Celebrating Sam Neill with James Mottram

How did a self-described character actor become the beating heart of the biggest film franchise on Earth? At the beginning of July we lost our dinosaur man, Dr Alan Grant himself, Sam Neill. This is an episode I never expected to make, but I could not let the moment pass without turning a very sad event into a celebration of a remarkable life and career.I am joined by James Mottram, author of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World Ultimate Visual Histories and the Jurassic Park script book. James interviewed Sam Neill a handful of times across 25 years, from a London press day for The Dish in 2000 to a long lockdown phone call during the making of Jurassic World Dominion, and he shares every one of those encounters here!We go through the James Mason phone call that followed My Brilliant Career, the daredevil early years of Possession and Omen III, and the Dead Calm breakout that convinced Spielberg he had found his Alan Grant. We get into the extraordinary 1993 of The Piano and Jurassic Park, the Bond screen test that never was, the John Carpenter collaborations, the grumpy joys of Jurassic Park 3 and the late masterpiece of Hunt for the Wilderpeople. And we finish on Dominion and the reunion of the original trio, the future of the franchise, the essential Sam Neill films to seek out, and the lovely story of the signed cards he sent out to bookshops when he could not meet readers in person.Stay to the end for a listener message and my reflections on the Celebrating Sam Neill moment at DinoCon.GuestJames MottramInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mottram101 James’s booksJurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History (affiliate link)https://amzn.to/4wL0BYYJurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History (affiliate link)https://amzn.to/4wL0BYYThe World of The Odyssey: A Visual Journey (affiliate link)https://amzn.to/3UEFKc8Filming The Odyssey: Inside the Making of Christopher Nolan’s Modern Epic,(affiliate link)https://amzn.to/4xaHyrUThe Essential Sam Neill Films, as chosen in this episodeMy Brilliant Career (1979)Possession (1981)In the Mouth of Madness (1994)Event Horizon (1997)Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)LinksSam Neill, Did I Ever Tell You This? His wonderful memoir, read by Sam himself on audiobook (affiliate link)https://amzn.to/4zvljyCSend a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaursSupport the showEnjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.Presented and produced by Roland Squire☕️Buy Me A Coffee:https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist