Sam Neill and Julian Dennison reflected on making the beloved 2016 comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople, in an interview Neill gave in June, weeks before his death on 13 July. The pair, who played gruff bushman Hec Faulkner and foster child Ricky Baker, discussed director Taika Waititi's role in turning Barry Crump's novel Wild Pork and Watercress into a hit, and shared behind-the-scenes stories about the film's most memorable moments.

Neill recalled that the Ricky Baker birthday song was only written because the production lacked copyright clearance for "Happy Birthday", forcing him, Rima Te Wiata and Waititi to compose a replacement in ten minutes. He also described a fraught relationship with the dog playing Zag and revealed that the wild boar attack scene involved a puppet operated by crew members, leaving many children in the audience needing comfort afterwards. Dennison, who had worked with Waititi before on an anti-drugs advert, said he related to Ricky's background in the foster care system and had not initially known who his co-star was.