We’re happy to debut a batch of exclusive new images from the upcoming action-comedy The Baytown Outlaws today.  Written and directed by Barry Battles, the film follows three ruthless brothers who fall into helping a damsel in distress (Eva Longoria) by rescuing her godson (Thomas Brodie Sangster) from her nefarious ex-husband, Rob (Billy Bob Thornton).  It looks like a pretty wild pic, and these images highlight the cast of characters that also includes Quentin Tarantino staple Zoe Bell (Death Proof).  Here’s the trailer.

Hit the jump to check out the new images.  The film also stars Clayne Crawford, Michael Rapaport, Daniel Cudmore, Travis Fimmel, Serinda Swan, Andre Braugher and Paul Wesley.  The Baytown Outlaws is currently available VOD and hits theaters on January 11th.

News has been quiet Southern-fried action comedy The Baytown Outlaws ever since the title change from The Baytown Disco back in June, but a new trailer has dropped today to remind you that it still exists. Written and directed by Barry Battles, The Baytown Outlaws follows three ruthless brothers who fall into helping a damsel in distress (Eva Longoria) by rescuing her godson (Thomas Brodie Sangster) from her nefarious ex-husband, Rob (Billy Bob Thornton).  This is also the film that renowned producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told us to keep an eye on during a recent set visit and compared Battles’ work to that of a young Quentin Tarantino.

The Baytown Outlaws also stars Clayne Crawford, Michael Rapaport, Daniel Cudmore, Travis Fimmel, Andre Braugher and Paul Wesley. Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.

Steve walked the floor at the American Film Market (AFM) early this morning and managed to bring back some detailed synopses for the following films:

• Jane Got a Gun – A Western starring Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender
• Parkland – A drama about the JFK assassination starring Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, and Jacki Weaver.
• The Green Inferno – The next directorial project from Eli Roth.
• A Walk Among the Tombstones – A crime thriller starring Liam Neeson.
• Agent: Century 21 – An action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro.

Hit the jump to check out all the detailed synopses, which include production start dates.

The Tom Hanks-produced JFK feature film Parkland just landed three impressive actors.  It was announced today that Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jacki Weaver have joined the cast of the real-life drama.  The film revolves around the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  Parkland Hospital is where Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby all died.

Peter Landesman wrote the screenplay based on the book by Vincent Bugliosi and will make his directorial debut with the pic.  No word on what characters the aforementioned actors will portray, but production is set to take place in Austin.  The film is being planned for a 2013 release around the 50th anniversary of the assassination, which will be November 22nd.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

The jaw-dropping lineup for the upcoming Toronto Film Festival was announced this morning, and a number of images and synopses have been released for films that will be screening at the prestigious fest.  Briefly, here’s a batch of new images:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Directed by Stephen Chbosky) Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Nina Dobrev, Melanie Lynskey, Paul Rudd, and Dylan McDermott.
• Jayne Mansfield’s Car (Directed by Billy Bob Thornton) Starring Thornton, Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon, and John Hurt.
• The Impossible (Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona) Starring Naomi Watts, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, and Ewan McGregor.
• Byzantium (Directed by Neil Jordan) Starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Sam Riley, and Jonny Lee Miller.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.

The first trailer for Billy Bob Thornton’s latest directorial effort, Jayne Mansfield’s Car, has landed online by way of an international trailer.  The story revolves around a man 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.  The film is still awaiting a U.S. distribution deal despite a seriously stacked cast that includes Thornton, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Frances O’Connor, Robert Patrick, and Ray Stevenson.

There are laughs to be found in the first half of the trailer which centers on the culture clash between the two families, but the second half hints at some genuinely touching drama that comes out of the situation.  I’m eager to see how the full feature plays out, especially since Thornton hasn’t directed since 2001’s Daddy and Them.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

We previously brought you some first images, posters and this kick-ass trailer for Barry Battles’ The Baytown Disco, but now you can forget about them.  In a new distribution deal, the film is now titled The Baytown Outlaws and will, as such, presumably feature a new marketing campaign in the coming months.  The Southern-fried comedy stars Billy Bob Thornton, Eva Longoria and Andre Braugher. The Baytown Outlaws aims to debut early in 2013.  Hit the jump to read the press release.

Billy Bob Thornton is lining up another sports drama based on a book by Buzz Bissinger.  Variety reports that Thornton and Edward Burns will star in the baseball drama Three Nights from Friday Night Lights author Bissinger.  The book chronicles a three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs in 2003 and centers on the strategic decisions made by manager Tony La Russa.  Though Three Nights will be a fictionalized account of the book’s events, the success of last year’s Moneyball certain didn’t hurt the prospect of getting Three Nights into production.

Bissinger wrote the screenplay himself, and David Anspaugh will direct.  If Anspaugh’s name doesn’t ring a bell, I should remind you that he also helmed two of the greatest sports movies ever made: Rudy and Hoosiers.  Thornton will play the team’s pitching coach while Burns will play starting catcher Mike Matheny.  With such an exciting team both in front of and behind the camera, Three Nights is certainly one to keep an eye on.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the book.

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.

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.

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.

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‘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.

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.

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.