Continuity mistake: When the T-Rex is approaching, the lawyer runs into the bathroom stall and the roll of toilet paper is mounted horizontally. After Ian runs towards the bathroom away from the T-rex, in the shot of the panicked lawyer as he shuts the door the toilet paper is now mounted vertically, but when the T-Rex knocks down the stall walls, leaving the lawyer sitting out in the open, it is again mounted horizontally. (01:00:50 - 01:04:45)
Continuity mistake: When Nedry is trying out the shaving foam can, he puts some on his right hand. When the camera pans back after he's wiped most of it off on the pie, his hand is suddenly completely clean. He then pretends to wipe it off with a napkin anyway. (00:14:15)
Continuity mistake: When the baby dinosaur is breaking the egg, the eggshell is almost open on one shot, and starting to break with a different shape, in the next shot. (00:27:35)
Revealing mistake: When Grant tells Lex and Tim about the breeding he then gestures to the dinosaurs' footprints. Some of the footprints are very square in shape and have obviously been stamped in the ground. (01:27:35)
Continuity mistake: During the close-up shots of Jophery being attacked by the velociraptor, he has been lifted high up but in an intermediate wide shot he can be seen back down on the floor. (00:02:55)
Revealing mistake: When Ellie runs from the Raptor the stunt double who runs for her has on a wig that looks nothing like her real hair. It just looks very fake. (01:35:00)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where the park ranger is about to shoot the raptor with his shotgun, we see him unfolding the butt of the gun. As he does this he places the butt under his arm. As the camera angle changes, he has the butt pressed fully against his shoulder. (01:40:50)
Continuity mistake: Towards the beginning of the movie when John Hammond is in the trailer, he opens the refrigerator, takes out the champagne and opens it. The amount in bottle stays the same before and after he pours three glasses. (00:09:50)
Continuity mistake: The dinosaur fossil the paleontologists are excavating in the overhead shot (when "Badlands, Montana" appears) has a different head than the one they were digging up in the shot right before. (00:05:30)
Continuity mistake: Before the vehicles leave the compound Lex says to Grant, "She said I should ride with you cuz it'll be good for you." In this shot, Ellie's door on the second car is open with Malcolm talking to her. In the next close-up shot of her, the door is closed with Malcolm gone. (00:38:40)
Continuity mistake: Just after Gennaro suggests a coupon day at Lunch the camera goes to Hammond then back to Gennaro.In the change from Hammond back to Gennaro,Malcolm's head changes directions from facing left to right. (00:33:20)
Visible crew/equipment: In the scene where Nedry crashes for the first time into the sign,just before he crashes the camera cuts to the interior of the car, you then get a very slight glimpse of a visible crew member carrying what seems to be a torch on the left hand side of the screen. (00:57:00)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the Badlands sequence, the palaeontologists are brushing-out a dinosaur skeleton. In the close-up shot, they are working on the head (someone 'picks its nose') and one of them has a red-handled brush. When we cut to a wide shot, there is only one person working on the head (the nose is still being brushed) and there is no red-handled brush in sight. (00:05:30)
Visible crew/equipment: When the two Explorers start off on the tour of the island and the vehicles reach the Dilophosaur exhibit, there is a shot of Lex, Tim and Gennaro, looking out their Explorer's passenger-side windows. Right above their heads, fastened directly above each window, are wind-screen covered microphones. Obviously placed there to pick up actor dialog, neither of these particular mikes are seen again before or after this shot. (00:42:20)
Visible crew/equipment: In the scene where the cow is being lowered into the raptor cage, the camera shows the ferns and plants shaking. If you look closely, there is the back of a man in a white shirt shaking the plants. (00:31:10)
Revealing mistake: When the Dilophosaurus spits at Nedry, you can see the smoke from the gun used to shoot the spit in his face, top left of screen. (01:10:50)
Audio problem: During lunch, when Malcolm says, 'And now you're selling, you wanna sell it,' the short quickly cuts to Gennaro. In it, Malcolm's lips are still moving after he's finished speaking. (00:34:25)
Continuity mistake: When the T-Rex has come and nearly destroyed the car, Grant is trying to get Tim and Lex out of the car. Lex then screams and this causes Grant to turn around and cover her mouth. They are sitting on one side of a tyre on the car when Grant has his hat on. In the next shot (when the T-Rex has blown Grant's hat off) they are on the other side of the tyre. (01:05:30)
Continuity mistake: Hammond pours champagne into his glass and it's full of foam. After Grant says his line, when Hammond says, "...for the next three years." the foam is all gone. Foam from champagne takes longer to disappear. (00:12:25)
Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, when Jophery falls from the cage, he lands on his front. The shot changes to a wide view and he is now on his back and rolls over to get up. (00:02:40)
Answer: They are not paleontologists, just people interested in dinosaurs. It is common for museums and other scientific organizations to offer the general public an opportunity to participate in a real paleontology dig. For a fee, they become an exhibition team member for a period of time, learn about dinosaurs, help excavate fossils, and so on. This is likely how Dr. Grant (or his institution) supplements his research funding.
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