Billy Bob Thornton

First Trailer for THE BAYTOWN DISCO Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 17th, 2012 at 10:31 pm

The first trailer has jumped online for Billy Bob Thornton-starrer, The Baytown Disco.  A self-professed “Southern-fried whip-ass extravaganza,” The Baytown Disco features a trio of ruthless outlaw brothers who fall into helping a damsel in distress (Eva Longoria).  She hires them to help return her godson (Thomas Brodie Sangster), who has been kidnapped by her nefarious ex-husband, Rob (Thornton).  While I wasn’t exactly sold on the synopsis and images alone, the new trailer hits all the right banjo strings (and the femme fatales certainly do not hurt).  Directed by Barry Battles, The Baytown Disco also stars Clayne Crawford, Michael Rapaport, Daniel Cudmore, Travis Fimmel, Andre Braugher and Paul Wesley. Hit the jump for the trailer and official synopsis, and to watch the original short that inspired the feature-length film.

Woody Harrelson in Talks to Play the Villain Opposite Christian Bale in OUT OF THE FURNACE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 9th, 2012 at 6:23 pm

The cast for Out of the Furnace just keeps getting better and better.  Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard and Zoe Saldana are all set to star in Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper’s crime drama, and now Variety reports that Woody Harrelson is in talks for the villain role.  The film centers on Russell Baze (Bale), who is released after serving four years in prison only to find that his younger brother, Rodney Baze Jr. (Affleck) has been brutally murdered. He sets out to avenge the death and track down the killer.

Billy Bob Thornton had previously been circling the villain role, but I’m beyond thrilled to see Harrelson play the baddie.  He earned raves for his morally blurred turn in last year’s Rampart, and it should be fun to see him go toe-to-toe with Bale.  Production on the film begins later this month in Pennsylvania.  Harrelson recently wrapped the heist pic Now You See Me and will be seen later this year alongside Colin Farrell in Seven Psychopaths.

Billy Bob Thornton and Forest Whitaker Eyeing Roles Opposite Christian Bale in OUT OF THE FURNACE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 22nd, 2012 at 2:47 pm

Two more fantastic actors may be joining the revenge drama Out of the Furnace. I was already high on the project given that it serves as the follow-up to writer-director Scott Cooper’s swell drama Crazy Heart, then Christian Bale signed on to play the lead. Bale plays a man who is released after serving four years in prison only to find that his younger brother has been brutally murdered. He sets out to avenge the death and track down the killer. Casey Affleck is onboard as Bale’s brother, Zoe Saldana is set as Bale’s ex-wife, and we previously heard that Viggo Mortensen was circling the villain role.

Buried in a different story (thanks to The Playlist for the find), Deadline now notes that Billy Bob Thornton is eyeing the villain role instead of Mortensen, and Forest Whitaker is circling the role of a sleazy bookie. Both Mortensen and Thornton are terrific, but the prospect of Thornton tackling a gritty villain opposite Bale is incredibly enticing. No deals have been made with Thornton or Whitaker, but Cooper is assembling an incredible cast for what’s shaping up to be one hell of a movie. Production begins this spring.

Billy Bob Thornton Says BAD SANTA 2 Will Shoot This Fall for Christmas 2013 Release

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 14th, 2012 at 11:13 am

While not many films necessarily warrant a sequel, you’d be hard pressed to find someone not excited for a follow-up to 2003’s Bad Santa. The dark comedy did pretty great business at the box office and grew an even larger fanbase when it hit DVD. A sequel to the pic has been rumored for a while now, but things picked up last summer when Billy Bob Thornton signed on to reprise his role as the worst Santa Claus ever. Last summer we learned that Dimension Films had commissioned two different scripts for the sequel, separately by Johnny Rosenthal and John Phillips. Now it appears the studio has picked the winning script, as Thornton recently revealed that they’re on track to shoot the sequel this fall. Hit the jump for more.

