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 take advantage of Alaska’s fledging incentive program.
More coverage of 'Big Miracle'
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?
Archive photos: Barrow whale rescue (1988)
What do Alaskans think of 'Big Miracle'? Grade the movie!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Photographer revisits early days of 1988 Barrow whale rescue
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 Miracle," the Hollywood film based on the attempt to rescue the whales, Hess is scanning his photographs from the event and uploading them in a series of posts on his blog. He opens his posts with photos from the bowhead whale hunt that was just ending when the grays were spotted, then follows with a post that includes some of the first photos taken of the trapped whales.
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 kids.
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.
'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.
'Big Miracle' trailer released
The trailer for 'Big Miracle' has been released on the Internet. As expected, it plays loose with the facts surrounding the 1988 attempt to rescue three gray whales trapped in the ice near Barrow. But how's it looking? Is this a movie you'd want to see? Did you catch a glimpse of any of the Alaskan actors? What do you think?
"Big Miracle" producer reflects on filming in Alaska
"Big Miracle" producer Stuart Besser found a shortage of construction workers available to build sets in Anchorage. He told other filmmakers curious about shooting in the state that they'd have to haul their own equipment from Los Angeles. But knowing what he knows now, the executive producer of the first modern, major movie to film entirely in Alaska says he would still do it all over again.
BLOG: HOLLYWOOD ALASKA
"Big Miracle" is a taste of Hollywood
The production of "Big Miracle" has given many residents of Anchorage a taste of Hollywood movie-making, the cafe star sightings, nomadic trailer parks and traffic-clogging productions that local movie boosters hope to make increasingly common in Anchorage.
BLOG:HOLLYWOOD ALASKA
Alaska seamstress lands role in whale movie
North Pole resident Janie Snyder was visiting her sister Rosabelle Rexford for Nalukataq, a spring whaling celebration in Barrow, when the unexpected happened. Perhaps it was the sisters' colorful parkas or their comical antics that attracted a casting director to approach them for the film "Big Miracle," starring Hollywood starlet Drew Barrymore.
'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.
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. A production company plans to begin shooting "Everybody Loves Whales," a $30 million movie starring Drew Barrymore, this September in Alaska, the executive producer said Friday.
Archive: Barrow whale rescue (1988)
PHOTO GALLERY
Three California gray whales were trapped by ice at Point Barrow in October 1988. The subsequent rescue attempt drew worldwide media attention while the U.S. and Soviet governments got together to devise a plan.
PHOTO GALLERY
"Big Miracle," a film about the rescue of a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.
PHOTO GALLERY
Alaska premiere of 'Big Miracle'
The Alaska premiere of the whale rescue adventure movie Big Miracle at the Regal Tikahtnu Stadium 16 theater in Anchorage on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012.
PHOTO GALLERY
'Big Miracle' in Washington, D.C.
There was a special screening of "Big Miracle," a movie inspired by a true story to save a family of whales, at the AMC Loews Georgetown in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 25, 2012.
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