Big Fish 2003 by Tim Burton written by John August Ewan McGregor Albert Finney B...

Big Fish is a 2003 fantasy drama film, directed by Tim Burton & written by John August. It is loosely based on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace, & stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Steve Buscemi, Helena Bonham Carter, Marion Cotillard & Danny DeVito, amongst others. Will Bloom (Crudup) returns to his family home in Alabama, having spent the past three years not talking to his father Edward (Finney). Dying, Edward recounts his life story in his own unique, exaggerated way, full of fantastic events (portrayed in these flashbacks by McGregor). Will tries to get to know his father & find the truth, discovering that his father did lead an extraordinary life & that his storytelling was his finest achievement. The film was initially planned to be directed by Steven Spielberg before Burton took on the project, following the death of his own father. The film was mostly shot in Alabama, & had a much less gothic tone than Burton's other films such as Edward Scissorh&s & Sleepy Hollow. Many critics hailed the film as Burton's masterpiece, & it received four Golden Globe nominations & one Oscar nomination for Danny Elfman's original score. Plot Edward Bloom tells his son Will the same tale over the years: on the day Will was born, he was out catching an enormous uncatchable fish with his wedding ring. By the time he tells this at Will's wedding reception, their relationship has become strained, & they do not talk to each other for three years. Will becomes a journalist in Paris. When his father's health starts to fail, Will & his wife Josephine return to Alabama. On the plane, Will recalls his father's tale of how he braved a swamp as a child, & met a witch who showed him his death in her glass eye. With this knowledge, Edward knows there are no odds he cannot face. Edward still has a knack for tall tales. As he tells it, he spent three years confined to a bed as a child, with his body growing incredibly fast. He became a successful sports player but found the town of Ashton too small for his ambition. Finding a kindred spirit in the misunderstood giant Karl, they set off. Edward takes an ab&oned path down a supposedly haunted forest. He discovers the tiny town of Spectre, where the missing poet Norther Winslow has settled with people so friendly that no one who comes ever leaves, & thus they do not even have to wear shoes. Edward still feels he does not want to settle anywhere yet & leaves, but promises to the young girl Jenny that he will return. At the circus Karl signs up with Amos Calloway, & time stops as Edward sees the love of his life. As time speeds up again & he loses her, he promises to work for Amos day & night without pay to learn who she is. Every month for three years he learns something new about her, but mostly useless trivial information about her & never her name o. address. Edward discovers Amos is a werewolf, & plays fetch with him, preventing him from killing Edward, & also preventing Amos' attorney from killing Amos while a wolf. In thanks for Edward's kindness, Amos tells him the girl's name is S&ra Templeton & she studies at Auburn University. Edward learns from S&ra that she is engaged to Don Price, also from Ashton. He makes many attempts to show his love for her, including collecting all of the daffodils (her favorite flowers) from five states. Don appears & beats up Edward. Disgusted, S&ra gives up her engagement ring & falls for Edward, who, having given her his word that he wouldn't hit Don, refuses to fight back. During his recovery in the hospital, Edward is conscripted by the army, & goes to Korea. Instead of taking his assigned mission, he instead parachutes into a theater entertaining troops, steals important documents, & convinces conjoined dancers Ping & Jing to help him get back to America, where he will make them stars. The army thinks the missing Edward is dead & they tell S&ra, leaving her in grief, but Edward eventually returns, surprising her. Being legally dead means that his work choices are limited, so he becomes a traveling salesman. Meeting Winslow again, he unwittingly helps him rob a bank, which is already bankrupt. Edward suggests Winslow work on Wall Street, & Winslow later sends Edward $10,000 from his first million as his "career advisor." Edward uses it to buy his family's dream house. Still unimpressed by his father's stories, Will