The Big Empty (2003)

Director:

Steve Anderson

Writer:

Steve Anderson (writer)

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Cowboys. Aliens. Blue suitcases and bowling balls. Strange things are happening out in the middle of nowhere.

Plot:

A budding actor is faced with a stalled career and a mountain of debt.

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Budding Actor | Suitcase | Neighbor | Desert

Cast

Jon Favreau	...	John Person
Joey Lauren Adams	...	Grace
Bud Cort	...	Neely
Jon Gries	...	Elron
Daryl Hannah	...	Stella
Adam Beach	...	Randy
Gary Farmer	...	Indian Bob
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Ruthie
Brent Briscoe	...	Dan
Melora Walters	...	Candy
Kelsey Grammer	...	Agent Banks
Sean Bean	...	Cowboy
Alejandra Aguilan	...	Traveler
Jay Brothers	...	Traveler
Sara Fouts	...	Traveler
Britney Gillum	...	Traveler
Martin Gluhar	...	Traveler
Jessie Jenkins	...	Traveler
Steven G. Kaplan	...	Traveler
Mamie Powell	...	Traveler
Gerald Smith	...	Traveler
Maria Smith	...	Traveler
Patti Smith	...	Traveler
Brian Tippett	...	Traveler
Anthony Vallejos	...	Traveler
Gordon Vallejos	...	Traveler
Larry Mill	...	A**hole Eddie
Bona Potenta	...	Waitress
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danny Trejo	...	Lt. Gates (uncredited)

Directed by
Steve Anderson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Steve Anderson		writer

Produced by
Tony Adler	....	associate producer
Steve Bickel	....	executive producer
Rich Cowan	....	line producer
Gregg L. Daniel	....	producer
Jon Favreau	....	executive producer
Marc Goldsmith	....	associate producer
Steven G. Kaplan	....	producer
Jeffrey Kramer	....	executive producer
Doug Mankoff	....	producer
Keith Resnick	....	executive producer
Andrew Spaulding	....	producer
Peter Wetherell	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Brian Tyler

Cinematography by
Chris Manley

Film Editing by
Scot Scalise

Casting by
Jory Weitz

Production Design by
Aaron Osborne

Art Direction by
Erin Cochran

Set Decoration by
Missy Parker

Costume Design by
Kristin M. Burke

Makeup Department
Melanie Mills	....	makeup department head
Erin Wooldridge	....	hair stylist
Erin Wooldridge	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ian Kennedy	....	post-production supervisor
Tiffany Wallach	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Steve Buhai	....	first assistant director
Adam Jordan	....	second assistant director
Jason Mckee	....	second assistant director

Art Department
David L. Bell	....	property master
Ryan Cochran	....	leadman
Stephanie J. Gordon	....	set designer
Jamie Linde	....	swing
David Loitz	....	lead man
Larry Morgan	....	construction foreman
Brad Morrison	....	swing
Weston Norton	....	set dresser
Adam Tankell	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Karma Barber	....	foley artist
Karma Barber	....	foley mixer
Robby Bartholomew	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Blehr	....	boom operator
Gonzo Cervantes	....	adr editor
Gonzo Cervantes	....	foley mixer
Michael P. Cook	....	dialogue editor (as MIke Cook)
Jason England	....	dialogue editor
Bill Fox	....	sound effects editor (as William Fox)
Stanley Kastner	....	sound re-recording mixer
Donald Lyles	....	adr recordist
Donald Lyles	....	sound recordist
Peter V. Meiselmann	....	production sound mixer
Peter V. Meiselmann	....	sound mixer
Todd Morrissey	....	adr mixer
George Nemzer	....	sound effects editor
Michael Resnick	....	sound effects editor
Eddie Rogers	....	dialogue editor
Eddie Rogers	....	foley mixer
John Rotondi	....	sound engineer: Y4
Clancy T. Troutman	....	supervising sound editor

Visual Effects by
Karl Denham	....	digital artist
Jeff Douglas	....	Avid DS HD artist
Erin Hicke	....	visual effects coordinator
Andrew MacDonald	....	visual effects supervisor: Creo Collective