Billy Bob Thornton to Co-Write and Direct Road Movie AND THEN WE DROVE; Partly-Inspired by Relationship with Angelina Jolie

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 13th, 2012 at 1:55 pm

Billy Bob Thornton‘s latest directorial effort, Janye Mansfield’s Car, is premiering at the Berlin Film Festival, and now word on his next project has arrived.  Variety reports that Thornton will co-write and direct the “ethereal” road movie And Then We Drove.  Screenwriter Tom Epperson will co-write the story, which Thornton says is about “a guy who’s on a road trip and picks up this girl along the way, and what happens to them. It’s about the question of life: ‘What is this? Where do I fit in?’”  The road trip will take the couple across the U.S. with stops in Los Angeles, the South, New Mexico, and Arizona. Producer Alexander Rodnyansky adds that the movie is partly inspired by Thornton’s tumultuous relationship with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

Jayne Mansfield’s Car is Thornton’s first feature film in over a decade and I’m eager to hear the word on it out of Berlin.  Thornton’s also looking for a distributor who will theatrically release his Willie Nelson documentary, The King of Luck, which premiered at last year’s SXSW Film Festival.  Hopefully, he’ll find one soon.

First Images of Billy Bob Thornton and Paul Wesley in THE BAYTOWN DISCO

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 6:25 pm

Consider this post to be our first “whip-ass” article of 2012. We’ve just received some new official images of Billy Bob Thornton from his Southern-fried action-comedy project, The Baytown Disco. The Barry Battles-directed movie follows three redneck brothers attempting to help a woman in a bad spot, only to wind up on the wrong end of the situation. The rest of the cast includes Eva Longoria, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Clayne Crawford, Michael Rapaport, Daniel Cudmore, Travis Fimmel, Andre Braugher and Paul Wesley, the latter of which we have a hi-res shot of in character. Hit the jump to check them out along with a hi-res poster for The Baytown Disco.

James Marsden, Thomas Jane, and Billy Bob Thornton to Star in Grizzly Bear Thriller RED MACHINE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 1:19 pm

As we prepare for Liam Neeson to show us a man’s man’s surivival tale with next weekend’s The Grey, casting is underway on a survival film of a different color. James Marsden, Thomas Jane, and Billy Bob Thornton are set to star in the thriller Red Machine. Marsden and Jane play two estranged brothers who reunite on a camping trip with their girlfriends.  Once out in the wild, however, “things go horribly awry when they are attacked and relentlessly stalked by a horrifying grizzly bear—the Red Machine.” Considering the logline and cast, I initially figured the film would be more along the lines of a comedic farce, but then I learned that Saw V helmer David Hackl is onboard to direct. Now I think we can safely expect lots and lots of bear carnage.

Variety reports that Thornton will play a legendary bear expert and hunter in the film, with a script by J.R. Reher. The three leads are fine actors, and I’m incredibly intrigued to see what Thornton’s take on a grizzly bear expert looks like. Hackl stressed that he’s interested in examining “the thrill of very real fear,” and cites the realistic nature of the pic. No word on how the “realistic” blood count is expected to compare to the Saw franchise.

New Posters for THE PAPERBOY Starring Zac Efron and THE BAYTOWN DISCO Starring Billy Bob Thornton

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 28th, 2011 at 2:25 pm

The first poster for Lee Daniels‘ adaptation of The Paperboy has gone online along with a new poster for the action-comedy The Baytown Disco starring Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Mendes.  I like the simplicity of the Paperboy poster as well as the throwback font.  It doesn’t tell you much about the movie, but it does let us know that Zac Efron has really been working on his biceps.

The previous poster for The Baytown Disco was great but this new one is an overcrowded mess.  Also, both posters use the term “whip-ass”, which I’ve never heard before.  It seems like someone said the tagline should include the word “whoop-ass”, but spell-check wouldn’t accept it, so they had to go with “whip-ass”.  Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Both movies are due out in 2012.

PUSS IN BOOTS Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 27th, 2011 at 12:30 pm

Puss in Boots is an adventure movie, but the advertising and the film’s first act would like you to believe otherwise.  The filmmakers can’t be held responsible for DreamWorks Animation’s marketing campaign, but they can take the blame for setting up their movie as an action-comedy before choosing to drop the jokes and shifting into a rote adventure film that takes no chances, makes dated references, and short-changes its title character.  Ironically, the technical aspects of the movie are full of passion, but the story is as soulless and calculated as they come.

Final Trailer and Poster for PUSS IN BOOTS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 6th, 2011 at 7:29 am

After getting bumped up from November 4th to October 28th, Puss in Boots now has a final trailer and poster.  While I didn’t even bother with Shrek Forever After, I’m getting pretty psyched for the spin-off.  The trailers have been funny and charming, the story looks fun (Puss goes off to find the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs), and there’s no cynical ogre and his irritating donkey sidekick in sight.  The new poster isn’t as good as the one with Puss walking away from an explosion, but it gets the job done.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer (which still says the movie is coming out November 4th, but they clearly cut it before the date was changed) and poster.  The film features the voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Serdaris, and Billy Bob Thornton.

