Native POV in Big Miracle

Drew Barrymore's 'Big Miracle' movie is a home run for greens

The story about the 1988 grey whales rescue is perfect for Valentine's Day.

By Starre VartanI'm going to warn you right now that this review is a total rave, as I have nothing but positive things to write about Drew Barrymore's new movie, Big Miracle.

While I'm an unabashed and longtime fan of Ms. Barrymore, I liked the film for plenty of reasons other than her always-radiant presence. And while I'm not usually a fan of kid's movies, this is one that I enjoyed thoroughly (it's a movie most grown-ups would like with or without a child in tow, so head to a later night screening if you want to avoid the wee ones' probable oohs, ahhs and sobs).And:But the most remarkable thing about the story, and the one that makes it both educational for kids and a movie adults will enjoy, is how some very divergent human interests work together for the whales. From an oil-drilling Good Old Alaska Boy (played to the hilt by Danson), who 'volunteers' an ice-breaking barge (mostly to bolster his reputation), to one changemaking official in the Reagan administration, to the National Guard, and the local people of the small town of Barrow, Alaska, everyone helps out. The most fascinating, and difficult-to-navigate POV was that of the native Inupiat people, who are best known for their fight to be allowed to hunt whales. Writers get the kudos here, as the audience sees how the tribe makes the decision to help the rescue effort, instead of eating the whales, a deft piece of storytelling about native people's choices and challenges, and one we almost never see in Hollywood movies.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Drew Barrymore movie without romance (and a great soundtrack; there's one of those too). And so where a sea of single people starts the film, two couples come together by the time the credits roll. A very relatable native boy and a focus on the kids, like me, who watched the drama unfold on the nightly news keep it interesting for the younger set.Big Miracle: One Alaskan's review

By Michelle SparckFrom a Native’s perspective, I was curious to see the scene Kotzebue resident John Chase spoke about shooting with Drew Barrymore. In that moment, cultures would clash over the value of the whales. I tensed when it came up, since I knew Barrymore’s Greenpeace character was going to have to be, shall we say, a little insulting and insensitive to the whaling culture. And she was. John’s character, the whaling captain Roy, was rightfully testy but delivered an impassioned rationalization for hunting, along with a lesson that there is a relationship between the Inuit and the whales that can’t be taught or relatable in glossy environmental pamphlets.

John Pingayak, pulling off a thoughtful and respectful leader, showed throughout the film that whalers consider the spirit and well-being of the marine mammals even when outsiders just see the ‘take’ in consumption.And:When Drew Barrymore came out following our test screening, she seemed tiny and sweet. Her hair was the same as in the movie but she wasn’t as au natural, she looked like the Cover Girl she is.

I jumped up at the opportunity to be the first to say something, and that was to make sure and thank her for her efforts to do as much business and filming in Alaska as the project called for. She said she felt it was important for authenticity and that she was glad she did it. If only Dermot Mulroney’s upcoming film with Liam Neeson, “The Grey,” did the same.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Big Miracle Trailer and Inupiat Extra in Everybody Loves Whales.

Big Miracle trailer

'Big Miracle' ('Everybody Loves Whales') trailer releasedNow, the first trailer for "Big Miracle," the movie formerly known as "Everybody Loves Whales" starring John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore that takes place and was actually filmed in Alaska, has been released.

The film tells the true story--with some artistic liberties, as made apparent by the trailer--of three gray whales stranded in the Arctic ice above Barrow, Alaska. Krasinski plays a journalist looking for a story, and Barrymore plays an environmental activist and Krasinski's ex-girlfriend.Comment:  The name change is terrible; Everybody Loves Whales is much more intriguing and enticing. The movie looks like Disney hokum, which means it probably won't win any Oscars. And there are no obvious Native characters or cultural bits.

For more on Big Miracle (Everybody Loves Whales), see Inupiat Extra in Everybody Loves Whales and Real Conflict in Everybody Loves Whales.

Inupiat extra in Everybody Loves Whales

Alaska seamstress lands role in whale movie

By Mary Beth SmetzerNorth Pole resident Janie Snyder was visiting her sister Rosabelle Rexford for Nalukataq, a spring whaling celebration in Barrow, when the unexpected happened.

