It’s a safe bet most of the people who pay to see a Billy Bob Thornton movie earn far less than the celebrated actor/director.
But Thornton isn’t too keen on his own industry.
Here’s the actor/director/musician sounding off to The Telegraph about why this isn’t exactly a new Golden Age for movie making.
“In our current state of affairs, especially in the entertainment business, we’re living in a time when we’re making — in my humble opinion — the worst movies in history.”
“They’re geared toward the video game-playing generation. And these video games, which I’m on my son about constantly, these games are people killing for fun, and I think traditionally in movies, there’s always been some kind of lesson in the violent movies.”
Is he right?
For starters, he’s using the current crush of action films to paint the entire industry with one brush. And that’s just sloppy.
Thornton, who according to imdb.com lent his voice to a video game last year, points to his new film “Faster” as an example of a story that evokes the toll killing has on the soul. And, for all the film’s bone-crunching mayhem, it does do just that.
The actor may be disgusted by the quick pace of today’s films, the rapid-fire editing that leaves many viewers dazed rather than delighted. Think either of the two “Transformers” films as all the proof one needs. And his comments later in the interview about the shallow nature of many mainstream action films are spot on.
But action film morality has always been a slippery thing. For every revisionist western like “Unforgiven” there are a dozen others which show the white hats killing the black hats with little to no hand wringing. And what about a film classic like “Bonnie and Clyde,” a movie that romanticizes killers and makes them the de facto heroes?
Audiences can process the various levels of good vs. evil, and they have done just that for decades. Besides, film is often mean to be escapism, nothing more, so a night watching an action hero dispatch a gang of thugs engages us on a crude but satisfying level.
It wouldn’t be much fun to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger deposit the villain off a clip and, after saying, “I let him go,” seek out professional counseling for his actions.
So let’s cut Thornton some slack for trying to pump his latest project at the clumsy expense of the film industry in toto.
(Photo: Billy Bob Thornton stars in CBS Films’ “Faster.” © CBS Films, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Much as I enjoyed “Armageddon,” any actor who appeared in it shouldn’t be running his mouth about the film tastes of the rest of us. And if Mr. Thornton wants to explain the great moral lesson behind “Bad Santa,” I’d love to hear it.
Well, one thing for sure, there are many, many movies released monthly then there were in the 1930-50’s. You also had studios controlling the image of their signed Stars. Everything was nice and wholesome.
While I certainly miss the quality and scope of writing of the films of yesteryear, I like the multitude of choices.
With everyone competing for your boxoffice dollars many brilliant films suffer (but are still classics) like “The Wrestler” and one of my favorites, “Tender Mercies”. Quality is still being produced if you look for it. So do as I do and vote with your Boxoffice dollars and don’t watch fan-boy cr@p and other “pronography”. Starve the Beast (if just for 15 bucks or so).
And of course, needing more movies at the multiplex, here comes the remake of “The Wizard of Oz”. What do you bet this makes the original even better by comparison?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1779844/
I lost all respect for Billy Bob’s opinions when I found out he divorced Angelina Jolie for adopting her first Asian child. Although I do believe he is an accomplished actor, when he “wings it” without a script, he only reinforces my belief that he is just another overpaid Hollyweird dingbat.
I agree with Thornton’s comments about the negative impact video games have had on movies. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti video games and I’m no prude about violence. Indeed, many of my favorite movies are violent. It just seems like so many action movies today care little about a well written screenplay with interesting characters. Instead, they focus on digital effects and rapid fire editing. The only thing these new movies do is give me migraines.