Mark Obmascik Popular Books

Mark Obmascik Biography & Facts

The Big Year is a 2011 American comedy film starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin, directed by David Frankel and written by Howard Franklin. The film was based on the 2004 non-fiction book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik. The book follows three men on a quest for a Big Year – a competition among birders to see who can spot and identify the greatest number of bird species in North America (north of Mexico) in a calendar year. The three actual birders were Sandy Komito, Al Levantin, and Greg Miller, who were chasing Komito's prior record. The film uses the same premise with fictional characters. Filming for The Big Year took place from May to July 2010. The film was released on October 14, 2011, in the United States. It was released in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2011. Plot The film follows three seasoned birders who each set out to achieve a Big Year. They are Brad Harris, a 36-year-old computer programmer based in Baltimore; Stu Preissler, founder and CEO of a New York company bearing his name; and a roofing contractor named Kenny Bostick, who holds the current Big Year record of 732 birds. Bostick is obsessively possessive of his record, but his third wife Jessica is concerned; this was supposed to be the year they focused on conceiving a child. She also believes that Bostick's birding obsession is what destroyed his two previous marriages. He is so competitive that the others use his name as a kind of expletive: "Bostick!" Brad is a skilled birder who can identify nearly any species solely by sound. He hates his job maintaining the operational software of a nuclear power plant in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Living with his parents after a failed marriage, an aborted career at Dell, and dropping out of grad school, he hopes that doing a Big Year will give him a sense of purpose and possibly even make his father proud of him.Stu is the founder and CEO of an enormous Manhattan-based chemical conglomerate which he built from the ground up, starting in his garage. After decades of corporate success, he is ready to retire to Colorado with his architect wife. Fear of an empty schedule led him to come back from a previous retirement, but now he wants to leave his company in the hands of his two lieutenants. The company is in the middle of complicated negotiations to merge with a competitor, so his two anointed successors keep calling him back to New York for important meetings; to some extent he is a prisoner of his own success. A Big Year has been his lifelong dream and he's pursuing it with the full support of his wife. The movie portrays various incidents that take place during the Big Year event, while the trio compete with each other and many other birders to achieve the world record of sighting the highest number of birds. Brad and Stu become friends and help each other in the competition, and Brad is attracted to a fellow birder, Ellie. Meanwhile, the highly competitive Bostick resorts to dirty tricks to boost his own count while undermining the others. As the year draws to a close, Stu is happily retired and enjoying his newborn grandson; Brad develops a relationship with Ellie; and Bostick is alone, as his wife has left him. Stu and Brad, now close friends, congratulate each other on "a very big year", after each sighting 700+ bird species that year. When the Big Year results are published, Bostick won the competition with 755, a new record; Brad came in second; Stu was fourth. Brad opines that "he (Bostick) got more birds, but we got more everything," as he looks at Ellie, who has come for a weekend visit. Stu smiles, looking at his wife. The film ends with Brad and Ellie birding together on a rocky coastline, while Brad confesses that birding is no longer the biggest part of his life. Stu is hiking with his toddler grandson (already enamored by birds) in the Rockies. Bostick is on a birding adventure in China, alone and gazing wistfully at a happy couple walking with their newborn child. Cast Production Principal photography was done from May 3 to July 30, 2010 in Vancouver. Jack Black's fall on Attu Island was unscripted. Reception The film received mixed reviews from critics. The Hollywood Reporter described it as a "genial, amusing and somewhat unfathomable" film; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it a "gentle, light-hearted comedy" about "people trying to be the best, following their dreams and enjoying the wonder of birds". It holds a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The consensus reads: "Though made with care and affection for its characters, The Big Year plods along, rarely reaching any comedic heights." CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "B−" on an A+ to F scale.The film was a box office failure, despite the established stars like Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson as the leads. Based on a budget of $41 million, it took in just $7.4 million in ticket sales worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. Songs Soundtrack references: See also List of birdwatchersReferences External links The Big Year at AllMovie The Big Year at Box Office Mojo The Big Year at IMDb The Big Year at Metacritic The Big Year at Rotten Tomatoes. Discover the Mark Obmascik popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Mark Obmascik books.

