sequels". IGN. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  31. ↑ "Jurassic Park Licensees". Moby Games. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  32. ↑ Scott Ciencin (2001). Jurassic Park III. Random House Books for Young Readers. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-375-81318-4.
  33. ↑ "Jurassic Park III". IGN. 2001-12-12. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  34. ↑ "Jurassic Park Trilogy". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  35. ↑ "Jurassic Park Adventure Pack". IGN. 2005-11-17. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  36. ↑ "Jurassic Park III released with Hulk". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  37. ↑ "Jurassic Park III soundtrack valued at $12.99". Soundtrack.net. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  38. ↑ Scott Ciencin (June 2001). Survivor. Boxtree. p. 116. ISBN 0-7522-1978-2.
  39. ↑ Scott Ciencin (October 2001). Prey. Boxtree. p. 123. ISBN 0-375-81290-3.
  40. ↑ Scott Ciencin (March 2002). Flyers. Boxtree. p. 128. ISBN 0-375-81291-1.
  41. ↑ "Jurassic Park III". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  42. ↑ "Jurassic Park III: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  43. ↑ "News Review: Jurassic Park III". Entertainment Weekly. 2006-08-09.
  44. ↑ Elley, Derek (2001-07-17). "Jurassic Park III". Variety.
  45. ↑ Ben Varkontine. "Jurassic Park III". PopMatters. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  46. ↑ Brian Webster. "Jurassic Park III". Apollo Movie Guide. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  47. ↑ Review of Jurassic Park 3 -EmpireOnline
  48. ↑ "Ebert and Roeper Jurassic Park III". Buena Vista Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  49. ↑ "Ebert and Roeper Planet of the Apes". Buena Vista Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  50. ↑ Ebert, Roger (July 18, 2001). "Jurassic Park 3 review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  51. ↑ Bakker, R. 2004. “Dinosaurs Acting Like Birds, and Vice Versa – An Homage to the Reverend Edward Hitchcock, First Director of the Massachusetts Geological Survey” in Feathered Dragons. Currie, P.; Koppelhus, E.; Shugar, M.; Wright J. eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 1-11.
  52. ↑ "2001 24th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

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