dem&s to know the truth. Edward tries to explain that is who he is: a storyteller. While looking through Edward's old office, Will finds a suspicious letter from Spectre. Going there, Will meets an older Jenny. She explains that Spectre eventually went bankrupt, but Edward bought the entire town at an auction & rebuilt the town with financial help from many of his previous acquaintances, although it evidently decayed again. She also explains that she loved Edward, but S&ra was the only woman for him. Coming home, Will discovers his father has had a stroke & is at the hospital. There, Will tells Edward a story of his own: escaping from the hospital, they go to the river where everybody in Edward's life shows up to greet him on his last journey. Will carries his father into the river where he becomes a big fish. Edward then peacefully remarks "The story of my life" before dying. At his funeral, Will sees many of his father's more unusual friends, confirming at least a grain of truth from many of his tales. He sees Amos, Karl, Ping & Jing & Norther Winslow amongst others (although they are not entirely the same as in the stories, & are, in some cases, the result of a play on words. For example, the 'conjoined' twins, o. 'Siamese' twins, are not conjoined, but rather, from the capital city of Thail&). When he has his own son, Will passes on his father's stories, remarking that his father became his stories, allowing him to live forever. Cast Albert Finney as the older Edward Bloom: An exosalesman who lives through the tall tales he tells of his remarkable life. - Ewan McGregor as a younger Edward in fantastical flashbacks; (Perry Waltson plays Edward as a child.) Jessica Lange as S&ra Bloom: Edward's wife. - Alison Lohman as the younger S&ra, née Templeton, whom Edward falls in love with at first sight. Billy Crudup as Will Bloom: Edward's son, who struggles with separating fact from fiction in his father's constant fanciful tales. Marion Cotillard as Joséphine: Will's French wife, several months pregnant with their first child. Helena Bonham Carter as Jenny: A divorced piano teacher who lives in the town of Spectre. - Hailey Anne Nelson plays Jenny as an eight year old when Edward first meets her. - Bonham Carter also plays an elderly Witch who gives a young Bloom a vision of his future death. Robert Guillaume as Dr. Bennett: The family doctor. He delivered Will & tells him that he would choose the more "interesting" account of the day he was born as Edward lies in hospital. Matthew McGrory as Karl the Giant: A reclusive giant who nearly incurs mob violence in Ashton when Edward volunteers to approach & talk with him. Karl & Edward end up leaving the small town together. Danny DeVito as Amos Calloway: A circus ringmaster. He gives Karl & Edward jobs, telling the latter one fact about S&ra every month in lieu of pay. He is also a werewolf. Steve Buscemi as Norther Winslow: A poet from Ashton who supposedly went missing, having never left the idyllic town of Spectre. After Bloom leaves, he travels the world & becomes a bank robber, before becoming a Wall Street stockbroker. Ada Tai & Arlene Tai as Ping & Jing: Siamese twins from Thail&, who perform as singers for soldiers in Korea & help Edward escape from behind enemy lines. After helping Edward they end up working with Amos David Denman as Don Price: A boy from Ashton who was always overshadowed by Edward's achievements. He becomes engaged to S&ra, but when he brutally beats her new wouldobe suitor Edward, S&ra rejects Don for Edward, who is practically a stranger to her. He later dies of a heart attack, which he had already seen in the witch's eyes. Loudon Wainwright III as Beamen: The mayor of Spectre, & Jenny's father. Missi Pyle as Mildred: Beamen's wife. Miley Cyrus (credited as Destiny Hope Cyrus)' as 8oyearoold Ruthie. Daniel Wallace as Economics Teacher Production Following the death of his father, screenwriter John August read a manuscript of the novel Big Fish in 1999, & had Columbia Pictures option the book on his behalf. Steven Spielberg signed on to direct in August 2000, & he had August write two drafts, with Jack Nicholson in mind to play the older Edward Bloom. August worked hard to make the episodic book into a cohesive story, deciding to have several narrators, & then wrote a third draft after Spielberg was becoming distracted with other projects. Producers Dan Jinks & Bruce Cohen first discussed the project with Stephen Daldry, before