Three days after the Palisades Fire tore through their beloved Malibu community, David Goldblum started interviewing his neighbors. The result is his documentary Big Rock Burning, a portrait of people who feel abandoned in the face of disaster.
“My home was gone, and my community was nearly burned to the ground. Picking up a camera so soon after the devastation was cathartic and healing — then, in the moment, and especially now as we share the film with fire survivors and neighboring communities,” Goldblum tells MovieMaker.
A writer, director and producer, Goldblum is the founder of Conscious Contact Entertainment, a studio that focuses on telling story that create impact on a global scale. But when the Palisades Fire struck in January 2025, he was suddenly in the center of the story.
The Palisades Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains killed 12 people, and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures. It was one of several major fires that raged simultaneously in Southern California in January, including the Eaton Fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings as it tore through communities including Altadena.
Goldblum hopes that watching Big Rock Burning, which plays Thursday at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and is now available on Vimeo, can help people take stock and think about what’s next.
“We had our first screening at Malibu City Hall in late August and most of the sold-out crowd were residents who had lost their homes in either the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, or a previous one. To be able to give them a voice was a true honor and a privilege. The overwhelming response from everyone involved in the film was gratitude for me making this, but I should really be grateful for them for allowing me into their most intimate moments during such a vulnerable time,” he says.
The film’s executive producers include Ricki Lake, whose home was lost in the fires, and Mark Hamill and his wife Marilou, whose home survived.
We talked with Goldblum about making Big Rock Burning, the recovery process, and the interviews he didn’t get.
MovieMaker: What was your personal experience with the fire?
David Goldblum: I was in my home office and looked out the window and saw the fire cloud barreling toward my mountain community. I jumped in my car and raced off the mountain as the fire got closer and closer, leaving everything I owned behind. I think if I left my mountain an hour or two later I might not have survived. I went into action so quickly after the fires and I still haven’t really grappled with the fact that so many of us literally battled or escaped the flames. It was surreal.
David Goldblum on the Roles of Mark Hamill, Ricki Lake and More in Making Big Rock Burning
MovieMaker: How did Mark Hamill and Ricki Lake get involved?
David Goldblum: One of our producers, James Costa, had worked with Ricki before. Ricki also lost her home in Malibu and when James sent her the film, she was immediately on board. Although she didn’t live on Big Rock, this was Ricki’s story too — her and her husband literally fought off the flames with everything they could.
I had reached out to Mark and his wonderful wife Marilou while I was filming and asked if they would be involved, knowing that having someone like Mark on the team would really give us credibility and visibility. Once they saw the film, they also came on board and offered their support. I can’t thank all of them enough.
MovieMaker: Many are under the general impression that insurance or the state and/or federal government will eventually help everyone rebuild. Is that the case?
David Goldblum: To date, there’s been three permits given in Malibu since the fires. Three. Seven-hundred-and-twenty homes in Malibu were destroyed. That is not an OK ratio. Insurance companies are not helping the way they should either.
MovieMaker: Who issues the permits?
David Goldblum: The City of Malibu. Our rebuild ambassador just quit as well.
MovieMaker: People in the film are very critical of Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, accusing her of failing to adequately prepare for the fires; former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, for hiring private firefighters to defend his shopping complex; and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, accusing it of acquiring lots of land but not adequately clearing and otherwise maintaining it. Why did you choose not to interview them from the movie, so we could hear their side?
David Goldblum: My goal with Big Rock Burning was to make a film that was a love letter to my community. To do that I wanted to give a microphone to those who felt they didn’t have a voice. Through that process, we did hear criticism aimed at various players in Los Angeles for not properly preparing for the fires — from the empty reservoir, lack of firefighter support, no water in the hydrants, budget cuts to the fire department, lack of land management and more. Not to mention we just found out the Palisades Fire was started by an arsonist. I did try to reach out to folks on the other side to get their points of view, but many were not interested in being in the film.
MovieMaker: Any reaction to the news that a suspect was arrested in the Palisades fire?
David Goldblum: I’m grateful he was finally arrested. It’s heartbreaking that somebody would do this intentionally to destroy a city. Hopefully it’s the beginning of closure for all the communities that suffered losses in the Palisades Fire.
Big Rock Burning plays Thursday at the Santa Fe International Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. You can read more of our festival coverage here.
Main image: Big Rock Burning. Courtesy of David Goldblum