The two 60-something sisters were out and about, having fun, chatting and greeting relatives and friends when they heard a voice behind them say, "There are the two we've been looking for."

Perhaps it was the sisters' colorful parkas or their comical antics that attracted a casting director to approach them for the film "Everybody Loves Whales," starring Hollywood starlet Drew Barrymore.

Whatever the reason, the sisters' excursion to watch a blanket toss landed them paying parts as extras in the film about Barrow's epic efforts in 1988 to free three gray whales from the arctic ice.A small example of why authenticity matters:"It's fun, fun, fun, especially when you correct a director three times," Janie said.

"I was being treated first class after that," she joked.

Janie's corrections dealt with the correct pronunciation of her Native Inupiaq language used in the film.

"Everything has to be said correctly," she said. "This film is for Barrow."What Snyder does in real life:Janie jokes about being a movie star, but she has long been famous for her sewing, comic wit, love of fishing, berry picking and laughing among her circle of friends.

"She is a woman who is full of energy and she takes great pride in her ability to sew beautiful kuspuks," said her Yup'ik friend Ida Alexie of Bethel. "She has great decorating skill for the trimming."

Janie uses the Inupiaq word atikluk, not kuspuk, for the summer parkas she is renowned for. She has won 15 consecutive gold medals at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics and has stacked up first place awards at the annual Open North American Native clothing contests and the Tanana Valley State Fair.Comment:  Snyder makes parkas for a living...but she's still far from the stereotypical Eskimo with igloo, parka, and dog sled. Like the Plain Indian stereotype, this stereotype needs to go.

For more on the subject, see Real Conflict in Everybody Loves Whales and Auditions for Everybody Loves Whales.

Real conflict in Everybody Loves Whales

Behind the scenes as Hollywood meets Alaska

By Joshua SaulThe scene being filmed--a pivotal plot twist in "Everybody Loves Whales," a $30 million movie that recreates a real 1988 event--portrayed a community meeting in Barrow held to decide whether three whales trapped in the ice should be killed and eaten or freed. Barrymore played a Greenpeace activist fighting for the whales' release while the Alaska Native extras professed to like the taste of whale and said they hate being told what to do by white environmentalists from the Lower 48.

When filming began, Barrymore argued with a handsome young whaling captain in a red bandanna and Sorel boots. The press corps pretended to jot notes and take photographs of the confrontation. The extras playing villagers followed the director's instructions to "be a little impolite." When Barrymore's character said it would be wrong to kill the whale and its "babies," the villagers shouted her down. They cheered on the whaling captain as he replied that whales are what he feeds his family, what his whole village feeds its babies.

"What you're saying is ridiculous. You're a white girl. Go back to California. This is Inupiat country," the captain said, drawing the loudest cheers of the scene. But Barrymore's character wasn't finished. You don't need to hunt, she said, not when you all get big stipends from the oil companies and have enough money to buy all the food you need.

"Those stipends last just a few months," the young captain shot back. "We have to hunt. One day that oil's going to run out. And when that happens, who will feed our children? Will you?"

The scene reflected a real conflict between the subsistence lifestyle practiced by some Alaska Natives and the sometimes condescending environmentalism of urban and Outside interests.Comment:  Sounds like a fine scene in what may be a fine movie. Anytime a movie doesn't portray Natives as all good or bad, that's good.

In this case, the scene presents a reasonably complex clash of values. And to liberals and other Hollywood types, it presents Natives on the wrong side of the issue. That's not something you see every day.

For more on the subject, see Auditions for Everybody Loves Whales and Preview of Everybody Loves Whales.

Arctic movies and autumn TV

Indian Comics Irregular #197:  Movies Hire Alaska Natives

Auditions for Everybody Loves Whales

Auditions begin in Anchorage for Barrow whale movie

'X' marks the spot for star-struck tryouts

By Kyle HopkinsAuditions have begun for "Everybody Loves Whales," the upcoming Universal Pictures movie that begins filming in Anchorage and Barrow this fall. With an estimated budget of $30 million and Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski set to star, the movie tells a dramatized story of the 1988 attempt to rescue three gray whales trapped in sea ice near Barrow.