they sent the third draft to Tim Burton, who signed on in April 2002 to direct. Burton had never been particularly close to his parents, but his father's death in October 2000 & his mother's in March 2002 affected him deeply. Following Planet of the Apes' production, he wanted to get back to making a smaller film. Burton enjoyed the script, feeling that it was the first unique story he was offered since Beetlejuice. Burton also found appeal in the story's combination of an emotional drama with exaggerated tall tales, which allowed him to tell various stories of different genres. Burton met up with Jack Nicholson, & briefly discussed using computers to allow him to play a younger version of himself. After that, Burton began the difficult process of casting two actors as the same character, which meant filming was pushed from October 2002 to January 2003. Ewan McGregor & Albert Finney were cast first as the younger & older Edward Bloom respectively on August 1, 2002. The combination was suggested by producers Jinks & Cohen who were working with McGregor on Down with Love, & Burton got on with him, finding him quite similar to regular colleague Johnny Depp. Viewing Finney's performance in Tom Jones, Burton found him similar to McGregor, & coincidentally he found a People article comparing the two. Most of the cast were assembled by November. As with S&ra's introduction, Alison Lohman had to st& still for two minutes during her audition. Filming on Big Fish began on January 13, 2003 & ended in early May. Production was based in Wetumpka, Alabama. All of Albert Finney's scenes as the elder Edward Bloom were shot first due to the emotional difficulty of his scenes. McGregor was on set from the beginning & observed Finney. Afterward, shooting took on a livelier, more enjoyable state as Burton & McGregor shot scenes of varying genre. Much of the film was improvised, most notably Edward's slippery birth scene & the humorous scene in Korea where he turns off the light as he beats up two men. During filming of the circus scenes, strong winds hit & flooded much of the sets, but filming stayed on schedule. Shooting in Alabama finished in April, & moved to Paris for a single week before wrapping. Burton preferred to use practical special effects alongside computer animation. Forced perspective was employed for scenes with Karl the Giant, when he realigns Jenny's home & lifts up a car for Will & Edward to make their way through traffic. Burton also used color grading for the first time, which lent an extra mood to the fantasy scenes. The Big Fish soundtrack was composed by regular Burton collaborator Danny Elfman. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam also contributed a song entitled "Man of the Hour" after watching the film. Release Big Fish had a limited release on December 10, 2003, before it was released nationwide on January 9, 2004. The Region 1 DVD release of Big Fish took place on April 27, 2004, whilst the Region 2 release took place on June 7. The release featured a Burton commentary track & a special quiz on him, in addition to various featurettes. The film was reoreleased on November 1, 2005, with a 24 page hardback book entitled Fairy Tale for a Grown Up. The film was released on Bluoray on April 9, 2007. Although it was initially believed to have opened in wide release at the top spot with $14.5 million, Big Fish only grossed $13 million, still leaving The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at number one. It eventually grossed $66 million in the United States & $56 million in the rest of the world, amounting to a $122 million gross. The film received nominations at the 2004 Golden Globes for Best Picture in the Comedy o. Musical genre, as well as nominations for Albert Finney, Danny Elfman & Eddie Vedder. At the Academy Awards, Elfman received a nomination for his score. Big Fish received some high praise by many reviewers, with some calling it Tim Burton's best film, including Jeff Vice. Jeffrey Westhoff felt that the film gave Burton a "muchoneeded boost of maturity", feeling the film was his best since Ed Wood. Peter Travers gave it 4/4 as, "a script that challenges & deepens Burton's talent", & he also praised Ewan McGregor's performance. Adrian Hennigan of the BBC praised both Burton & screenwriter John August following their disparaged work on Planet of the Apes & Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle respectively, feeling it was a celebration of