Tracking Down the Stars of Jurassic Park

By Peter J. Heck

It took about five years for me and my team to track down the cast of Jurassic Park to get their autographs. I and a couple of my friends used are proud autograph-hounds. I used to run my own Memorabilia shop near Hollywood boulevard. For me, getting celebrities to sign my items is like an athletic sport. Some already know me and call me by my first name. 

So, how was I able to get the cast of Jurassic Park to sign my copies of their movie's poster. I divided and conquered. My brother Greg was in charge of getting Sam Neil's, my pal Troy handled Sir Richard Attenborough, my sister-in-law Dina got Jeff Goldblum, and I had to find the lovely Laura Dern. As for the rest of the cast, as well as Spielberg, we just gave it to those who were sure could get them. We didn't all do this at the same time though. We wanted each actor to sign all our copies, so it wouldn't make sense if I had one while the other had the rest. 

Dina tracked her star first. Fortunately for her, Goldblum is the friendliest in the cast. Also, they both love jazz music. So when she found out that one of her favorite bars, which often has live jazz musicians playing every night, was one that Goldblum frequented, she went for the kill! Troy was next. He also had an easy one as Sir Richard Attenborough was a gentleman. During a talk he gave honoring his brother David, Troy got the guts to ask the knighted actor to sign all ten copies he had of the poster. Though he was expectedly annoyed, he still elegantly obliged.

Laura Dern, on the other hand, as lovely as she is, is a hard nut to crack! But I eventually did when we both attended a charity event in support of Down Syndrome, of which she is both an advocate and an activist. I chatted her up for a good 45 minutes before I brought out the posters for her to sign. Thank goodness she was in a good mood that day! Also, she tipped her hat off that we were already able to get the others' signatures. 

And finally, Sam Neil. Admittedly my brother got the most difficult actor in the lot, but hey, he wanted him! He's been a huge fan of New Zealander actor. However, in the most ironic twist of fate, it was Greg who was able to get the autographs through a chance encounter. Again, thank heavens Neil was in a good mood that day! The actor accidentally bumped my brother's car when he was trying to park at a nearby grocery. Greg had finished his while Neil was just about to shop himself. So what did my brother do to make Neil pay for what he did? Let him sign all our copies of the poster!

Seriously, as a big tip from an experienced autograph-hound, tracking these celebrities is a hard job! Even if you live near Hollywood like me! We all felt like the dinosaurs in the movie, chasing these A-listers before they could get away! 

Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.