Entertainment
Steve Irwin’s legacy, 20 years on from his ‘eye-opening’ Hollywood film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course-Tom Beasley-Entertainment – Metro
It’s been two decades since Steve Irwin captivated Hollywood with his film Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (Picture: Getty Images/Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
Steve Irwin and his croc-wrestling antics felt right at home on a cinema screen. Two decades ago this month, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course brought the Aussie conservationist’s unique star power into movie houses all over the world, with a globe-trotting espionage plot added to the usual reptile wrangling Interestingly, it’s a rare example of a major film release with the willingness to put the importance of animal conservation right at its heart.
The Irwins wouldn’t have had it any other way.
By the time Australia’s most charismatic wildlife lover made his way to the multiplex, he was already a household name for his brilliant TV series The Crocodile Hunter.
A movie seemed like a no-brainer to just about everybody, with long-time Irwin collaborator and buddy John Stainton hired to direct and craft the story, which was subsequently written into a screenplay by New York Times bestselling author Holly Goldberg Sloan. As you’d expect, Irwin and Stainton had already been approached numerous times over the years and Stainton had been working on potential scripts throughout the 1990s.
‘Steve was very popular with all of the American actors,’ the director tells me when we speak on the phone amid a project he is currently working on in the Outback.
‘Bruce Willis was one of them. Will Smith was another. Matt Damon was another. There were quite a lot of them that got off on watching his shows in their trailers. We fitted in very well with them.’
Director John Stainton helmed Irwin’s film, along with the late star’s wife Terri (Picture: Bei/REX/Shutterstock)
Irwin is still a much-loved star of the screen thanks to his passion for wildlife conservation (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
It was Willis who helped to fire the starting pistol on the film that would become Collision Course, with his producing partner Arnold Rifkin contacting Stainton and helping to get the project set up at MGM. Stainton and Irwin got their heads together and constructed the multi-stranded narrative, which saw Irwin and his wife Terri making a documentary as normal only to cross paths with CIA agents trying to recover a priceless beacon from a downed satellite, which has ended up in the stomach of a crocodile. It’s silly, jumbled stuff, but it’s carried through by Irwin’s enormous, luminous presence.
The star, who emphatically wasn’t an actor, was given very little information about the dramatic segments, with Stainton keen to preserve his trademark ad-libs.
‘All of the documentaries we had ever done were always with a very guerrilla crew of about three people maximum: a cameraman, a sound man and myself,’ says the filmmaker. ‘[Steve] had to learn a whole different way of filming, still doing the doco with all of the extra cameras and personnel. He did it very easily, but it was probably an eye-opener for him having to worry about there being three cameras rolling at any given moment.’
The movie has a strong conservation message at its heart, echoing Irwin’s passionate commitment to showing his affection for wildlife and explaining the threats faced by these creatures. In the film’s production notes, Irwin made his stance clear. ‘This is going to be the greatest conservation message the world has seen,’ he said, adding: ‘We’re wildlife warriors. Like any warrior, our job is to get out there and fight for wildlife.’
Stainton says that MGM was keen to maintain this aspect of the Irwin brand for Collision Course, rather than abandoning it in the name of drama.
‘They were taking on Steve as an attraction for a movie. Because he was already a big name around the world, I don’t think they wanted to interfere too much with the formula of what was making his TV shows work.’
He adds: ‘You need to have the general underlying feeling that wildlife is suffering and it’s going to be extinct eventually, with the way it’s going, and the habitat is being destroyed. That message came through loud and clear. He gave crocodiles, alligators and snakes a personality and made people think about them not as ugly monsters, but as creatures living their lives who deserved our respect.’
The film was as action-packed as Irwin’s documentaries (Picture: Greg Barrett/Discovery Channel/Mgm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Shaun Foggett runs Crocodiles of the World – the UK’s only croc-focused zoo – and has seen Irwin’s impact in action over the years.
