The Big Picture (1989)

Director:

Christopher Guest

Writers (WGA):

Michael Varhol (story) &
Christopher Guest (story) ...

Release Date:

30 November 1990 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Hollywood Reel To Real

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Directorial Debut | Film Studio | Friendship | Porsche

Cast

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

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (No. 29330) | UK:15 | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Aspen Film Society

Trivia:

Teri Hatcher's first movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Whites of Their Eyes

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.