Spielberg Anecdote Emerges as Go-To Explanation for Jurassic Park’s T. Rex Paddock Cliff

Overview

• The long-debated scene shows the T. rex area level with the tour road before a sudden reveal of a deep concrete moat, creating a widely noted continuity gap.
• Published behind-the-scenes accounts recount David Koepp asking Steven Spielberg about the abrupt cliff and Spielberg replying, “There’s a T. rex! They’re not gonna notice anything else,” framing the issue as a conscious trade-off.
• Michael Crichton’s novel references paddock moats, and the film’s Donald Gennaro mentions “the concrete moats,” details fans use to rationalize the layout in-universe.
• Community reconstructions in games and mods propose that the jeep was pushed off-screen to a section by the drop; an official storyboard has also circulated describing a feeding incline to make the viewing area road-level.
• Saber Interactive’s upcoming Jurassic Park: Survival, set 24 hours after the film with a “fully realized Isla Nublar,” is positioned by coverage as a chance to explore the paddock, though not a promised resolution.