Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the final film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, following The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). It is also the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as the first not to be based on a novel by Michael Crichton; however, the film features characters and ideas by Crichton, including scenes from his first novel Jurassic Park (1990). Sam Neill and Laura Dern reprised their roles from the original Jurassic Park film. New cast members include William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan and Michael Jeter. The film is about a divorced couple who deceive paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) into helping them find their son (Morgan), who is missing on Isla Sorna.