Paul: What is so special about Baskin?
Susan: He's a grown up.
At a carnival, a little Josh comes across a Make-a-Wish Machine. His wish: "I want to be big." The following morning he wakes up to find that his wish has been granted. He's a grown man! So... how does he explain to his mother that the grown man she sees now is still the little boy she saw the night before? More importantly, how can he get back to being little Josh again?!?
The weekend of June 3, 1988 was the release of two major motion pictures at the Box Office: Warner Brothers' "Funny Farm" starring Chevy Chase and 20th Century Fox's "Big" starring Tom Hanks. Both were light-hearted and fun, but one touched on the emotions a lot more than the other. "Big" certainly had that "wow" factor and was clearly the overall winner. Bringing in over $8.2 million on its opening weekend alone, the film went on to gross $114.9 million, making it the fourth largest Box Office Hit of 1988.
"Big" was the second film directed by Penny Marshall ("Jumpin' Jack Flash" was her first). The film's writers included Gary Ross and Anne Spierberg. Though they both had very little experience writing scripts for television, this was the first attempt for both of them at writing a script for the big screen. Their attempt paid off as the screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award.
Lead actor, Tom Hanks, was also nominated for an Oscar for his achievements. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe of which he won.
Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture of the Year in the comedy/musical category, "Big" starred Tom Hanks as "Josh", Elizabeth Perkins as "Susan", Robrt Loggia as "MacMillan", and John Heard as "Paul". Co-stars included Jared Rushton as "Billy" and David Moscow as the younger "Josh" in his feature film debut. Both Jared and David continued on with their acting careers in both television and motion pictures.
Filmed at various locations throughout New York and New Jersey, here are some other points of interest regarding the making of "Big" you might like to know...
1. The script was first developed in 1984. When Penny Marshall got the script for 'Big', nobody was interested in doing the movie. It was only when Robert De Niro announced he wanted the part of Josh that the script received attention from people wanting to do it.
2. Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Josh Baskin but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with the films Dragnet (1987) and Punchline (1988). Robert De Niro was then offered the lead role, and was rejected because his salary demand ($6 million) was too high. Tom Hanks then became available and accepted the lead role for $2 million. David Moscow was originally cast not as young Josh, but as Billy, since he didn't look like Robert De Niro. When Tom Hanks was given the role, David Moscow was recast as young Josh.
3. Debra Winger was original considered for the Susan Lawrence role but could not take the part because she was pregnant at the time. She recommended Elizabeth Perkins.
4. David Moscow wore colored contact lenses to match the eye color of Tom Hanks.
5. Jared Rushton's (Billy) hair was dyed for the film. He's a natural blonde.
6. To give Tom Hanks an idea of how a 12 year-old would behave, director Penny Marshall filmed each "grown-up" scene with David Moscow (Young Josh) playing Tom Hanks's part, who then copied David Moscow's behavior. Also...
7. ... In preparation for the role, Tom Hanks met David Moscow and studied videotapes of him to see how he behaved and spoke. Tom Hanks also felt that David Moscow should just be himself so that the Josh Baskin character persona would be that of a real 12-year-old.
8. The computer game Josh plays in the film, "Cavern of the Evil Wizard", was not a real computer game. It was created for the film.
9. Both Josh's and Billy's houses are actual residences next door to each other located in Cliffside Park, New Jersey: Billy's house address was 435 Greenmount Avenue and Josh's was 437 Greenmount Avenue.
10. Director Penny Marshall contacted the creator of the 'Walking Piano' and said she needed one built large enough for two grown men to use since the real toys are understandably much smaller. On that "key"...
11. ... The "Walking Piano" used in the film's trademark scene was created by an Italian inventor named Remo Saraceni. Mr. Saraceni's many musical inventions grace children's organizations worldwide. As of 2008, his famous Walking Piano is currently being implemented into a piano instructional game called Piano Wizard made by Allegro Multimedia.
12. In the film, Josh comes up with the brilliant idea of robots that transform into prehistoric, giant insects. His description is nearly identical to the Insecticons, a group of robots from The Transformers toy line. The Insecticon toys were released three years before the film.
