 Before the book was published , Crichton demanded a non @-@ negotiable fee of $ 1 @.@ 5 million as well as a substantial percentage of the gross . Warner Bros. and Tim Burton , Columbia Pictures and Richard Donner , and 20th Century Fox and Joe Dante bid for the rights , but Universal Studios eventually acquired them in May 1990 for Spielberg . After completing Hook , Spielberg wanted to film Schindler 's List . Music Corporation of America ( then Universal Pictures 's parent company ) president Sid Sheinberg gave a green light to the film on the condition that Spielberg made Jurassic Park first . The director later declared that by choosing a creature @-@ driven thriller , " I was really just trying to make a good sequel to Jaws , on land . " 
