In 1995, director Steven Spielberg met Vanessa Chester at the premiere of A Little Princess (1995), in which she appeared. Chester later recalled, "As I was signing an autograph for him, he told me one day he'd put me in a film." Spielberg met with Chester the following year to discuss this movie before ultimately casting her as Malcolm's daughter, Kelly.
Julianne Moore admitted that she did this movie for two reasons, to pay off the exorbitant divorce settlement that had been awarded to her ex-husband, and to work with Steven Spielberg and she's admitted that she "enjoyed herself tremendously."
The vocalizations for the juvenile tyrannosaurus were of a baby camel crying for its mother.
The two models of the T-Rex each weighed nine tons. Due to their weight, the crew constructed sets around them, rather than moving them onto sets.
Initially, Steven Spielberg wanted to save the San Diego sequence for a third movie. However, he later decided to include it in this movie after realizing that he would probably not direct another installment in the franchise.
Steven Spielberg: (at around 2h) Reflected in the television broadcasting the CNN story about the return of the dinosaurs, sitting on the couch next to Jeff Goldblum, and eating popcorn.
Steven Spielberg: [signs] (at around 1h 50 mins) When the T. Rex bites the traffic signal in San Diego, a street sign on the right edge of the screen reads in part "NO DINOSAURS".
Steven Spielberg: [signs] (at around 1h 45 mins) Using a sign with directions or instructions as a joke. In this case, the T-Rex crosses the pier at the San Diego port bearing a sign that reads, "No animals or vegetables beyond this point."