Big Wednesday
Big Wednesday film poster
Directed by	John Milius
Produced by	Buzz Feitshans
Written by	John Milius Dennis Aaberg
Starring	Jan-Michael Vincent William Katt Gary Busey
Music by
Cinematography	{{{cinematography}}}
Editing by	{{{editing}}}
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Released	May 26, 1978
Running time	120 min.
Language	English
Budget	$11,000,000
Preceded by	{{{preceded_by}}}
Followed by	{{{followed_by}}}
IMDb profile

"A day will come that is like no other...and nothing that happens after will ever be the same."

Big Wednesday was a 1978 coming-of-age movie, directed by John Milius, starring Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey as California surfers facing life, the Vietnam War, and use of the ever changing surf as a metaphor for the changes in life. Movie Poster for Big Wednesday This is a copyrighted poster. ... John Milius (born April 11, 1944) is a screenwriter, director, and producer. ... John Milius (born April 11, 1944) is a screenwriter, director, and producer. ... Jan-Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke, pilot of Airwolf Jan-Michael Vincent (born July 15, 1944) is an American actor most well-known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf (1984-1986). ... William Katt as his character in The Greatest American Hero. ... Gary Busey William Gary Busey (born June 29, 1944 in Goose Creek, Texas) is an American film actor. ... Warner Bros. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... John Milius (born April 11, 1944) is a screenwriter, director, and producer. ... Jan-Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke, pilot of Airwolf Jan-Michael Vincent (born July 15, 1944) is an American actor most well-known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf (1984-1986). ... William Katt as his character in The Greatest American Hero. ... Gary Busey William Gary Busey (born June 29, 1944 in Goose Creek, Texas) is an American film actor. ... Surfing outside Kaneohe Bay, Hawai‘i. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the Communist World, namely the Soviet Union and Red China against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and its allies — notably the United States military in... Waves breaking on rocks at La Jolla Waves Ocean surface waves are surface waves which occur at the surface of an ocean. ...

Surfing afficionados consider it to be one of the best surfing-related films ever made, in part because of the outstanding surfing cinematography and the appearance of several world champion surfers as stunt performers. Milius had been a surfer in his youth. Cinematography literally means writing in the movement, and is the discipline of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. ...

The film has a hilarious scene about the extremes which young men went to in those years to avoid being drafted and shipped off to Vietnam, including faking insanity, homosexuality and all manner of medical ailments. It also illuminates poignantly the life crisis which many young men faced at that time, including the hard and principled decision to enlist and serve. The United States has employed conscription (mandatory military service, also called the draft) several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War. ... Insanity, or madness, is a semi-permanent, severe mental disorder typically stemming from a form of mental illness. ... Since its inception, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

Cast

Jan-Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke, pilot of Airwolf Jan-Michael Vincent (born July 15, 1944) is an American actor most well-known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf (1984-1986). ... William Katt as his character in The Greatest American Hero. ... Gary Busey William Gary Busey (born June 29, 1944 in Goose Creek, Texas) is an American film actor. ... Patti DArbanville (born May 25, 1951 in New York City) is an American film and television actress. ... Gerry Lopez (born November 7, 1948, Honolulu, Hawaii) is a world-renowned surfer and occasional film actor. ... Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character-actor. ... Joe Spinell (October 28, 1936-January 13, 1989) was born Joseph J. Spagnuolo in New York. ... Steve Kanaly is an American actor, best known for his role as Southfork Ranch foreman Ray Krebbs on the television soap opera Dallas from 1978 to 1989. ... Barbara Hale (born April 18, 1922 in DeKalb, Illinois) is an American actress best known as Perry Masons secretary Della Street. She first began appearing in motion pictures in 1943 after training at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. ... Fran Ryan (November 29, 1916 – January 15, 2000) is an American character actress who had starred in television and in films. ... Robert Englund costumed as Freddy Krueger. ... Keith Davis (born December 30, 1978 in Dallas, Texas) is an American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Sam Houston State University. ... Frank McRae is an American actor and former professional football player. ... Actress Charlene Tilton was born December 1, 1958 in San Diego, California, USA. She has had a varied career, with many roles, beginning with a small part as Bambi in Freaky Friday. ... Janet Julian (b. ...

Trivia

Raised in Southern California, Big Wednesday is an homage to the Malibu of Milius' youth including a nod to veteran waterman and Malibu icon Ray Kunze. Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the state of California. ... Malibu is a city located in Western Los Angeles County, California. ...

Big Wednesday has an unusual linkage to the motion pictures Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in that the filmmakers (Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Milius) were all close friends and traded "points" in the others' films. It could be said that Milius got the better deal, since he got points in two of the biggest hit films of the 1970s, whereas Big Wednesday became a "cult" favorite with only moderate the box office performance in comparison. The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the modified original Star Wars Trilogy. ... This article is about the film; for the classification, see Close encounter. ... Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is a three time Academy Award winning American film director, and among the most successful filmmakers in history. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... John Milius (born April 11, 1944) is a screenwriter, director, and producer. ...

The surfing scenes used in the finale to Big Wednesday were not filmed in California, where the film is set. The filming of large surf conditions used in Big Wednesday were actually done at the famous Sunset Beach, located at Pupukea, Hawaii. Pūpūkea is a census-designated place and community in the Koolauloa District on the Island of Oahu, City & County of Honolulu. ...

Reference

• IMDB entry on Big Wednesday
• Surfline review of Big Wednesday