He says: ‘He managed to engage with an audience in a fun way, whilst also making sure that key conservation issues were highlighted. His passion was contagious, he showed that crocodiles must be respected rather than feared. The reality is that when you’re talking about the conservation of a cute, fluffy animal it’s a much easier task, but Steve Irwin showed that there is a place in people’s hearts for crocodiles and reptiles, and thankfully we have found this to be the case too.’
When Irwin died in September 2006 while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef, he received tributes from all over the world. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, cementing his legacy as a titan of entertainment on the big and small screen.
According to Stainton, their next project would’ve been even bigger – a 3D IMAX wildlife extravaganza for Warner Bros, which he and Irwin had fully storyboarded and was due before cameras in 2007.
‘It would’ve blown people out of their chairs. Imagine a crocodile lunging forward at you and Steve picking up snakes and them lunging at the camera,’ says Stainton.
Stainton has teased there was another possible film with Irwin in the pipeline before his death in 2006, and it would have ‘blown people out of their chairs’ (Picture: Greg Barrett/Discovery Channel/Mgm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Irwin is tragically no longer with us, but the rest of his family has continued his legacy by running Australia Zoo and advocating for wildlife on the global stage. Irwin’s son Robert, in particular, has shown that he’s a chip off the old block in numerous segments on US talk shows that have gained viral status on YouTube. ‘He’s got a knack for it and he’s an entertainer as well,’ says Stainton of the young Irwin.
But could the Steve Irwin story and the larger-than-life man behind the khaki ever become the centre of another Hollywood project – a big-name biopic?
Stainton says: ‘It has been broached a number of times by different studios and networks. It’s a tricky thing. I don’t know how much should be told about people’s private lives and that stuff. The big legacy he has got is wildlife and that’s what he would prefer to leave behind for people to remember him by.’
Two decades after it was released, Collision Course feels like the strange, forgotten project of the Crocodile Hunter. With all its goofy slapstick and distinctly Australian quirk, it’s an enjoyable and joyously silly reminder that whatever the environment, there was no canvas so big that Steve Irwin couldn’t fill it with life.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Robert Irwin ‘prepares to fly nest and follow in dad Steve’s footsteps by travelling the world’
MORE : Steve Irwin’s children pay tribute to ‘the greatest dad’ on his would-be 60th birthday
It’s been two decades since Steve Irwin captivated Hollywood with his film Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (Picture: Getty Images/Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
Steve Irwin and his croc-wrestling antics felt right at home on a cinema screen. Two decades ago this month, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course brought the Aussie conservationist’s unique star power into movie houses all over the world, with a globe-trotting espionage plot added to the usual reptile wrangling Interestingly, it’s a rare example of a major film release with the willingness to put the importance of animal conservation right at its heart.
The Irwins wouldn’t have had it any other way.
By the time Australia’s most charismatic wildlife lover made his way to the multiplex, he was already a household name for his brilliant TV series The Crocodile Hunter.
A movie seemed like a no-brainer to just about everybody, with long-time Irwin collaborator and buddy John Stainton hired to direct and craft the story, which was subsequently written into a screenplay by New York Times bestselling author Holly Goldberg Sloan. As you’d expect, Irwin and Stainton had already been approached numerous times over the years and Stainton had been working on potential scripts throughout the 1990s.
‘Steve was very popular with all of the American actors,’ the director tells me when we speak on the phone amid a project he is currently working on in the Outback.
‘Bruce Willis was one of them. Will Smith was another. Matt Damon was another. There were quite a lot of them that got off on watching his shows in their trailers. We fitted in very well with them.’
Director John Stainton helmed Irwin’s film, along with the late star’s wife Terri (Picture: Bei/REX/Shutterstock)
Irwin is still a much-loved star of the screen thanks to his passion for wildlife conservation (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
It was Willis who helped to fire the starting pistol on the film that would become Collision Course, with his producing partner Arnold Rifkin contacting Stainton and helping to get the project set up at MGM. Stainton and Irwin got their heads together and constructed the multi-stranded narrative, which saw Irwin and his wife Terri making a documentary as normal only to cross paths with CIA agents trying to recover a priceless beacon from a downed satellite, which has ended up in the stomach of a crocodile. It’s silly, jumbled stuff, but it’s carried through by Irwin’s enormous, luminous presence.
