The Lyons Share

Primary hobby meets secondary hobby

Posted by Graeme Lyons , Wednesday, 7 September 2011 07:52

It's interesting how many references there are to broken marriages, failed careers and therapists in this trailer. I just saw someone else blog about this film and I'm afraid I simply had to just rip them off. It's not often my primary hobby (natural history) collides head long with my secondary hobby (movies) in any other way than my page on bird song in films (oh I added Goldrest the other day in 'The Skin I live In'). I have to say, if it wasn't for the fact that this film is based on a book by a birder and is therefore about birds and listing, it would probably fall into a category of films I would avoid. I'm not really a fan of American comedy (my worst nightmare is watching an episode of 'Friends'). However, I will certainly give it a watch but I think I'll perhaps wait until it comes out on DVD as I don't know anyone who would want to come and see it with me! The Big Year comes out over here on the 11th November. How long until they make a film about pan-species listers? Now that could be interesting, as long as either David Fincher or Christopher Nolan direct and I'm played by Gary Oldman...

Posted in birds, birds in films

2 Response to "Primary hobby meets secondary hobby"

Sami webster Says:

I can't wait for this! I did notice that they hardly mention birds at all in the trailer tho - trying not to scare people off I guess! Hope this movie isn't as birdless as the trailer. I enjoyed the book so I hope the film lives up to it.

7 September 2011 at 16:07

Steve Gale Says:

Having just watched the trailer, the film is not going to go anywhere near the reality of the book. I've read 'The Big Year' by Mark Obmascik twice. Mark is a journalist (and a birder) who was intrigued by the driving forces behind obsessional behaviour in the competitive world of year listing. He wrote the book in an accessible style but did not hide from peeling back the layers to expose the private lives of the three big listers he decided to 'follow'. They are all complex characters and not the comic-cut buffoons that the trailer seems to be hinting at. I'm the first to admit that most of us birders/pan-listers are dysfunctional to a certain extent, but a serious film on the subject could have been made from the book. But there again, who would want to watch it when cinema goers will lap up Jack Black mugging his way through another waste of an hour and a half. And by the way, they have lined up a pan-listing film, and I can reveal that Brad Pitt has already signed up to play a certain lister based in Surrey...

7 September 2011 at 18:33