description The Big Year Overview
The Big Year is a 2011 comedy based on Mark Obmascik’s book about three men attempting to document North America’s bird species in a single year. The narrative follows their competitive pursuit of identifying as many birds as possible, mirroring the efforts of real-life birders Sandy Komito, Al Levantin, and Greg Miller. The film adapts the premise of documenting a “Big Year” competition among birders.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
info The Big Year Specifications
| Country | United States |
| Year | 2011 |
help The Big Year FAQ
Is The Big Year based on a true story?
Yes — it adapts Mark Obmascik's 2004 book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, which chronicles the real 1998 North American Big Year competition. The three leads are based on actual birders Greg Miller, Al Levantin, and Sandy Komito, whose 1998 record of over 740 species stood for years.
Who stars in The Big Year and who directed it?
Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson play the three rival birders, in a rare all-comedian lead trio. David Frankel directed it, four years after his hit The Devil Wears Prada, and it was released in October 2011 by 20th Century Fox.
What does 'big year' mean in birding?
A big year is an informal competition to identify, by sight or sound, as many bird species as possible within one calendar year in a defined region — usually the American Birding Association area of North America north of Mexico. The 1998 race depicted in the film pushed the record past 745 species.
Why did The Big Year flop at the box office?
Despite its star power, the film underperformed badly when it opened in 2011, earning back only a small fraction of its production budget. Its gentle, quiet tone confused marketing teams selling a 'comedy' and it found its real audience later on home video and streaming.
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