Film school grad Nick Chapman thought his career was made after his award winning short film, but discovered Hollywood wasn't as easy as it seems.
Director:
Christopher Guest
From metacritic.com
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Title: The Big Picture (1989)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Kevin Bacon | ... | Nick Chapman | |
| Emily Longstreth | ... | Susan Rawlings | |
| J.T. Walsh | ... | Allen Habel | |
| Jennifer Jason Leigh | ... | Lydia Johnson | |
| Michael McKean | ... | Emmet Sumner | |
| Kim Miyori | ... | Jenny Sumner | |
| Teri Hatcher | ... | Gretchen | |
| Dan Schneider | ... | Jonathan Tristan-Bennet | |
 |
Jason Gould | ... | Carl Manknik |
| Tracy Brooks Swope | ... | Lori Pressman | |
| Don Franklin | ... | Todd Marvin | |
| Gary Kroeger | ... | Mark | |
| Alice Hirson | ... | Mrs. Chapman | |
|
|
Grant Owens | ... | Mr. Chapman |
| Fran Drescher | ... | Polo Habel | |
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Plot Summary
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See All (47) »
Storyline
Nick Chapman graduates from film school, and his short film wins a special prize. This gives him a high enough profile that he can get Hollywood to back the film he has long dreamed of making. Studio exec Allen Habel is interested. But Nick soon is seduced by Hollywood and makes one concession after another until his original movie is lost altogether. Worse, Nick is lost, too, turning on girlfriend Susan and old buddy Emmet. Will he come to his sense before everything is lost? Written by Reid Gagle
Plot Keywords:
cheating boyfriend | boyfriend girlfriend reunion | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | wet daydream | brief full frontal female nudity |Taglines:
Film School prepared Nick for everything... everything but Hollywood. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
15 December 1989 (Brazil) See more »Also Known As:
A Grande Comédia See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$5,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$33,071, 17 September 1989Gross USA:
$117,463Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$117,463Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Ultra StereoAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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See more »
Written by David Nichtern and Gregory Prestopino (as Greg Prestopino)
Performed by Gregory Prestopino (as Greg Prestopino)
[Plays as Nick drives to Gretchen while imagining their tryst.]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
As Nick walks out of the Los Angeles movie theater, the short cigar-smoking fellow one step ahead of him is Jerry Maren, who at the time was the last surviving Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz. See more »Goofs
In Susan's office, her pearl necklace changes length. See more »Quotes
Neil Sussman: I don't know you. I don't know your work. But I think you are a genius. And I am never wrong about that.See more »
Soundtracks
You're Driving Me CrazyWritten by David Nichtern and Gregory Prestopino (as Greg Prestopino)
Performed by Gregory Prestopino (as Greg Prestopino)
[Plays as Nick drives to Gretchen while imagining their tryst.]
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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This film is a wonderful example of how to get a movie made in Hollywood.
Kevin Bacon stars as a hot new director, with a prestigious award to his credit who has one aim, to make his script his way.
What then ensues is a sequence of events that should serve as a warning to people wanting to make their own movie on what to be careful of.
Bacon's script starts as a simple movie of two couples on holiday together, while one half of them is having an affair, thanks to various obstacles it transforms into a trashy affair of beaches, cheerleaders and very little story, called Beachnuts.
While this happens Bacon's personal life is also falling apart thanks to the lures of Teri Hatcher's struggling young actress.
Finally, an extremely low-budget music video puts Bacon back on the map and this time he sticks to his guns.
The message for young movie-makers is, do not lose sight of what you want and be aware of the extreme fickleness of Hollywood, which this demonstrates exceedingly well.