A Tree For My Bed is a scene in which Alan Grant, Lex Murphy and Tim Murphy climb into a tree to have a save place to spend the night. The tree has a view of a herd of grazing Brachiosaurs.
For the complete transcript of the scene: Jurassic Park Film Transcript#A Tree For My Bed.
Title[]
It is unknown what this scene was called by the filming crew. It was titled 91 EXT PARK GROUND NIGHT and 92 EXT TREE NIGHT in the Jurassic Park Film Script. The scene is called (until further information is revealed) here A Tree For My Bed, named after the title of its background music (see Jurassic Park (Film Score)).
Video[]
Location[]
The roar of the Tyrannosaurus rex is heard nearby and the group hide in a tree upon hearing it, indicating they are not far from the Tyrannosaur Paddock. Furthermore, Lex is scared the "Dinosaur" (probably the T. rex) "comes back while we're all asleep". However, since there is a herd of Brachiosaurus in this part of the Park they could be in the Brachiosaurus Enclosure.
The location might be influenced by the Jurassic Park novel. In the chapter In The Park the three walk out of the Tyrannosaur Paddock into the Sauropod Paddock, to find a place to sleep.[1]
Hide in a tree[]
The scene starts with the three walking through the Park hearing the roar. In the first script Alan Grant first tries to calm the kids by ignoring it.
When the second roar is heard Grant urges the kid to climb into the first tree in reach, probably to hide from the T. rex.
In this scene Grant decides to hide and sleep in a tree. This is contrary to Alan's reasoning in the novel. In the chapter In The Park Alan's "first thought was that they might climb a tree, and sleep up there. But they would have to climb very high to get safely away from the animals, and Lex might fall out while she was asleep. And tree branches were hard; they wouldn't get any rest. At least, he wouldn't. They needed someplace really safe."[2]
Therefore, the group enters the Sauropod Paddock to sleap in the Sauropod Maintenance Building 04 on a bed of hay.[3]
Tim hates trees[]
Tim really doesn't want to climb into another tree, furthermore he says "I hate trees". This is very unlike the Tim from the novels. In the novel Tim is a "good tree climber".[4]
Brachiosaurus[]
A herd of Brachiosaurus is seen. Tim shouts: "Hey, those are Brontosauruses. I mean, uh, Brachiosauruses." In the script Alan Grant replies: "It's okay to call them brontosaurs, Tim. It's a great name. It's a romantic name. It means "thunder lizard"." The script writer David Koepp confused Brachiosaurus with Apatosaurus. Apatosaurs used to be called Brontosaurs, Brachiosaurs were never called like that.
The singing whale-like sounds of the Brachiosaurs is based on the novels. Nearing the Sauropod Paddock they hear "the bellowing of a dinosaur" or "hear the sauropods trumpeting softly in the distance."[5]
In the script Alan Grant is puzzled by the sounds, "I could swear that sounds suspiciously to me like a mating call (to me). In an all-female environment - - (or) On an all-girl island?" This was the first indication that some dinosaurs had switched their sex. This line never made it in the movie.
Alan Grant tries to imitate the hooting sound of the Brachs using two hands, and the animals respond. This scene might have inspired Michael Crichton to write a similar scene in his second novel The Lost World. In this novel Richard Levine imitates the sound of Parasaurolophus using two hands, and the herd responds.
Music[]
When Alan sits against the trunk and the kids nestle up next to him the music of A Tree For My Bed starts to play.
Getting ready to sleep[]
The children nestle up next to Grant. Grant is surprised, but accepts it. This is the first step of Grant to accept children. In the novel the kids also nestle against Alan's body.[6]
Raptor claw[]
When Alan discovers the raptor claw in his pockets he is struck by thoughts. The script gives an idea what those thoughts were. He looks at it, thinking a million thoughts, staring at this thing that used to be so priceless. Alan is probably realizes that the fossils he used to dug up are now hardly a source of information compared to these real living creatures. He realizes that his job is gone. He later trows the claw away because it has become useless.
Therefore, Lex asks: "What are you and Ellie gonna do now if you don't have to pick up dinosaur bones anymore?" Grant responds, "I don't know, I guess I guess we'll just have to evolve too."
Jurassic Park III shows that Alan Grant continued to dig up dinosaurs. When Grant is ask why he doesn't investigate the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park he responds:
"Dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago. What is left of them is fossilized in the rocks, and it is in the rocks that real scientists make real discoveries. Now what John Hammond and InGen did at Jurassic Park, is genetically-engineer theme park monsters. Nothing more, nothing less."
In Jurassic Park III there is an allusion to this scene. Eric Kirby shows Alan his raptor claw. Alan responds: "I used to have one, a fossil." Indicating Alan never picked it up again.
Sources[]
- ↑ Jurassic Park (novel), In The Park, page 232, 235.
- ↑ Jurassic Park (novel), In The Park, page 234 (Novel bundle version).
- ↑ Jurassic Park (novel), In The Park, page 251 (Novel bundle version).
- ↑ Jurassic Park (novel), Tim (chapter), page 205.
- ↑ Jurassic Park (novel), Tim (chapter), page 235, 237.
- ↑ Jurassic Park (novel), In The Park, page 237.