New Images From DreamWorks Animation’s PUSS IN BOOTS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 29th, 2011 at 9:13 am

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount have released a number of new images from director Chris Miller’s Puss  in Boots.  Featuring the voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris, Puss in Boots takes place before the events of Shrek.  Here’s the synopsis:

“Long before he even met Shrek, the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss in Boots becomes a hero when he sets off on an adventure with the tough and street smart Kitty Softpaws and the mastermind Humpty Dumpty to save his town.  This is the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend…The Boots.”

I got to see the opening of the film earlier this year and walked away very impressed by the footage.  Of course, it might have something to do with Guillermo del Toro…as he executive produced the film.  Hit the jump for the new images.  Puss in Boots gets released November 4.

Dimension Commissions Two Different Scripts for BAD SANTA 2

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: July 14th, 2011 at 6:30 pm

The long-awaited sequel to 2003’s fantastically black comedy Bad Santa is getting some serious movement. Star Billy Bob Thornton first told Steve about the project last year, and this past March the actor entered talks to return for a second go-around. Now comes the news that Dimension Films, which is producing the follow-up, has commissioned two writers to pen two different scripts for Bad Santa 2. The studio apparently plans to choose between the screenplays once they’re finished, and may even use the sidelined one for Bad Santa 3. Hit the jump for more.

New Trailer for PUSS IN BOOTS

by Jason Barr    Posted: June 20th, 2011 at 5:29 pm

The theatrical trailer for DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots has landed online and I have to admit that it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Featuring the vocal talents of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Amy Sedaris, the pic is set before the feline protagonist meets up with Shrek and centers on an adventure in which he must protect the “Golden Eggs” from falling into the wrong hands. While I’m as skeptical as the next person about the necessity of spinoffs such as Puss, if its done in an entertaining and clever way I won’t hold its inherently derivative nature against it. Based on what I’ve seen and heard from the film thus far, it looks as if Puss in Boots could stand on its own fairly well.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer for yourself. Directed by Chris Miller (Shrek the Third) , Puss in Boots hits 3D theaters later this year on November 4th.

John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick and Ray Stevenson Join Billy Bob Thornton’s JAYNE MANSFIELD’S CAR

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 14th, 2011 at 4:05 pm

Billy Bob Thornton hasn’t directed a feature film since 2001’s Daddy and Them. Well, last November Thornton broke the news to us that he was once again stepping back into the director’s chair on a film he co-wrote with his writing partner Tom Epperson called Jayne Mansfield’s Car. Now it looks like Thornton is ready to start shooting on the project, as he’s secured funding and has filled out his cast with John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick, Ray Stevenson (Thor) and John Patrick Amedori (The Butterfly Effect) joining previously announced Robert Duvall.

Deadline reports that AR Films is funding the project, which is set to start shooting on June 22^nd in Georgia. The story revolves around a guy whose wife leaves him for an Englishman and moves away to England. 20 or 30 years later, in 1969, the wife dies but wishes to be returned to Alabama where she grew up, so the English family meets—and clashes with—the original family that she abandoned. While Thornton’s All the Pretty Horses left much to be desired, Sling Blade was a bit of a masterwork. Hopefully he can recapture that magic with this southern tale.

Daniel Cudmore, Travis Fimmel, and Andre Braugher Join Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria in THE BAYTOWN DISCO

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 28th, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Daniel Cudmore (Twilight: New Moon), Travis Fimmel (TV’s The Beast), and Andre Braugher (TV’s Men of a Certain Age) have joined Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria in the Southern comedy The Baytown Disco. Directed by Barry Battles, the film follows three brothers who, as usual, get more than they bargained for when they agree to help a woman get her son back from his abusive father. Serinda Swan, Clayne Crawford, Thomas Sangster and Meagan Good also star.

THR reports that Cudmore, Fimmel and Crawford will star as the trio of brothers. The script, by Battles and Griffin Hood, made the 2009 Black List. The Baytown Disco is set to start filming on May 2^nd in Louisiana.

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