My best guess is that this film is so inaccurate in its depiction of the real birding community, that its been completely disregarded. Good move. This film is garbage from the point of view of a hard core birder.
Yet another flushing of $ down the toilet in Hollywood these days.
I dunno. I've seen reviews by real birders. I'm a real birder. Its a mix - some accurate depictions, some fantasy.
Personally, I really like it when Hollywood attempts to portray what I do, since they do it so rarely. Even if the portrayal is bad, its OK (I just laugh at the silly stuff). But its flattering all the same. Here, its not all that bad, and the actors come off fairly well as birders. Attu is pretty accurately portrayed. High Island, Texas not quite so well, but the paths they show really do get crowded with birders.
I just wished the movie could have been more factual and educational, since as a comedy it was only luke warm. But some of the bird sitings were pure fantasy, like the great spotted woodpecker, which could never show up in Oregon. Woodpeckers don't really migrate.
But it could have been a lot worse. It could have been really insulting to birders, which is wasn't. It just showed us as being sort of oddball and cute and obsessive. And I am flattered that Steve Martin would want to take a role as a birder. So yeah, the science was a mixed bag. Thats to be expected. But that they tried and gave the world a glimpse at Attu and a lifestyle and all - good going......I'll take what I can get.
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Well I agree about the competitive aspects, and how they aren't really a measure of your talents. Incidently, though - I'm reminded of the Oregon "Big Day" which, unlike a "Big Year", does to me showcase the talents of the most astute and experienced birders. Thats because you have to be FAST! Its not so much about wealth, obsessiveness and persistence as it is about timing, knowing exactly where to be and being able to nail ID"s quickly based on motion, jizz, a tweet or two, etc. I admire the skill required to have a really successful big day. Not so much a big year because as some point, its just about flying all over the place with your ear on the hotlines. Also, with a big day, you are doing all of your own finding - none of this following the crowd stuff, letting others make the initial discovery for you.
Anyway, but is it worth even contemplating who is the best, and how could you ever measure that? I put a lot of stock in the guys that blaze their own trail, or the ones that are regional specialists. Both are tremendous resources. They add to the total base of our knowledge rather than just skim off the top..
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