Now, before i begin, the reason y i think this movie will tank is the actors not the actual movie. This movie mit actually be good with decent actors, but from the line up of actors in this movies Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Anthony Anderson, plus actors that are now done, finished and need to retire, Steve Martin and Anjelica Huston, this movie is going to make the people in the cinemas run for the exits!
shareYou're going to tank
shareI want to know if they are going to treat the subject/book honestly or just make it some stereotypical big joke. They have no listing on the cast list of who plays what character and what the storyline is about. Big Birding and the sometimes strange characters it attracts can be humorous even in the birding world, but I think they will just go for cheap stupidity. And as for the age of the actors, the characters in the book were not young.
shareSlim, that's what I wondered as well. I enjoyed the book and I'm a birder, but I see this just turning into a farcical "comedy." The topic is interesting, the cast is interesting, but I do worry it will be sequences of Jack Black waddling through swamps or running from mountain lions.
Yes, I am a movie buff and an avid ("obsessive?") birder as well, and I have to say most depictions of bird-watchers in TV and movies have tended towards mocking and idiotic. This is a really interesting book and story but I imagine the depiction in this is going to pretty mocking of my tied-for-first-place-hobby. Not that birding can't be kind of silly sometimes and there's definitely laughs to be mined in the situation of the 3 guys per the book.
shareI completely agree. And I think there's a good argument that Big Years can now largely be bought and sold (a pretty substantial part of the book is the overwhelming cost of the competition and how means far outweigh ability or knowledge). Furthermore, in some ways a Big Year is antithetical to some of the goals of birding in general, primarily observing and enjoying birds in their natural habitat as a member of the birding community. Winners rely a great deal on accidentals/rarities that do not necessarily reflect a healthy ecosystem while wasting a great deal of resources criss-crossing the country. And the idea that birding is a conquest, a competition, sort of sets the clock back to Audubon days where birds were not sighted, they were collected. It just seems to me that while certainly most of us life list and lust after nemesis birds, the goal today has shifted away from domination and towards cooperative preservation. Birding is difficult to understand to outsiders, I appreciate that, but I worry about those with little understanding of birding itself trying to tackle a controversial and extreme element of a heterogeneous community.
I'm not trying to be anti-Big Year, just saying there's a lot of natural humor, controversy, and humanity here that the book attempted to explore that I suspect will get mowed over in the film. Maybe I'm not giving the creative team enough credit but the directing and writing lack pedigree. While I think Martin, Black, and Wilson are all incredibly talented, they all have a bad habit of reducing characters to caricatures (something the book is already guilty of to a degree), over-acting, and especially trying to out-act co-leads. In addition to the risk of a bad script, I worry these three will be trying to out-do one another.
That said, have you listened to the track "Rare Bird Alert" from Martin's new album? It's lovely, I'm holding out hope they "get" it.
I saw a pre-screening of this movie in Orange County, CA several months ago. I watch about 5 movies per month - this was the most boring movie I have ever seen, and I'm 46 years old. All of the comedic lead actors play it straight, and I would have never imagined a movie starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson could be such a snoozer. Save your hard earned money and wait until this shows up in Netflix or your premium cable channel.
shareOh no, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad to hear it's not a dumb comedy, but dismayed to hear you found it boring. Maybe there's some hope of a drastic recutting? I'm confused as to what's happening with it as screeners have been floating around for months and yet not so much as a teaser has been released ...
I had really high hopes for this project when Greg Miller (Jack Black's character) started hinting it was happening. There have been plenty of movies about subcultures that have been interesting to outside audiences, but it sounds like it missed the mark. : /
I saw a preview of this movie last Spring. I am not allowed to discuss specifics, but I think you will be surprised. I am going to pay to see the finished product. I am 41 year old male. I have never birded in my life.That is all I can say per my agreement.
shareThat says a lot, thanks, I'll hold out hope. I'm not thrilled by the trailer, it doesn't seem to have much of anything in common with the book. But I know Miller is really standing by the movie and apparently promoing it at the Midwest Birding Symposium (I'm not clear on whether it's an actual screening or showing the trailer, maybe some clips).
shareI know people (non-birders) who have already seen the movie. They loved it. They said it was funny (smart funny, not dumb/slapstick funny) plus it has heart.
I've also been told that we birders (yes I'm a crazy birder) are not the butt of the jokes, nor are there any silly references to some of the more comically (booby, bushtit, etc.) named birds.
I have high hopes for this movie and can't wait to see it.
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Do you people actually call yourselves birders?
I have high hopes for this movie. seems like a good one.
share"actors that are now done, finished and need to retire, Steve Martin and Anjelica Huston"
Why? Because they're "OLD"? This isn't figure-skating, you know. If someone's turning in good work, they should keep acting, regardless of their age. I suppose you could take the tack that Martin's become something of a self-parody in recent years, but Huston is still a fine character actress.
The movie may not do well, but it won't have to do with the actors. Wilson, Black, Martin, etc, still do good box office (even though Black has been sluggish lately).
And why should Martin and Huston retire? Sure, Martin doesn't do the broad smart humor much anymore, but still...
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I found it delightful.
I don't think it's quite your call to decide who's done, finished or need to retire.
I had a couple of hours before a game Friday and decided to watch it-based on the cast as I had not even seen the first commercial about it. I liked, would give it about an 8. Unfortunately there were exactly 2 other people watching it, and this was a 4 pm show. Sad, folks are missing a good movie.
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Dude loves long, run-on sentences.
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IMDB Troll Doctrine:
http://www.newmoondesigns.net/troll-doctrine
On October 1st, went to a popular movie downtown, 1 person was there. next week (Canadian Thanksgiving), also 1 person. Went to THE BIG YEAR, 13 people there. And yet it came in 9th. Weird.
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Yup, you should retire.
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