The Big Chill
The Big Chill theatrical poster
Directed by	Lawrence Kasdan
Produced by	Michael Shamberg
Written by	Lawrence Kasdan Barbara Benedek
Starring	Kevin Kline Jeff Goldblum Tom Berenger Glenn Close JoBeth Williams William Hurt Meg Tilly Mary Kay Place
Cinematography	John Bailey
Editing by	Carol Littleton
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	September 30, 1983
Running time	105 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Big Chill is a 1983 film that tells the story of several University of Michigan college friends who reunite after many years for the funeral of one of their friends who commits suicide. It stars Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams, and Don Galloway. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 266 × 418 pixelsFull resolution (266 × 418 pixel, file size: 35 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)original movie poster source: www. ... Lawrence Kasdan (born 14 January 1949, Miami, Florida) is an American movie producer, director and screenwriter. ... Michael Shamberg is a producer of movies. ... Lawrence Kasdan (born 14 January 1949, Miami, Florida) is an American movie producer, director and screenwriter. ... Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning American stage and film actor. ... Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an Academy-Award nominated American actor. ... Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ... Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a five time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actress. ... JoBeth Rivas (born Jobeth Williams Rivas on December 6, 1948) is an American film actress. ... William Hurt in Lost in Space. ... Meg Tilly (born February 14, 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress, Broadway stage dancer and ballerina. ... Mary Kay Place as The West Wings Surgeon General Millicent Griffith Mary Kay Place (b. ... John Bailey (cinematographer) (born 10 August 1942 in Moberly, Montana) is an award-winning American cinematographer and film director. ... Carol Littleton (born in 1948 in Oklahoma) is the Academy Award-nominated American feature film editor of the heartwarming blockbuster, the Steven Spielberg-directed film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial as well as editor of several other popular films (such as The Big Chill and Body Heat). ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM, U of M or U-M) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. ... Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ... Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ... Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a five time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actress. ... Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an Academy-Award nominated American actor. ... William Hurt in Lost in Space. ... Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning American stage and film actor. ... Mary Kay Place as The West Wings Surgeon General Millicent Griffith Mary Kay Place (b. ... Meg Tilly (born February 14, 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress, Broadway stage dancer and ballerina. ... JoBeth Rivas (born Jobeth Williams Rivas on December 6, 1948) is an American film actress. ... Don Galloway (born July 27, 1937 in Brooksville, Kentucky) is a American actor. ...

The movie was written by Barbara Benedek and Lawrence Kasdan, and was directed by Kasdan. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Glenn Close), Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Lawrence Kasdan (born 14 January 1949, Miami, Florida) is an American movie producer, director and screenwriter. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... // The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the awards given to actresses working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... // The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ...

The movie was filmed in historic Beaufort, South Carolina, and was shot at the same antebellum home used as a location for The Great Santini, starring Robert Duvall and Blythe Danner. Beaufort is a city located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA and situated on the Beaufort River. ... WHO KNOWS. ... Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an Academy Award and four-time Golden Globe winning American film actor and director. ... Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is a prolific two time Emmy-winning American actress who has appeared in numerous stage, screen, and film roles. ...

List of Characters:

1. Sam (Tom Berenger) Occupation: TV Actor; Family: wife Robin and 1 daughter. Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ...

2. Sarah: (Glenn Close) Occupation: Doctor; Family: married to Harold (see below) 2 children, a girl and a boy. They meet at her and Harold's home. Alex had also been living there before he committed suicide. Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a five time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actress. ...

3. Michael: (Jeff Goldblum) Occupation: Journalist; Family: girlfriend. Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an Academy-Award nominated American actor. ...

4. Nick Carlton: (William Hurt) Occupation: Psychologist, never finished dissertation, former radio psych, various jobs, drug dealer; Family: none. Nick Carlton is a character in the movie The Big Chill (1983), portrayed by William Hurt. ... William Hurt in Lost in Space. ...

5. Harold: (Kevin Kline) Occupation: Businessman; Family: married to Sarah (see above) 2 children, a girl and a boy. Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning American stage and film actor. ...

6. Meg: (Mary Kay Place) Occupation: Lawyer; Family: None, and her biological clock is ticking. She goes to Alex's funeral partly to size up her former classmates for a sperm donation (retrieved the old fashioned way). Mary Kay Place as The West Wings Surgeon General Millicent Griffith Mary Kay Place (b. ...

7. Karen: (Jo Beth Williams) Occupation: Homemaker, aspiring writer; Family: Husband Richard and 2 boys. JoBeth Williams at the SAG Foundation brunch, January 7, 2007 JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an American Emmy & Golden Globe nominated television and film actress as well as an Academy Award (short subject category) nominated director. ...

8. Chloe: (Meg Tilly) Occupation: None, helping her boyfriend Alex renovate an old house. Discovered Alex's body in the basement bathroom of Sarah and Harold's summer home, where they were staying. Meg Tilly (born February 14, 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress, Broadway stage dancer and ballerina. ...

