John August

Big Fish

Big Fish opens wide

Big Fish, Projects

No matter where in North America you live, BIG FISH will finally be “at a theater near you” beginning this Friday, January 9th, 2004. For the last month, the movie has been in very limited release — first in just six theaters, then in 125. We’ve done remarkably well, racking up $20,000 per screen this past weekend, but the real question mark is how we can perform nationwide.

I’m optimistic. So far, the movie has only been playing in big cities, but there’s nothing particularly big-city about Big Fish. It’s not pretentious; in fact it’s kind of square. I suspect a family of four in Boise will like it just fine.

We won’t come in #1 for the weekend, nor do we need to. I’m just hoping to get enough butts-in-seats to continue the momentum we’ve gotten so far.

Big Fish opens in more cities

Big Fish, Projects

Up until now, BIG FISH has only been playing in a total of six theaters in LA, New York and Toronto. On Christmas Day (tomorrow), the movie will expand to 25 cities, with about 125 theaters altogether. (For a point of reference, RETURN OF THE KING is now playing at 3,703 theaters.)

If BIG FISH doesn’t open near you on Christmas, have patience. It opens wide (more than 2,000 theaters) on January 9, 2004.

Big Fish gets four Golden Globe nominations

Big Fish, News, Projects

On Wednesday at about 5:36 a.m. Pacific Time, we found out that BIG FISH received four Golden Globe nominations: Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Supporting Actor (Albert Finney), Best Song (Pearl Jam’s “Man of the Hour”) and Best Score (Danny Elfman). We were happy. Sony was happy. The marketing people were delighted: by that evening, they’d already cut a new :30 second TV spot that trumpeted our nominations. God Bless those busy folks.

Is Big Fish a comedy? Ultimately, it was up to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the people who run the Golden Globes — to decide what category to put us in. It’s certainly not a comedy in the way CADDYSHACK is. But for the most part, it’s pretty funny. And it’s definitely not high drama. It gets emotional at the end, but even if you’re crying, it’s a strange kind of happy tears. So I think the “comedy” label fits as well as any other.

The awards broadcast is live on NBC: Sunday, January 25, 2004. 8.00 p.m. Eastern/5:00 p.m. Pacific.

Big Fish gets five Broadcast Film Critics Award nominations

Big Fish, News, Projects

Earlier this week, we were happy to learn that Big Fish got five Broadcast Film Critics Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Tim Burton), Best Writer (John), Best Song (Pearl Jam’s “Man of the Hour”) and Best Score (Danny Elfman). Although I never believe it when I hear other people say it, it’s an honor just to be nominated.

It’s a little odd that the category I’m in is called “Best Writer.” Usually, the writing awards are called “Best Screenplay.” But I guess since they give the award to a person, not a movie, it does sort of make sense.

Who knows if we’ll win any awards. One good thing is that we’ll know soon: The awards are going to be held January 10, 2004 in Beverly Hills, and broadcast live on E!. (Do you have to put a period on a sentence that ends with E!? I’ll be sure to ask.)