The Big Picture (1989)

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

Writers:

Michael Varhol (story), Christopher Guest (story)

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emily Longstreth

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

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?

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Plot Keywords:

cheating boyfriend | boyfriend girlfriend reunion | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | wet daydream | brief full frontal female nudity | 

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Taglines:

Hollywood Reel To Real

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

A Grande Comédia

Filming Locations:

Ballroom, Park Plaza Hotel - 607 S. Park View Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$117,463

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aspen Film Society

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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, the last surviving Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz.

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Goofs

In Lydia's apartment she begins to raise her beer to her mouth in one shot, but in the next shot it's back by her side.

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Quotes

Allen Habel: We're doing a picture in London right now and everyone is just freaking out.

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Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

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Soundtracks

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
(uncredited)
Written by George Michael
Performed by Wham!

User Reviews

funny, slightly uneven "insider movie"

This movie has some slow moments, and I found the idea that Kevin Bacon's character, an aspiring directory, would leave his girlfriend (played by Emily Longstreth) for a bimbo-actress (played by Teri Hatcher and one of the film's weakest characters) pretty unconvincing. In general, I found the bimbo-actress subplot poorly done, and this was the slowest part of the movie. The other characters were done well, with an outstanding cameo by Martin Short as the aspiring director's agent -- the three scenes with Short would make the movie worthwhile by themselves in my opinion. J. T. Walsh was very good as well, as the fatuous studio head, and the gag at the end where the young director's career is revived was very enjoyable.

It's not as good as "The Player" or "Get Shorty", but if you like movies about making movies, you will probably like this one.