9. Alex: (Kevin Costner) Occupation: drop-out, scientific genius (physics), caseworker, construction worker. Family: parents, girlfriend, Chloe (Meg Tilly). Commits suicide, all of Kevin Costner's scenes ended up on the cutting room floor except for some of his body being prepared for the funeral in the very beginning of the movie. Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor and director who has often produced his own films. ... Meg Tilly (born February 14, 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress, Broadway stage dancer and ballerina. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Trivia

• The music in the film directly relates to what is happening, or happens on screen. e.g., at the beginning, the friends phone each other with news while I Heard It Through the Grapevine plays. Shortly after, You Can't Always Get What You Want plays, with lyrics 'I saw her today at the reception, with a glass of wine in her hand'. Moments later, we see a reception in which people are drinking wine.
• The child of Harold (Kevin Kline) and Sarah (Glenn Close) in the bath scene at the beginning of the film is played by the child of the director, Lawrence Kasdan.
• Kevin Kline and Jeff Goldblum were also in Silverado, Kasdan's next movie, that also included Kevin Costner, Brian Dennehy, John Cleese, Danny Glover and Linda Hunt.
• The Big Chill influenced the creation of the television series Thirtysomething.
• At a free screening at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on April 20, 2006, Lawrence Kasdan denied having seen "The Return of the Secaucus 7" before working on "The Big Chill", though he praised it very highly.
• The name of the shoe-store chain, "Running Dogs," is another similarity with the Return of the Secaucus 7, where one line is: "Coach is a running dog of imperialism, J.T."
• Actor Tom Berenger married a woman he met while filming this movie in Beaufort, S.C., and still lives there.
• The soundtrack album, featuring a collection of 1960s pop and Motown classics, was among the best selling albums of the year.
• This movie is thought to have introduced the phrase "My biological clock is ticking" to popular parlance.
• Kevin Kline hums a part of the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark before heading up to the attic to catch the bat. Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote Raiders with Philip Kaufman and George Lucas.
• The website angryalien.com made a remake of The Big Chill in their 30 second Bunny Theater.
• Comedy troupe Stella parodied "The Big Chill" in their short entitled "College Reunion"
• The Big Chill Cafe in New Delhi, India, was named after the movie. The owner, Bob Pelosi, was so influenced by the movie he named his daughter Linda Hunt Pelosi.
• Kevin Costner has the role of Alex, the dead man, in scenes originally shot as flashbacks, but eventually all of those scenes were cut. Costner is briefly "seen" as the corpse being dressed for the funeral under the main titles. Lawrence Kasdan felt so guilty for cutting Costner from the film that he cast him in Silverado, helping to launch Costner's career.

I Heard It through the Grapevine is a R&B/soul song written by Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. ... This article is about the song by the Rolling Stones. ... Silverado is an American Western feature film, first released on July 10, 1985. ... Brian Dennehy in Death of a Salesman Brian Dennehy parodied in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Brian Dennehy (born July 9, 1938 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) is an Irish-American actor who has appeared in movies, television shows, and stage productions. ... John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award winning English comedian and actor best known for being one of the founding members of the renowned comedy group Monty Python. ... Danny Lebern Glover[1] (born July 22, 1946) is an American actor and film director. ... Linda Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American film, stage and television actress. ... Thirtysomething (1987 – 1991) was a ground-breaking and award-winning American television drama created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for United Artists Television. ... For the railroad company, see Ann Arbor Railroad. ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Return of the Secaucus 7 is a 1980 film which tells the story of seven friends who reunite for the anniversary of their arrest ten years previously, on their way to a political demonstration. ... Return of the Secaucus 7 is a 1980 film which tells the story of seven friends who reunite for the anniversary of their arrest ten years previously, on their way to a political demonstration. ... Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ... Motown Records, Inc. ... A biological clock enables an organism to anticipate periodical changes in their environment. ... Raiders of the Lost Ark, also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a 1981 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas and starring Harrison Ford. ... Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is a film director and screenwriter from Chicago, Illinois. ... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... 30 Second Bunny Theater is a Flash cartoon series featuring films re-enacted by bunnies in 30 seconds. ... Stella is comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, and David Wain (all former members of The State). ... , This article is about the urban region that is the capital of India. ... Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor and director who has often produced his own films. ... Lawrence Kasdan (born 14 January 1949, Miami, Florida) is an American movie producer, director and screenwriter. ... Silverado is an American Western feature film, first released on July 10, 1985. ...

See also

Soundtracks: The Big Chill, The Big Chill: More Songs from the Original Soundtrack and The Big Chill Deluxe Edition The Big Chill is a 1983 soundtrack album of Motown classics featured in the film The Big Chill. ...

External links

• The Big Chill at the Internet Movie Database
• The Big Chill re-enacted by bunnies in 30 seconds (parody)