News of the project--and filmmakers' plans to cast dozens of Alaskans in speaking roles, if possible--have stirred Hollywood dreams in would-be actors across the state and beyond. More than 1,000 people have e-mailed or called in hopes of winning speaking parts or extras work, said Deborah Schildt, one of two Alaska casting directors.Here's how you find Inupiaq actors. Hint to M. Night Shyamalan: It's not by publishing an open casting call in the Hollywood trades:The auditions move to Barrow next weekend, in time for the spring whaling festival, Nalukataq. After that it's Western Alaska, then off to Fairbanks for the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in late July. Multiple auditions are planned for Anchorage, Schildt said, with the filmmakers looking to cast Russian-speaking sailors, a helicopter pilot who can actually fly a helicopter, cameramen and restaurant workers, and an army of extras.

On Friday, Schildt saw about 20 kids for the role of an Inupiaq boy, about 10 to 13 years old. Two children arrived from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta village of Chevak. One from Bethel. On Sunday, the casting directors were looking mostly at an Alaska Native elder and whaling captain roles.A small example of why authenticity matters:Steve MacLean said he's hoping the moviemakers do their homework and do right by Inupiaq culture in the movie.

"There are some things that were not exactly right in some of the lines that were given. Some misperceptions of some small details," he said after the audition.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Preview of Everybody Loves Whales and The Best Indian Movies.

Below:  "Teddy Smith auditioned Sunday, June 20, 2010, for a part in the movie Everybody Loves Whales, set to start filming this fall in Alaska." (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News)

Preview of Everybody Loves Whales

Drew Barrymore film will be shot in Alaska

WHALES:  Film is based on real event that took place near Barrow.

By Kyle HopkinsHow's this for a plot twist? The next major movie about Alaska is actually being filmed here.

A production company plans to begin shooting "Everybody Loves Whales," a $30 million movie starring Drew Barrymore, this September in Alaska, the executive producer said Friday.

The film is based on the 1988 attempt to rescue three gray whales trapped by sea ice near Barrow, though the majority of filming will take place in Anchorage. Barrymore plays a Greenpeace worker while John Krasinski--Jim from NBC's "The Office"--portrays a small-town news reporter covering the story.

The filmmakers are looking for Alaskans to play dozens of roles with casting to begin right away, executive producer Stuart Besser said in a phone interview.

"There's at least 1,000 extras, and there are probably about 30 to 40 speaking roles that we would attempt to get in Anchorage," said Besser, who recently served as executive producer on "The Losers" and "3:10 to Yuma."You oughta be in picturesCan you speak Inupiaq? Fly a helicopter? Are you by chance a Russian sailor?

The makers of “Everybody Loves Whales,” a movie shooting in Anchorage and Barrow this fall, may be looking for you.And:The filmmakers are looking to fill about 30 paid speaking roles, ranging from Russian-speaking sailors to a helicopter pilot with a valid license, reporters, restaurant workers, a teacher and a Greenpeace worker, among others. About 10 are Alaska Native roles.

Schildt said they’re “keenly interested” in casting an Inupiaq man between 50 and 65 years old who speaks Inupiaq, and an Inupiaq boy between 10 and 13. “(The boy) doesn’t need to speak his language, but those are two key roles that we’re looking for,” she said.Comment:  See how easy it is to cast Inuit and Inupiaq actors? Drew Barrymore and company are confident they can find enough Native people without putting out a "Caucasian and others" casting call.

Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) and Sikumi are among the films that have managed to cast Inuit actors. It's starting to look as though remote northern locations are no excuse.

Too bad The Last Airbender, 30 Days of Night, and other productions set in Alaska didn't take this approach. Instead they made excuses for their white-friendly casting choices.

Don't complain that there aren't enough ethnic actors for your movie unless you've tried to find them. First make the effort, as Barrymore is doing. If you can't find enough actors for some reason, then give us your excuses.

For more on casting Native movies, see Ed Harris on Native Casting, My Racebending Interviews, and Denzel Washington as JFK?

Below:  "Barrow residents watch the California gray whales surface for air in one of the breathing holes carved by rescuers in the Beaufort Sea ice off Point Barrow, Alaska, during the two-week California gray whale rescue effort which gained worldwide media coverage in October 1988." (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News)