13. According to Monica Rushton, Jared Rushton (Billy), David Moscow (little Josh) and Tom Hanks (big Josh) were put in a room with a bunch of toys to play with. Having silly string, they tried to use it to gross each other out and that is how the silly string scene between Jared Rushton and Tom Hanks appeared in the movie.
14. According to actor Robert Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwarz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They succeeded.
15. The musical version of "Big" opened at the Shubert Theater on April 28, 1996, ran for 193 performances and was nominated for the 1996 Tony Awards for the Best Original Book and Score.
And now you know.
A splendid thing to know about Penny Marshall and her success with this film: She, with this movie, became the first female director to ever direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million at the box office. Way to go, Penny!
Filmed at various locations throughout New York and New Jersey, here are some other points of interest regarding the making of "Big" you might like to know...
1. The script was first developed in 1984. When Penny Marshall got the script for 'Big', nobody was interested in doing the movie. It was only when Robert De Niro announced he wanted the part of Josh that the script received attention from people wanting to do it.
2. Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Josh Baskin but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with the films Dragnet (1987) and Punchline (1988). Robert De Niro was then offered the lead role, and was rejected because his salary demand ($6 million) was too high. Tom Hanks then became available and accepted the lead role for $2 million. David Moscow was originally cast not as young Josh, but as Billy, since he didn't look like Robert De Niro. When Tom Hanks was given the role, David Moscow was recast as young Josh.
3. Debra Winger was original considered for the Susan Lawrence role but could not take the part because she was pregnant at the time. She recommended Elizabeth Perkins.
4. David Moscow wore colored contact lenses to match the eye color of Tom Hanks.
5. Jared Rushton's (Billy) hair was dyed for the film. He's a natural blonde.
6. To give Tom Hanks an idea of how a 12 year-old would behave, director Penny Marshall filmed each "grown-up" scene with David Moscow (Young Josh) playing Tom Hanks's part, who then copied David Moscow's behavior. Also...
7. ... In preparation for the role, Tom Hanks met David Moscow and studied videotapes of him to see how he behaved and spoke. Tom Hanks also felt that David Moscow should just be himself so that the Josh Baskin character persona would be that of a real 12-year-old.
8. The computer game Josh plays in the film, "Cavern of the Evil Wizard", was not a real computer game. It was created for the film.
9. Both Josh's and Billy's houses are actual residences next door to each other located in Cliffside Park, New Jersey: Billy's house address was 435 Greenmount Avenue and Josh's was 437 Greenmount Avenue.
10. Director Penny Marshall contacted the creator of the 'Walking Piano' and said she needed one built large enough for two grown men to use since the real toys are understandably much smaller. On that "key"...
11. ... The "Walking Piano" used in the film's trademark scene was created by an Italian inventor named Remo Saraceni. Mr. Saraceni's many musical inventions grace children's organizations worldwide. As of 2008, his famous Walking Piano is currently being implemented into a piano instructional game called Piano Wizard made by Allegro Multimedia.
12. In the film, Josh comes up with the brilliant idea of robots that transform into prehistoric, giant insects. His description is nearly identical to the Insecticons, a group of robots from The Transformers toy line. The Insecticon toys were released three years before the film.
13. According to Monica Rushton, Jared Rushton (Billy), David Moscow (little Josh) and Tom Hanks (big Josh) were put in a room with a bunch of toys to play with. Having silly string, they tried to use it to gross each other out and that is how the silly string scene between Jared Rushton and Tom Hanks appeared in the movie.
14. According to actor Robert Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwarz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They succeeded.
15. The musical version of "Big" opened at the Shubert Theater on April 28, 1996, ran for 193 performances and was nominated for the 1996 Tony Awards for the Best Original Book and Score.
And now you know.
A splendid thing to know about Penny Marshall and her success with this film: She, with this movie, became the first female director to ever direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million at the box office. Way to go, Penny!
The following picture stills have been arranged in chronological order to follow the story line of the film...
Josh: Do what?
Susan: Well, I like you, and I want to spend the night with you.
Josh: Do you mean sleep over?
Susan: Well, yeah.
Josh: OK... but I get to be on top.
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