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:

Film School prepared Nick for everything... everything but Hollywood.

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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:

The Vista Theatre - 4473 Sunset Drive, 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

Also the last cinema film acting role of Eddie Albert.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie in the student film about the courtroom drama, the Judge in the close up shots is Roddy McDowall but in the long shots it's a different actor that looks nothing like McDowall.

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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

Featured in At the Movies: Sea of Love/True Love/The Big Picture/Shirley Valentine/The Rachel Papers (1989)

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Soundtracks

The Christmas Song
Written by Mel Tormé (as Mel Torme) and Robert Wells (as Bob Wells)
Performed by Dick Haymes
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

tinsel town spoof needs sharper teeth

No one can blame the people who work there for not daring to make a true Hollywood satire: it would, after all, be their own careers at the butt of every joke. Which may explain why this mild lampoon of modern movie-making - the parties, the pretensions, the deals, the hype - tactfully avoids hitting its intended targets too hard. Kevin Bacon is the aspiring director courted by Tinsel Town royalty (agents and producers) after winning an AFI student film award; he's a talented and honest guy in an industry often unable to recognize either virtue, and it isn't long before he loses himself to the shallow rewards of Hollywood status: fast cars, faster women, and so forth. Viewers may recognize in the credits the names of some of the folk responsible for the definitive rock 'n' roll spoof 'This Is Spinal Tap', but any other similarity between the two features is entirely coincidental. The new film is almost as superficial as the movies it makes fun of: it's a comedy about selling out that sells itself out for the obligatory (if nicely ironic) happy ending. Watch for many familiar faces in uncredited cameos.