Hi All,
This is not an advert but Qantas is now showing “The Big Year” on those flights where you can select your own movies. A really enjoyable film about twitchers and their antics.
The Big Year is a 2011 comedy film starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Jim Parsons, Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams, Brian Dennehy, Rosamund Pike and Tim Blake Nelson. The film was based on the book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession which was written by Mark Obmascik.
Regards,
Bruce Wedderburn www.bruce-wedderburn.blogspot.com
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“……. being about twitching” … David you’ve got to get your terminology right … it’s birding !
Jude
Hi Jos
My son downlloaded it from the net … I’ve watched it three times now and loved it. After seeing it I wished that Sean had of made a movie of his Big Twitch. Actually I thought bits and pieces of the movie may have been ‘pinched’ from Sean’s book.
Jude
Birding has huge numbers of followers in the States, it’s one of the biggest hobby groups. But birders tend to be middle-aged and older and affluent, and this isn’t a cinema going demographic. I imagine that the film will make far more from DVD sales and downloads.
John Leonard
I saw the movie some time ago in the USA. I enjoyed it. Yes, too much hollywoodism and american corniness, but what do you expect?
I can’t see how this movie was targetted at anyone but birders! I mean, it ends with a montage of hundreds of photos of different species flashed up on the screen one after the other. It is full of little subtleties that only someone into birding, and particularly American birding, could comprehend. So why did so many American birders complain so much about it? Many did on the listservers I see, anyway. Is it possible it flopped because its target audience stayed away?
Many birders expressed outrage at the portrayal of birders as so self-interested and single-minded! Of course, not all birders are like that, but the sugar-coated versions in the film were well within the bounds of reality, and they represent an interesting and important part of our (birders’) culture.
So I suspect birders have pretty much shot themselves in their feet, as far as being seen as a worthwhile audience is concerned. If that matters, but it just means nothing else will be made for them. Or maybe it met its market targets? It could do so and still flop in the market at large.
The American film industry was never going to make a film about birders who stay at home and watch birds through their windows, and if they did, why would you want to watch it anyway?
So I say, go see it! Don’t be put off by the corniness, but revel in the pictures of birds and the portrayals of real things that relatively few people can appreciate.
Cheers, Chris
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You have to remember that film reviewers are highly urbanised city folks who barely see a tree from one day to the next and whose idea of fun is parties full of celebrities. They are almost a different race from birdwatchers – certainly at the far end of some sort of scale!!
Given the apparently huge number of people in America supposed to be interested in birds (did I hear 50 million quoted??) it is surprising that nobody went to see the film.
Incidentally the book “The Big Year” makes good reading though it helps if you know a bit about American birds. In my opinion, this book and Sean’s are streets ahead of any others in the field.
Rosemary
PS I have no idea if it has been shown in the UK!
Very True.
The Shawshank Redemption was a box office flop but has become one of the most popular movies of all time now. I doubt this movies is to its standard, but being about twitching I reckon Ill enjoy it!! cheers David taylor
David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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I saw it the other day and certainly think it was worth seeing. I did see it with friends who dont understand my birding, now they think I am wierder than ever. CheersTim
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Lots of great films are cinematic flops. What it earns as the cinema has no bearing on the quality of the movie.
Belinda Stirling W.A.
Ive seen The Big Year, it is a reasonable movie and I recommend it, remember it is Hollywood.
Nearly all the reviews online are lower than 7/10 but………..most reviews do credit the movie as reasonable quality and not trash, it seems to lose points because its about birding!
They’ll never understand.
Steve Roderick.
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the movie didn’t flop because it was bad as such, but because of the subject matter. It was always a weird thing, making a pretty big budget movie with a lot of really well-known actors….about birding!? A lot of the reviews I read basically were saying “What’s more boring than going birdwatching? Spending two hours watching other people go birdwatching” — in other words the reviews (and most potential viewers’ opinions I suspect) weren’t about the movie itself but about the idea that birdwatching is boring. Hence nobody went to see it. The movie itself isn’t actually about birding anyway, that is almost incidental, it is more about relationships. I saw it just a couple of days ago, and its not all that good. I mean, its alright, but it is neither drama nor comedy, and is also an unfortunate mix of expecting viewers to know why a great spotted woodpecker or a pink-footed goose is exceptional without explanation, and yet not really catering to the birding audience in any other way.
________________________________ Cc: Birding Australia Sent: Friday, 17 February 2012 8:14 PM
Belinda,
If it was that bad, it is sure to turn up on an airline playlist. I have watched quite a few movies I would never have paid to watch, while in-flight. I am heading of to China next month. I might get lucky.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
It was a flop in the U.S. so they probably didn’t bother showing it in Oz cinemas, or maybe they did but it just showed in a few and just for a couple of weeks.
Probably better off waiting for the DVD.
Belinda Stirling W.A.
I hate to say it, but airline playlists are NOT the dud and second-string movies these days. For example on my recent trip to the US and back, The Iron Lady, The Big Year and plenty of other current movies were playing. And since The Big Year doesn’t even open in the cinemas until 1 March, it illustrates that the airlines often have movies available before they are released to the general public.
Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria
See it when you can Josh. It may not be quite as amusing as our Sean’s ramblings :), but it’s a well-made American semi-comedy about birders. I totally enjoyed it (got the DVD sent over from the states) but it’s worth the admission price if it does come to our cinemas. Me, I’d rather have the DVD (like most films), but each to their own. Catch it if it’s on! PS Jack Black is most amusing!
According to IMDB, the movie starts in Australia on March 1
Nev
On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 4:47 PM, Geoff Pricewrote:
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Belinda,
If it was that bad, it is sure to turn up on an airline playlist. I have watched quite a few movies I would never have paid to watch, while in-flight. I am heading of to China next month. I might get lucky.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
It was a flop in the U.S. so they probably didn’t bother showing it in Oz cinemas, or maybe they did but it just showed in a few and just for a couple of weeks.
Probably better off waiting for the DVD.
Belinda Stirling W.A.
I believe it’s coming out here on the 1st of March? Though, if it was a flop in the US, I guess they could choose not to screen it in some places in Australia….I’m looking forward to it regardless!Josh
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I’ve got the DVD, and it was surprisingly entertaining, given the American penchant for over-acting and butchering a good story. Most enjoyable and thoroughly recommended.
It was a flop in the U.S. so they probably didn’t bother showing it in Oz cinemas, or maybe they did but it just showed in a few and just for a couple of weeks.
Probably better off waiting for the DVD.
Belinda Stirling W.A.
Ive been watching out for this movie to screen here in Australia – Did I miss it or has it already been here in our theatres?
cheers
David Taylor
David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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