We have a fairly new movie channel called "Movie!" and it shows quite nice, older movies.
This provided an insightful perspective of Hollywood and ambitions and betrayals that befall Kevin Bacon's character. He's an aspiring film maker and you feel for him when his fellow alumni boast about their movie deals.
My brother and I were a couple of those kids who set an alarm to get up in time to see "The Big Picture" on Saturday morning in the 1960's. We really thought we were getting the real story on the US Army and it's exploits in various wars up through the Korean War.
College movie whiz Bacon gets out of school and thinks he's going to make it big in Hollywood. Along the way he dumps his friends and girlfriend chasing after Teri Hatcher and fame.
Film school grad Nick Chapman (Kevin Bacon) thought his career was made after his award winning short film, but discovered Hollywood wasn't as easy as it seems.Greenlit by David Puttnam of Columbia Pictures, the president was ousted two weeks after production began, and the subsequent regime at the studio, according to Guest, were unable to figure out what could be done with the film as many executives at the studio didn't like the film because they felt like they were being brutally satirized in it.
I was in the midst of my own film career when this movie hit the theatres, and I went and saw it with a friend who in actuality turned out to be an actor (he had been assigned to me).Nick goes through a typical Hollywood story of succumbing to temptation, and leaving behind all he values for what he believes is success, but finds that he never lost what he thought he had, and winds up a better person and film maker for it.
There are a lot of clichés you can use to describe Hollywood and the Entertainment industry, such as "Show Biz flies on the seat of its pants" or "The industry doesn't make movies to uplift people it makes movies to make money." The one you always hear about and is probably the most true is simply "When you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not, you're not.
I tried to do a short review, but the site wouldn't let me! The short films throughout this movie are classic and hilarious.
30th Anniversary: 1989 - the Best Year in Cinema Marathon Film #68/100: "The Big Picture" (1st Viewing.)Always curious about this farce on Hollywood and I realized: I wasted my thoughts.
