Hollywood movie director Cameron Crowe has pledged support for a lockdown-hit Devon zoo which inspired one of his films.
The director of blockbusters including Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous has become the first patron of the Dartmoor Zoological Society charity.
The story of how owner Ben Mee took over Dartmoor Zoo, on the outskirts of Plymouth, was the inspiration for Mr Crowe’s 2011 movie We Bought a Zoo, starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson.
Mr Crowe has pledged to support the charity with the use of his name, after taking a key interest in the zoo’s conservation work. His patronage will help the Dartmoor Zoological Society charity continue its vital work. Its mission is to provide a future where no animal species faces extinction, by educating, informing, inspiring and empowering people to be more connected with the natural world and take greater responsibility for their impact.
The zoo, which has had to close during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, has suffered financially as it costs £11,500 a week to look after its 250 animals. In April 2020 an appeal for help netted it £40,000 and saw it through the first lockdown.
Born and bred in California, Mr Crowe started his career as a journalist, acting as a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine before moving into the film industry, where his rock journo experiences helped form the basis for 2000’s Almost Famous. He won an Academy Award for the screenplay.
His first major hit had been Jerry Maguire (1996). starring Tom Cruise. which Mr Crowe wrote and directed, and other notable successes include Say Anything…, Singles, Vanilla Sky, and Elizabethtown.
Mr Crowe said: “I’ve always been a fan of the incredible work the team does at Dartmoor Zoo. Since I adapted Benjamin Mee’s book for the screenplay and directed We Bought a Zoo, I’ve kept an eye on what they are doing.
“I love how, as well as doing conservation work with endangered animals, they also help vulnerable people too. Groundbreaking stuff with war veterans and kids excluded from mainstream education, connecting them with nature, real nature with lions and tigers in it and it seems to work. It really is inspiring and that’s why I’m proud to support the great charity which is Dartmoor Zoological Society.”
After establishing Dartmoor Zoo in 2007, the Mee family donated the zoo to the Dartmoor Zoological Society in 2014. As a registered charity, the society is now has Mr Crowe as its first patron, in addition to more than 500 members.
Coral Jonas, deputy chief executive at Dartmoor Zoo, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Cameron as a patron of Dartmoor Zoological Society.
“After taking a keen interest in the work we do here whilst directing We Bought a Zoo back in 2011, Cameron was keen to know how he could continue supporting the zoo.
“By becoming a patron of the charity, not only will he raise awareness of the vital conservation work we do here in Devon, he will also help to ensure we can continue protecting endangered animal species and raise awareness of how we can all do more to protect the world in which we live.”
Anyone can become a member of the charity, Dartmoor Zoological Society. In addition to showing support for the zoo, members obtain free admission for a year and can benefit from discounts.
