The world’s biggest film director, and a member of the Hollywood elite, is getting in behind the fight against the Santana gold mine.

Sustainable Tarras, a vocal opponent of the large gold mine in Central Otago, said in a social media post today, it had received a generous donation from Amblin Entertainment, the American film production company founded by filmmaker Steven Spielberg in 1975.

Sustainable Tarras said it was deeply touched by the generous donation from Amblin Entertainment, in memory of Sir Sam Neill.

Sir Sam’s passing had led to an outpouring of affection for a man who had an impact on so many people. The famous director was no exception.

Spielberg first worked with Sir Sam on the movie Jurassic Park in 1993.

When news of Sir Sam’s death broke, Spielberg released a statement praising the actor, and the man. 

“Sam was an exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children,” Spielberg wrote. 

“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Golblum we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”

The post said Sir Sam had a deep love for New Zealand’s stunning landscape and he cared deeply about passing it on to future generations in the best possible conditions.

That included his vocal opposition to the controversial fast-track application for the open cast mine near Bendigo.