Movie audiences are streaming into theaters to see "Jurassic World," Universal Studios' summer blockbuster, with Steven Spielberg as its executive producer.
Kauai has a prominent role, with scenes showing the Napali Coast, Jurassic Kahili Ranch, Kauai Ranch, Valley House waterfall, tropical forests and mountain ranges. Many other scenes were filmed on Oahu.
Jurassic World follows "Jurassic Park" (1993), "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" (1997), and "Jurassic Park III" (2001), each of which was filmed on Kauai to help create the tropical island settings.
In appreciation of Spielberg’s longstanding support of Kauai as a film location, the Kauai Visitors Bureau (KVB), in conjunction with the County of Kauai, created a special tribute video, "Mahalo Nui Loa Steven Spielberg", and posted it on YouTube. "Mahalo nui loa" is the Hawaiian phrase for "thank you very much." The entire video was shot, edited and scored by a Kauai-based production team.
“We congratulate Steven Spielberg for the success of Jurassic World and are incredibly grateful to him and his production team for choosing Kauai in the making of all four Jurassic movies," said Sue Kanoho, KVB's executive director, in a written release. "The impact has been amazing in showcasing the beauty of Kauai that travelers enjoy so much about our island. We have visitors who come here saying they want to see the places where the dinosaurs roamed.”
Visit www.kauaidiscovery.com