The Playlist

Focus Features Go To 'The Place Beyond The Pines,' 'Great Expectations' And 'Jayne Mansfield's Car' Also Find Homes

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 9, 2012 2:32 PM
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3 Comments

News

Several days into this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the buyers' market hasn't quite caught fire yet. A few films have been picked up, mostly on the smaller scale of things, but the first few days have mostly been made up of films that already have distribution – the "Cloud Atlas"es, "Silver Linings Playbook"s and "Anna Karenina"s of the world. But in the next few days, the real hot tickets start to unspool, and the first major acquisition of the festival has been made.

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New Pics From Billy Bob Thornton's 'Jayne Mansfield’s Car'; Cate Shortland's Lore & Viggo Mortensen In 'Everybody Has A Plan'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 6, 2012 1:00 PM
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0 Comments

News

While Billy Bob Thornton broke out in a big way as a director with "Sling Blade," his efforts behind the camera since have failed to live up to that promise. From the troubled production of "All The Pretty Horses" to little seen efforts like "Daddy & Them" and last year's Willie Nelson documentary "The King Of Luck" (which, to be fair, is still look for a home) he hasn't yet matched that initial spark. But audiences in Toronto will get to see if he's turned it around with his latest "Jayne Mansfield's Car."

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Watch: International Trailer For Billy Bob Thornton's 'Jayne Mansfield's Car' Starring Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon & More

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 18, 2012 5:22 PM
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3 Comments

News

Despite boasting a strong ensemble cast including Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Frances O'Connor, Ray Stevenson, Kevin Bacon (with an amazing hairpiece) and Robert Patrick, with writer/director Billy Bob Thornton also featuring, and slotting a premiere at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, it seems distributors stateside haven't been quick to bite on the drama "Jayne Mansfield's Car." But over in Australia, the movie will be landing on DVD and Blu-ray in early 2013 and the first trailer to get the word out has arrived.

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Billy Bob Thornton On 'Jayne Mansfield's Car': The Major Change He Made In The Edit, '60s Muscle Cars And More

By Jessica Kiang
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February 21, 2012 9:57 AM
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3 Comments

Festivals

Contrary to his fearsomely eccentric reputation, we are happy to report that in person, writer/director/actor Billy Bob Thornton is a charmer. Attending The Berlin Film Festival for the premiere of his first directorial outing in over a decade "Jayne Mansfield's Car" (you can read our review here), he won over press left and right with his mixture of soft-spoken Southern gentlemanliness, and frank rebuttals of some of the more outre rumours that have dogged him throughout his career.

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Berlinale 2012 Review: 'Jayne Mansfield's Car' Finds A Solid Cast At The Wheel, But Not A Whole Lot Of Gas In The Tank

By Jessica Kiang
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February 14, 2012 10:04 AM
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1 Comment

Festivals

A distinctly American, humanist drama, one that somewhat makes up in performances of warmth and generosity what it may lack in originality, "Jayne Mansfield's Car," which just enjoyed its World Premiere at the 2012 Berlinale, finds director and star Billy Bob Thornton showing a certain spiritual kinship with fellow director/actors Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford. Off-key directorial choices, and a frustrating lack of narrative and characterisation consistency prevent the film from ever coalescing into something as satisfying as Clint is able to deliver, at his best, and for better or worse, it doesn't have the grander ambitions of a Redford effort, but the films of all three, are to a certain degree built as temples to the performances, sometimes to a fault.

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Berlin First Looks: Mads Mikkelsen In 'A Royal Affair,' Jet Li In 'Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate' Remake & Gabriel Byrne In 'I Anna'

By Simon Dang
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February 13, 2012 4:16 PM
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0 Comments

News

With the 62nd Annual Berlin International Film Festival in full swing, we've got more first look images from various pictures debuting at the Berlinale.

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Billy Bob Thornton Lines Up Angelina Jolie-Inspired Directorial Project 'And Then We Drove'; Plus More Pics From 'Jayne Mansfield's Car'

By Simon Dang
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February 13, 2012 3:55 PM
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2 Comments

News

Absent from the director's chair for nearly a decade, Billy Bob Thornton is on a tear behind the camera. Last spring he unveiled his Willie Nelson documentary "The King Of Luck," and he's currently in Berlin premiering his latest effort "Jayne Mansfield's Car." And it seems he's been doing some wheeling and dealing as well, as he's already lined up his next effort behind the camera.

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First Look: Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Frances O'Connor & More In 'Jayne Mansfield's Car'

By Simon Dang
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February 9, 2012 1:05 PM
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4 Comments

News

With a premiere at the Berlin Film Festival imminent, we now have our first look at the huge ensemble cast in Billy Bob Thornton's latest effort behind the camera with post-war family drama "Jayne Mansfield's Car."

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Billy Bob Thornton's 'Jayne Mansfield's Car' Leads Competition Slate In Berlin; 'In The Land Of Blood And Honey' Gets Special Screening

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 9, 2012 12:02 PM
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0 Comments

News

Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie...together again? Okay, not quite, but both filmmakers are headed to Berlin next month to present their latest films as the Berlinale has unveiled their competition slate, which does contain a couple of interesting titles to take note of.

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Katherine LaNasa Joins 'Dog Fight' aka 'Southern Rivals' With Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 20, 2011 7:48 AM
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Also Lines Up Serial Killer Pic 'The Frozen Ground' With John Cusack & Nicolas CageSo, Katherine LaNasa comes to the table with some pretty interesting factoids. She's the ex-wife of both French Stewart and Dennis Hopper (and the mother of Henry Hopper who you saw in "Restless"), and while her name might not be familiar, she's been working steadily for years, mostly on TV, racking up appearances in a number of shows. Maybe you remember her as Lydia in "Two and a Half Men" (see above) or Beverly Ford in "Big Love." She was also the lead on the short lived NBC sitcom "Three Sisters." But the actress is making a huge leap into feature films, and with three projects on the horizon you'll be hearing her name and seeing her more often.

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