Best Seller Mark Obmascik Books of 2024

  • Pride and Prejudice synopsis, comments

    Pride and Prejudice

    Jane Austen

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...

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    Silver Santa

    Lacey Silks

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  • Meditations synopsis, comments

    Meditations

    Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

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    The Target

    Lexy Timms

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    My Paper Heart

    Magan Vernon

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    How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days

    Lila Monroe

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    Holy Bible

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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    The Next Girl

    Carla Kovach

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    Finding Cinderella

    Colleen Hoover

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    Becoming Lady Dalton

    Carrie Lomax

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    Rogue Alpha

    Kimber White

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    Peace on Earth

    Maia Ross

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    You Are Kind

    Michael Gordon

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    A Green Kind of Witch

    Sierra Cross

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    Salvation

    Meghan O'Flynn

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    Saltwater Cove

    Amelia Addler

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    School of Potential

    W.J. May

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    Betty Rowlands

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    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

    Arthur Conan Doyle

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    The Honeymoon Homicide

    J. R. Mathis & Susan Mathis

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  • Become A Better Version of Yourself synopsis, comments

    Become A Better Version of Yourself

    Ben Leighton

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    Noxious

    Lexy Timms

    Stop setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm. Brady and Levi have been together since high school, since before he became famous and started thinking only about himself....

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    The Three Little Pigs

    Mark Lesky

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    Teased by Fire

    Molly O'Hare

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    Enemies With Benefits

    Roxie Noir

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  • Little Women synopsis, comments

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

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    Masters of Restraint

    Ines Johnson

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    Never Enough

    Lexy Timms

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    Once Upon A One-Night Stand

    Zoey Locke

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  • Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove synopsis, comments

    Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove

    Melody Grace

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    Dracula

    Bram Stoker

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    The Odyssey

    Homer

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...

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    The Icing on the Cake

    Linda Seed

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  • Assisting the Bosshole synopsis, comments

    Assisting the Bosshole

    Kristin MacQueen

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    The Scarlet Letter

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

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    The Four Loves

    C. S. Lewis

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    Awaken Me

    Jenna Jacob

    He was more than a ghost haunting my dreams…he was real. By day, I’m Julianna Garrett …a prim, proper accountant. By night, I’m tormented by dreams of an alpha, ambereyed Adonis wh...

  • Get Lucky synopsis, comments

    Get Lucky

    Lila Monroe

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  • Man In The Water synopsis, comments

    Man In The Water

    Jon Hill

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  • Escape, A New Life synopsis, comments

    Escape, A New Life

    David J Antocci

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  • Alpha synopsis, comments

    Alpha

    Sybil Bartel

    Billionaire. Mercenary. Navy SEAL. The Teams trained me to be a killer. War taught me to be ruthless. Then an illfated mission proved I was human. Combat wounded, cut loose by the ...

  • Wuthering Heights synopsis, comments

    Wuthering Heights

    Emily Brontë

    An Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...

  • Law of Attraction synopsis, comments

    Law of Attraction

    Jordan Hollis

    How to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...

  • The Cupcake Cottage synopsis, comments

    The Cupcake Cottage

    Jean Oram

    NHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....

  • Bewitching a Highlander synopsis, comments

    Bewitching a Highlander

    Roma Cordon

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  • Always Yours synopsis, comments

    Always Yours

    Claire Raye

    Some things are just meant to be... Ellen Somerville and Will McIntyre met by accident and under unusual circumstances. Getting sprayed by a skunk in a parking lot wouldn’t normall...

  • Hard Love synopsis, comments

    Hard Love

    Peyton Banks

    He was football royalty. Legendary quarterback. A champion.  Reiner Strickland had led his team to three national championships and playing a knight in shining armor was a...

  • The Great Gatsby synopsis, comments

    The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald

    An Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...

  • Think and Grow Rich synopsis, comments

    Think and Grow Rich

    Greg Habstritt & Napoleon Hill

    Think and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...

  • Silenced Girls synopsis, comments

    Silenced Girls

    Roger Stelljes

    “ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...