The star, who emphatically wasn’t an actor, was given very little information about the dramatic segments, with Stainton keen to preserve his trademark ad-libs.
‘All of the documentaries we had ever done were always with a very guerrilla crew of about three people maximum: a cameraman, a sound man and myself,’ says the filmmaker. ‘[Steve] had to learn a whole different way of filming, still doing the doco with all of the extra cameras and personnel. He did it very easily, but it was probably an eye-opener for him having to worry about there being three cameras rolling at any given moment.’
The movie has a strong conservation message at its heart, echoing Irwin’s passionate commitment to showing his affection for wildlife and explaining the threats faced by these creatures. In the film’s production notes, Irwin made his stance clear. ‘This is going to be the greatest conservation message the world has seen,’ he said, adding: ‘We’re wildlife warriors. Like any warrior, our job is to get out there and fight for wildlife.’
Stainton says that MGM was keen to maintain this aspect of the Irwin brand for Collision Course, rather than abandoning it in the name of drama.
‘They were taking on Steve as an attraction for a movie. Because he was already a big name around the world, I don’t think they wanted to interfere too much with the formula of what was making his TV shows work.’
He adds: ‘You need to have the general underlying feeling that wildlife is suffering and it’s going to be extinct eventually, with the way it’s going, and the habitat is being destroyed. That message came through loud and clear. He gave crocodiles, alligators and snakes a personality and made people think about them not as ugly monsters, but as creatures living their lives who deserved our respect.’
The film was as action-packed as Irwin’s documentaries (Picture: Greg Barrett/Discovery Channel/Mgm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Shaun Foggett runs Crocodiles of the World – the UK’s only croc-focused zoo – and has seen Irwin’s impact in action over the years.
He says: ‘He managed to engage with an audience in a fun way, whilst also making sure that key conservation issues were highlighted. His passion was contagious, he showed that crocodiles must be respected rather than feared. The reality is that when you’re talking about the conservation of a cute, fluffy animal it’s a much easier task, but Steve Irwin showed that there is a place in people’s hearts for crocodiles and reptiles, and thankfully we have found this to be the case too.’
When Irwin died in September 2006 while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef, he received tributes from all over the world. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, cementing his legacy as a titan of entertainment on the big and small screen.
According to Stainton, their next project would’ve been even bigger – a 3D IMAX wildlife extravaganza for Warner Bros, which he and Irwin had fully storyboarded and was due before cameras in 2007.
‘It would’ve blown people out of their chairs. Imagine a crocodile lunging forward at you and Steve picking up snakes and them lunging at the camera,’ says Stainton.
Stainton has teased there was another possible film with Irwin in the pipeline before his death in 2006, and it would have ‘blown people out of their chairs’ (Picture: Greg Barrett/Discovery Channel/Mgm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Irwin is tragically no longer with us, but the rest of his family has continued his legacy by running Australia Zoo and advocating for wildlife on the global stage. Irwin’s son Robert, in particular, has shown that he’s a chip off the old block in numerous segments on US talk shows that have gained viral status on YouTube. ‘He’s got a knack for it and he’s an entertainer as well,’ says Stainton of the young Irwin.
But could the Steve Irwin story and the larger-than-life man behind the khaki ever become the centre of another Hollywood project – a big-name biopic?
Stainton says: ‘It has been broached a number of times by different studios and networks. It’s a tricky thing. I don’t know how much should be told about people’s private lives and that stuff. The big legacy he has got is wildlife and that’s what he would prefer to leave behind for people to remember him by.’
Two decades after it was released, Collision Course feels like the strange, forgotten project of the Crocodile Hunter. With all its goofy slapstick and distinctly Australian quirk, it’s an enjoyable and joyously silly reminder that whatever the environment, there was no canvas so big that Steve Irwin couldn’t fill it with life.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Robert Irwin ‘prepares to fly nest and follow in dad Steve’s footsteps by travelling the world’
MORE : Steve Irwin’s children pay tribute to ‘the greatest dad’ on his would-be 60th birthday
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