Tom Hanks' 1988 movie Big was one of the most popular movies of that year, with an enduring legacy, so much so that its premise has inspired various other movies since then. Not only was it financially and critically successful, but Big also began a major career shift for Tom Hanks. While Hanks had starred in several comedies before Big, his role as Josh Baskin earned him his first Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win, pointing him toward becoming the household name that he is today. 264f6y

A star of one of Tom Hanks’ biggest 1980s hits explains why the movie never got a sequel. He’s still a big box office name to this day, as proven by 2023’s sleeper hit A Man Called Otto, but in the '80s and '90s Hanks was on the top of the heap when it came to Hollywood bankability. Hanks’ great run as a box office monster may have reached its zenith with a string of blockbusters including Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Toy Story, but it actually began back in 1988 with his first-ever $100+ million hit, a coming-of-age fantasy that took full advantage of his combination of winning charm, comedic chops and budding dramatic skills.

A narrative needs to convey a substantial number of points to function properly. A lot of the time, this requires genre-blending. A film's tone can be overall comedic, but the central protagonist still has to face some sort of adversity. In comedy, this is usually portrayed in a rather innocuous way. However, not every movie follows suit.

Now that he’s become one of the most celebrated movie stars in the world, Tom Hanks is primarily known as a dramatic actor. He won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump and gave similarly emotionally engaging performances in Saving Private Ryan and Captain Phillips.

It’s hard to imagine a role that could have been played by both Tom Hanks and Robert de Niro, but in reality, Hanks’ breakout role in Big was originally cast for the veteran Scorsese actor. Big premiered in 1988 as a fantasy comedy about a 12-year-old boy, Josh Baskin, who wishes to be “big.” The dream comes true, and the next morning Josh wakes up as a 30-year-old man who has to find a job, home, and way to navigate life as an adult with the maturity of a pre-teen.

Big tells the story of Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish to be "big" and is then aged up overnight. Navigating his new life as an adult, he finds a job and even a potential romantic prospect, all while trying to figure out a way to return to his former self.

Elizabeth Perkins says Robert De Niro was originally cast as Tom Hanks' character in Big. The 1988 comedy-drama follows a 12-year-old, Josh Baskin, who wishes to be “big;" turning him into a 30-year-old man (Hanks). In its most iconic scene, Josh meets the owner of MacMillan Toy Company and the duo performs “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” on a foot-operated keyboard, leading to a promotion testing new toys. Eventually, Josh learns that living as an adult isn’t as glamorous as he thought it’d be and longs to return to his life as a boy.

The Order season 2 included a huge Easter egg from Big, a popular 1980s movie starring Tom Hanks. The Order is a Netflix original series about two secret societies based on the campus of a prestigious university. One is the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, a secret organization of sorcerers, while the other is the Knights of Saint Christopher, a small band of werewolves dedicated to defeating the Order.

For far too long, men have dominated award shows, film festivals, and all in all, the entire film industry. This is a sad truth, as women can put just as much work into a movie as a man does, but get not even half of the credit. Because of this paradox and the popular notion that by default, people just seem to believe a man directed their favorite movie, women directors have been drastically unappreciated for years.