"Big Miracle" in Alaska

Photographer revisits early days of 1988 Barrow whale rescue

Bill Hess took some of the first photographs of the California gray whales trapped in ice off Point Barrow in 1988.

Photographer and blogger Bill Hess of Wasilla, author of "Gift of the Whale: The Inupiat Bowhead Hunt - A Sacred Tradition," was among the first to see the stranded California gray whales off Point Barrow in 1988 . With the release of "Big...

Read story

Archive by category ''"Big Miracle" in Alaska

STATE NEWS

'Big Miracle': The real story

Now that "Big Miracle" is opening -- the movie is loosely based on the 1988 rescue effort in Barrow -- how close is the movie to actual events?
STATE NEWS

State to pay $9.6 million in 'Big Miracle' expenses

The state of Alaska will pay one-third of the $29.5 million in Alaska production costs of "Big Miracle," according to paperwork filed with the Alaska Film Office. The Universal Pictures film, starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, opened today in theaters and was among first major films to...
ARTS AND CULTURE

Whale film 'Big Miracle' makes Alaska debut

Young Anchorage actor Ahmaogak Sweeney joined hundreds of Alaskans for a special preview screening of Universal Pictures "Big Miracle," the first modern major movie shot entirely in the state. What they saw was a harmless, polished romantic comedy aimed squarely at parents and their animal-loving...
ARTS AND CULTURE

Trio of Alaskans offer their thoughts on 'Big Miracle'

We asked three Alaskans -- an environmentalist, an oil company spokesman and an artist with village roots in the Alaska Arctic to watch "Big Miracle" at Sunday's Anchorage screening. Decide for yourself after the movie opens in theaters on Friday.
ARTS AND CULTURE

'Big Miracle' premieres in Washington, D.C.

"Big Miracle," the first major production subsidized by a state film incentive program that's among the most generous in the nation, premiered in the nation's capital Wednesday as debate burns in Alaska over whether the program is worth the cost.
LIVING

'Big Miracle' crew begins filming

Filmmakers on Thursday began shooting the Universal Pictures movie "Everybody Loves Whales" in Anchorage's Bootlegger Cove neighborhood, launching 10 weeks of filming in Alaska.
LIVING

Drew Barrymore film will be shot in Alaska

How's this for a plot twist? The next major movie about Alaska is actually being filmed here.