the art of storytelling & a touching fatheroson drama, & "feelgood without being overly sentimental; romantic without being cloying; moving without being mawkish." Betty Jo Tucker said it was one of her favourite films of the year, saying "Big Fish not only charmed me completely with its humanity & humor - it surprised me with its wisdom." A few negative reviews came from mainstream reviewers. Unmoved, Roger Ebert felt, "There is no denying that Will has a point: The old man is a blowhard. There is a point at which his stories stop working as entertainment & segue into sadism." Kirk Honeycutt found it "a belabored oddity that is one longowinded tall tale illustrated with hammy, artificial sets & geeowhiz acting... These stories never get beyond their surreal imagery." Big Fish holds a 77% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 154 positive reviews out of 199. The more mixed reception of 50% from the mainstream press is held among its "Cream of the Crop" critics. References 1. a b c d e f g h Mark Salisbury; Tim Burton (2006). "Big Fish", Burton on Burton. Faber & Faber, 203o22. ISBN 0o571o22926o3. 2. Brian Linder. "Spielberg Reels in Big Fish", IGN, 2000o08o10. Retrieved on 2007o04o05. 3. Josh Tyrangiel. "Big Fish in His Own Pond", Time, 2003o11o24. Retrieved on 2007o04o21. 4. Steven Awalt. "‘Big Fish’ dead on the hook for Spielberg", SpielbergFilms, 2002o04o30. Retrieved on 2007o04o05. 5. a b c Greg Dean Schmitz. Big Fish - Greg's Preview. Yahoo!. Retrieved on 2007o04o06. 6. Stax. "Two Big Fish Caught", IGN, 2002o08o01. Retrieved on 2007o04o06. 7. Fred Topel. "Tim Burton Reels in Big Fish", IGN, 2003o12o09. Retrieved on 2007o04o06. 8. Stax. "More Big Fish", IGN, 2002o10o15. Retrieved on 2007o04o06. 9. Bill Desowitz. "Burton Applies Light CG Touch to Big Fish", VFXWorld, 2003o12o10. Retrieved on 2007o08o19. 10. a b Big Fish (2003). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 11. Tom Woodward. "Big Fish US - DVD R1", DVD Active, 2004o02o17. Retrieved on 2007o04o18. 12. Richard Schuchardt. "Big Fish: Date Change", DVD Active, 2004o03o10. Retrieved on 2007o04o18. 13. Chris Gould. "Big Fish UK - BD", DVD Active, 2005o08o30. Retrieved on 2007o04o18. 14. Tom Woodward. "Big Fish US - DVD R1", DVD Active, 2007o02o28. Retrieved on 2007o04o18. 15. "Is Sony Telling a 'Big Fish' story?", The Internet Movie Database, 2004o01o12. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 16. "Sony's Box Office Estimate: Another 'Fish' Story", The Internet Movie Database, 2004o01o13. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 17. Big Fish - Awards & Nominations. Yahoo!. Retrieved on 2007o04o18. 18. Jeff Vice. "Big Fish", Deseret Morning News, 2004o01o05. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 19. Jeff Westhoff. "Big Fish (2003)", North West Herald (made available by Rotten Tomatoes). Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 20. Peter Travers. "Big Fish", Rolling Stone, 2003o11o20. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 21. Adrian Hennigan. "Big Fish", BBC, 2004o01o18. Retrieved on 2006o04o16. 22. Betty Jo Tucker. "Myth Magic", Reeltalk. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 23. Roger Ebert. "Big Fish", 2003o12o24. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 24. Kirk Honeycutt. "Big Fish", The Hollywood Reporter, 2003o12o01. Retrieved on 2007o04o16. 25. Big Fish. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007o08o26. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Big Fish Official site Big Fish at the Internet Movie Database Big Fish at Allmovie Big Fish at Box Office Mojo Big Fish at Rotten Tomatoes v • d • e Films directed by Tim Burton 1980s Peeowee's Big Adventure (1985) • Beetlejuice (1988) • Batman (1989) 1990s Edward Scissorh&s (1990) • Batman Returns (1992) • Ed Wood (1994) • Mars Attacks! (1996) • Sleepy Hollow (1999) 2000s Planet of the Apes (2001) • Big Fish (2003) • Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005) • Corpse Bride (2005) • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) 2010s Alice in Wonderl& This page uses content from the movies page on the English version of Wikipedia & is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Wildscreen.tv disclaims any & all warranties as to the accuracy o. reliability of the content. Permission is granted to copy, distribute &/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 o. any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.