Movies & TV

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park, led Hollywood tributes to the New Zealand actor, describing Neill as "exceptionally collaborative" in portraying Dr Alan Grant, a character fundamentally at odds with who he was in real life.

"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," Mr Spielberg said. "I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.

Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern also paid tribute to her beloved lifetime friend. "He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit," she said in a statement provided to the ABC. "He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr Alan Grant."

Pop star Kylie Minogue posted on Instagram "Vale Sam", while Australian actress Nicole Kidman, who co-starred with Neill in 1989 film Dead Calm, said in a statement to US media outlets that "Sam was one of the greats".

"We met when I was just 18, and he took me under his wing, and we stayed friends for life. He was charming, kind, funny and intelligent. He will be greatly missed, and my heart goes out to his family," she said.

Those sentiments were shared by Australian music legend Jimmy Barnes, who said he "can't believe we will no longer be eating great food together and sharing the odd glass of wine down at his winery, while laughing, singing and solving the problems of the world together".

"Sam was a big part of our lives. He was family. He lifted our spirits when he walked into the room. Sam was everything he appeared to be on the screen.

"He sat with me while I recovered in hospital, and I sat with him when he needed me. We shared a lot in this life, and for that, I will always be thankful. Rest easy, dear Sam. You are always in our hearts."

Richard E. Grant, who shared a three-decade friendship with Neill and starred alongside him in Australian comedy-drama Palm Beach, said the actor "guided and helped me through a difficult time in my life" and described him as "an officer and a gentleman in the truest sense".

Australian actress Magda Szubanski, whose cancer is also in remission after a high-profile battle with the illness, said she was "absolutely devastated" by the news. "Darling Sam. I really don't have any words right now. I'm in complete shock. Last time we spoke, he was going so well."

Australian actress Toni Collette said: "I love you, dear Sam. You hero. You legend. You sweetheart. Our great friend. You are already missed so very much. Continue in peace wherever you are."

The ABC's global affairs editor, Laura Tingle, who was in a relationship with Neill for three years until 2021, posted on Instagram a slide show of images of them together with the caption: "Sweet Dreams darling Sam".

Australian comedian Charlie Pickering, who first met Neill when the Hollywood star agreed to appear on the debut episode of his long-running comedy series The Weekly, said he was "the most down-to-earth megastar I'd ever met".

"As a result of the interview, he named his favourite duck after me — so he had Charlie Pickering the duck. He would often send me videos of what Charlie Pickering the duck was up to," he said.

"To talk to him was like talking to a bloke that lived across the fence from you — completely normal, completely down-to-earth and like so many New Zealanders, eminently sensible."

The Justice League Unlimited episode Patriot Act stands as one of the most overtly political stories in the entire DC Animated Universe. But looking back at this post-9/11 allegory today, its optimistic conclusion feels like a relic of a completely different era.

In this video essay, we look past the superhero action to dissect the heavy political landscape of the JLU Cadmus arc. Originally envisioned as a classic, old-school adventure series, the September 11 attacks forced the creative team to pivot into morally sophisticated, deeply cynical storytelling.

I doubted it because of all of the hype but it legit made me shit my pants.

Also does a good job of evoking the feeling of being in a really toxic relationship. Like that paranoia of even getting out of bed in the middle of the night.

Jesus, I may need to watch something more wholesome to decompress.

But I'm glad "da youths" are getting into good horror cinema.

Spider-Man is invited onto the morning news to promote his upcomming movie Spider-Man No Way Home, but pretty quickly discovers this interview is no friendly nieghborhood. It's about 9/11, you saw the thumbnail, it's the bit. Very mature I know.

and I gotta ask; if every scene without overpowering atmospheric synths were cut would this show lose anything?

no spoilers please

Just catched up with the series, so far my favorite character is Kara because of her personality and her character development.

"The most realistic war movie I've ever seen", statement from the utterly deranged.

It rly wasnt as trauma porn-y as I thought! I mean it was very sad, but I thought it would be debilitating. Quite funny at times. The slaughterhouse scene is pretty bad tho if you're not desensitized.

This has been on the back burner for more than a decade and Im so glad to cross it off the list.

Why is absolute success a villain’s ultimate punishment? In this Justice League video essay, I look at the character analysis of Vandal Savage across the DC Animated Universe.

In fiction, we are accustomed to a villain's plans blowing up in their face. But what happens when a tyrant successfully silences their critics, defeats the heroes, implements their worldview, and is left standing completely alone in a wreckage of their own making?

Enter Vandal Savage, the immortal caveman who dreamed of world conquest. Across his appearances in the Justice League animated series, from the fascist alternate history of The Savage Time to the elegant deception of Maid of Honor, Savage acts as the ultimate autocrat.

But it isn't until the masterpiece episode Hereafter that his philosophy faces its ultimate test. By successfully destroying the Justice League and conquering the Earth, Savage accidentally exposes the fundamental sterility of his own regressive worldview. He becomes the absolute ruler... of a graveyard.

Join me as I talk about his 50,000-year DC Comics history, explore the fascinating clash of philosophies between Savage, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and examine a sobering modern parallel: the reality of mortal leaders with immortal egos who outrun accountability, contrasted against a cartoon tyrant who possessed a baseline self-awareness that our real-world leaders completely lack.