Jurassic Park Crew Members Got To Take A Dino Home Thanks To Steven Spielberg
30 years ago today, "Jurassic Park" roared into theaters. The movie was a cinematic marvel then and it still is today, as capable of evoking a childlike sense of wonder in audiences as ever. It's also the kind of movie that has inspired avid collectors, and for good reason. The costumes, sets, and creature designs in the film are unique and memorable, from the cutting-edge T-rex animatronic to Jeff Goldblum's artfully unbuttoned shirt. Plus, some of us never really outgrow the urge to play with dinosaurs, right?
A startlingly realistic dinosaur model is among the rarer pieces of "Jurassic Park" merch sought after by collectors. As noted by the UK auction house Prop Store Auction, director Stephen Spielberg had a handful of 18-inch tall model raptors made for crew members to take home after production wrapped. The detailed hand-painted models, which were actually made by famed effects company Industrial Light & Magic, most likely live on the mantles of a few key cast and crew members from the film to this day. However, one sold at auction in 2019 for an incredible price of between $10,000 and $12,500 (or 8000 to 10,000 pounds), per the auction house's estimate.
Key cast and crew members got a raptor model
The raptor in question originally belonged to physical effects artist Michael Lantieri, who won an Oscar for the film, but he's not the only person who we know for sure got one of the coveted raptor gifts. Laura Dern, who famously played paleobotanist Ellie Sattler in "Jurassic Park," posted a photo of hers on Instagram back in 2017, calling it "my guard dog."
Dr. Ian Malcolm himself, Jeff Goldblum also may have found himself with a raptor at the end of production, as he once told Fox Chicago in an (admittedly seemingly unserious) interview. The actor joked that he built a whole wing onto his house — complete with camera surveillance — to show off the raptor, which has since been described as life-sized. Scientists believe real-life raptors were smaller than those portrayed in the film and were perhaps closer (at least in height) to the 1.5-foot tall, 3-foot-long model that sold at auction.
Spielberg has mastered the art of the wrap gift
Steven Spielberg fans likely won't be surprised to hear that the raptor models, which came mounted to a display base and featured an engraved signature and thank you message, were neither the first nor the last great gift the filmmaker shared with one of his crews. In fact, the director's penchant for gift-giving is so well-known that The Hollywood Reporter did an entire feature about it earlier this year. The cast of "The Fablemans" revealed that they all received rather personal gifts from the filmmaker for birthdays, holidays, award season, or when the film wrapped. Michelle Williams, who plays a character inspired by Spielberg's mother in the film, received a birthday cake from the filmmaker's real mother's restaurant, while Gabriel LaBelle, who plays Spielberg's own avatar, got camera equipment and "very nice letters."
Some stories of Spielberg's generosity are pretty mind-boggling — the THR piece repeats an oft-mentioned story about the cast of his poorly received 1989 film "Always" getting Mazda Miatas — but others are extremely sweet. Julia Butters, the "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" breakout who played Reggie in "The Fabelmans," said she got a film projector and sleeping bag as her gifts (perfect for movie nights). "He's an amazing gift-giver, not just with his presence but with his presents," she noted.
Most of those gifts seem to stick with their original owners, but we know at least one velociraptor made in the image of Stan Winston's award-winning original design is in the hands of a lucky collector — and we're jealous! If you need me, I'll be trying to save up $12,000 while playing with "Jurassic Park" LEGOs.