Jack Horner Was So Vital To The Lost World, They Based A Character Off Of Not Just Him But Also On His Rival
Alan Grant, from the original Jurassic Park, was based on paleontologist Jack Horner (pictured), who both Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg consulted about dinosaur behavior. For The Lost World, the character Robert Burke is based on rival paleontologist Robert Bakker, with whom Horner has a friendly feud. Their major disagreement is over the behavior of Tyrannosaurus rex. Horner argues that T. Rex was a scavenger, while Bakker insists that T. Rex must have been a predator. Horner reportedly asked to have Burke eaten by the T. Rex in The Lost World. Bakker was apparently flattered, and wrote back to Horner, saying "I told you T. rex was a hunter!"