The Big Empty

The Big Empty is a 2003 comedy film directed and written by Steve Anderson. It stars Jon Favreau as a struggling actor with a bizarre request from his neighbor to deliver a suitcase that he cannot open. While there, he meets an unusual cast of characters, and starts to think this delivery might be more than it seems. Plot John Person is a struggling actor in Los Angeles who is $28K in debt. His neighbor Neely offers him $25K to take a gun and deliver a blue suitcase to "Cowboy" in Baker. Person initially refuses but accepts when Neely reveals he has detailed personal information on Person and raises the offer to cover his debts. In a Baker hotel, Person misses a man in a cowboy outfit. While getting a drink, he is immediately held at gunpoint by Randy, who thinks Person is after his girlfriend Ruthie. She comes to Person's room later, returning his dropped wallet, and they hit it off. In a diner the next day, Person meets Dan, who tells many strange tales and conspiracy theories about the desert. Person meets Ruthie outside a gas station, buys her alcohol, and they drive to Devil's Crest lakebed outside town. As they get drunk, he hears stories about disappearing people. Person drives Ruthie home when she gets sick and passes out.