After writing and directing several well-regarded plays and short films, Dan Zukovic shows promise in his first feature, in which he also plays Simon Geist, the memorable lead character. Showing strong screen presence as a dislikable crank who is in nearly every scene, Zukovic draws one into a wickedly amusing comedy with his ace performance and skillful direction of the low-budget (under $1 million) production.
Shown at the Vancouver and Hamptons film festivals, "The Last Big Thing" is too bizarre for mainstream consumption, but indie fans in a dark mood will find a well-constructed, fairly witty satire of instant fame and surfing the "zeitgeist."
Obsessed with both Edvard Munch's "The Scream" and the fashion ads in the main news section of the Los Angeles Times, Geist is an incredibly critical jerk with an "agenda," which is to attack modern culture -- from movies to stand-up comics to pop music to television.
With many explosive satiric blasts, Zukovic creates a charismatic info-anarchist, who has an equally cracked girlfriend. Geist and secretive, skittish Darla (Susan Heimbinder) live in a bland tract home, with her inheritance paying the bills and supporting their loopy lifestyle.
For most of the film Geist poses as the publisher of a new magazine called "The Next Big Thing". He interviews a series of young Tinsel Town types, asking insulting questions that create both enemies and disciples.
A subversive odyssey through Los Angeles milieus climaxes when the incorruptible curmudgeon directs a hit music video and the "agenda" changes. While Darla chronicles Geist's exploits and records his pronouncements for her own journalistic project, the beautiful Tedra (Pamela Dickerson) enters his life and he decides it is time to fight the media from inside.
Kudos to Zukovic and the rest of the cast, especially Heimbinder as the spooky and spunky Darla. Vancouver native Zukovic has a good eye for visuals, and overall the film is technically first-rate.
THE LAST BIG THING
A Byronic Pose production
Writer-director Dan Zukovic
Producers Vladimir Perlovich,
Anthony Rubenstein
Executive producers David Barnett,
Philip Starr
Director of photography M. David Mullen
Production designer Martina Buckley
Editor Markus Lofstrom
Music Cole Coonce
Casting Ann Maney
Color/stereo
Cast:
Simon Geist Dan Zukovic
Darla Susan Heimbinder
Brent Mark Ruffalo
Tedra Pamela Dickerson
Chris Andrew Falk
Running time -- 98 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Shown at the Vancouver and Hamptons film festivals, "The Last Big Thing" is too bizarre for mainstream consumption, but indie fans in a dark mood will find a well-constructed, fairly witty satire of instant fame and surfing the "zeitgeist."
Obsessed with both Edvard Munch's "The Scream" and the fashion ads in the main news section of the Los Angeles Times, Geist is an incredibly critical jerk with an "agenda," which is to attack modern culture -- from movies to stand-up comics to pop music to television.
With many explosive satiric blasts, Zukovic creates a charismatic info-anarchist, who has an equally cracked girlfriend. Geist and secretive, skittish Darla (Susan Heimbinder) live in a bland tract home, with her inheritance paying the bills and supporting their loopy lifestyle.
For most of the film Geist poses as the publisher of a new magazine called "The Next Big Thing". He interviews a series of young Tinsel Town types, asking insulting questions that create both enemies and disciples.
A subversive odyssey through Los Angeles milieus climaxes when the incorruptible curmudgeon directs a hit music video and the "agenda" changes. While Darla chronicles Geist's exploits and records his pronouncements for her own journalistic project, the beautiful Tedra (Pamela Dickerson) enters his life and he decides it is time to fight the media from inside.
Kudos to Zukovic and the rest of the cast, especially Heimbinder as the spooky and spunky Darla. Vancouver native Zukovic has a good eye for visuals, and overall the film is technically first-rate.
THE LAST BIG THING
A Byronic Pose production
Writer-director Dan Zukovic
Producers Vladimir Perlovich,
Anthony Rubenstein
Executive producers David Barnett,
Philip Starr
Director of photography M. David Mullen
Production designer Martina Buckley
Editor Markus Lofstrom
Music Cole Coonce
Casting Ann Maney
Color/stereo
Cast:
Simon Geist Dan Zukovic
Darla Susan Heimbinder
Brent Mark Ruffalo
Tedra Pamela Dickerson
Chris Andrew Falk
Running time -- 98 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/30/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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