| Big Wednesday | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Milius |
| Written by | John Milius Dennis Aaberg |
| Produced by | Buzz Feitshans |
| Starring | Jan-Michael Vincent William Katt Gary Busey Patti D'Arbanville Lee Purcell |
| Cinematography | Bruce Surtees |
| Edited by | C. Timothy O'Meara Robert L. Wolfe |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
Production company | A-Team Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11,000,000 |
| Box office | $4.5 million[1] |
Big Wednesday is a 1978 American coming of age buddy sports comedy-drama film directed by John Milius. Written by Milius and Dennis Aaberg, it is loosely based on their own experiences at Malibu, California. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary Busey as California surfers facing life and the Vietnam War against the backdrop of their love of surfing.
Raised in Southern California, Milius made Big Wednesday as an homage to the time he spent in Malibu during his youth. Milius and his friends George Lucas and Steven Spielberg famously agreed to exchange a percentage point of Big Wednesday, Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind prior to the release of the three films throughout 1977–1978. Spielberg in particular was certain that Big Wednesday was going to be a box office hit, opining it was like "American Graffiti meets Jaws", two of the decade's most successful films.[2]
- ^ Warshaw, Matt (2005). The Encyclopedia of Surfing. Orlando, Florida, US: Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-603251-3.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr (May 12, 2010). "How Spielberg and Lucas Caught The Surfing Bug (...And Waved Goodbye To Points On 'Close Encounters' & 'Star Wars')". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.