Stunts
Manny Perry	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Rebecca Bauscher	....	still photographer
Shari Belafonte	....	still photographer
Xiomara Comrie	....	second assistant camera
Tim Cunningham	....	company grip
James Hatridge	....	electrician
Dan Heigh	....	director of photography: second unit
Brad Heiner	....	dolly grip
Daniel Kauahi	....	company grip
Mike Kjolso	....	best boy electric
Eric Leach	....	company grip
John Loveless	....	crane operator
Denis Moran	....	Steadicam operator
Robert C. Murphy	....	electrician
Dane Peterson	....	gaffer
Don Presley	....	assistant camera
Marinko Spahic	....	video operator
Jonas Steadman	....	first assistant camera
Mike Vukas	....	key grip
William Rick Young	....	best boy grip
Michael E. Cole	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chandra Moore	....	key costumer
Erika Munro	....	additional costumer

Editorial Department
Matthew W. Johnson	....	on-line editor
Stewart Maclennan	....	assistant editor
Tim Maffia	....	digital colourist
Nelson Mah	....	colorist
Jason A. Payne	....	post-production assistant
Betsy Solorzano	....	telecine coordinator

Music Department
Dondi Bastone	....	music supervisor
Simon James	....	orchestra contractor
Gary Krause	....	music editor
Micha Liberman	....	music editor
Dana Niu	....	orchestrator
Brian Tyler	....	orchestrator
Jeff Vaughn	....	recording engineer

Transportation Department
Dan Fisher	....	transportation coordinator
Bart Heimburger	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Susan Bambara	....	script supervisor
Gina-Raye Carter	....	production assistant
Aaron Critchlow	....	production assistant
Bill Davis	....	weapons expert
Russ Fega	....	location manager
Eric Feig	....	production legal
Adam Jordan	....	production assistant
Christian Keib	....	production assistant
Lana Kim	....	production assistant
Mark Litwak	....	production legal
Jason Mckee	....	body double: Danny Trejo
Jason Mckee	....	production assistant
Greg Rathvon	....	production accountant
Sara Blythe Smith	....	production coordinator
Marinko Spahic	....	production assistant
Mike Warner	....	production assistant

Thanks
Richard Farmer	....	special thanks
Ron Howard	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Aura Entertainment
• Echo Lake Productions (I)
• North by Northwest Entertainment
• Rainstorm Entertainment
• The Big Empty LLC

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (2003) (USA)
• Aura Entertainment (non-USA)
• Califórnia Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (video)
• Epix Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Officine UBU (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Versus Entertainment (2006) (Spain) (all media)

Special Effects

• CREO

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Mark Litwak & Associates  legal counsel
• Post Logic Studios  digital intermediate

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual dialogue

Runtime:

USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:MA | USA:R | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Baker, California, USA

Company:

Aura Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: At Devil's Crest, when Ruthie is describing the jump station, John turns to look at her twice.

Quotes:

Agent Banks:Slave, my ass, I shoulda been the king.

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

SILVER PIECES

Coen Brothers Meet David Lynch

Ever wonder what you would have if the Coen brothers collaborated with David Lynch on a small independent film? Destined for cult classic status, "The Big Empty" is a strange blend of "Mulholland Drive" and "The Big Lebowski". So if you liked either or both of these classics you should track down the DVD, it has important special features that shed a little light on just what writer/director Steve Anderson was trying to communicate with this interesting film.

I have beefed up this comment a little since my original viewing because I have found "The Big Empty" gets even better with repeated viewings. The wry humor can best be enjoyed when you are not wrestling with the process of the story itself.

I have heard that there are deleted scenes that show him taking this thing in the direction of the old "Twilight Zone" episode where the aliens entice humans to a planetary paradise with a book titled "Serving Humans", which actually turns out to be a cook book. There are also elements reminiscent of that suicide cult in San Diego in the mid-1990's.

"The Big Empty" has some relatively big names in its cast including Kelsey Grammar (a FBI agent), Joe Gries (from "The Pretender"), Rachel Leigh Cook (the town Lolita), and Darryl Hannah (Lolita's Mother). For the first time a Cook character is very sexy, it must be the hair style. The performances and deadpan humor save the day as the story itself is a little too expressionistic and open-ended for most viewers.

Although the film gets off to a quick start and is never boring, Anderson (in the Lynch tradition) has to cheat and leave some things resolved at the end, because it is simply impossible to tie all the disparate elements together conventionally. But this makes for interesting discussion with other members of "The Big Empty" cult.