Why do Western cultures read scanning from the left side of the page to the right? So they can see Billy Bob Thornton first in Vanity Fair's magnificent Paramount Studios group photo, shot by Art Streiber. Click on the thumbnail to see the photo in its lengthy, breathtaking glory. To see the subjects identified, click here. Kudos to JoliePittStop for the excellent scan of the photo as it appears in the magazine.
Billy Bob had a blast talking to Tommy Chong, Josh Brolin, and George Takei while they posed.
Check out photos below from the Lone Star Film Festival, where Billy Bob did the red carpet two-step with the likes of Robert Duvall, John Hawkes, Kinky Friedman, and more!
BAD SANTA 2: Yes, Virginia, There Will Be a Sequel!
Pix from the Lone Star Film Festival
Click on the Thumbnail to see the larger image
Photos courtesy of Brian Kanof
FOBB (Friends of Billy Bob)
Two Talents, Gone Too Soon
Michael Clarke Duncan was an immense man with immense talent and an immense heart. Pictured left with his ARMAGEDDON cast mates William Fitchner, Bruce Willis, and Hisfineself at the AFI tribute to mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Duncan earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance as the gentle death row inmate Joe Coffey in THE GREEN MILE. He enjoyed international recognition for his performance as as the musclebound oil driller Bear in ARMAGEDDON and also appeared as Billy Bob's right-hand man/enforcer Lesher (not so terrifying in the photo below) in SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS.
Duncan went on to show that he was more than just a bouncer from casting central in films such as SIN CITY, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS, THE SCORPION KING, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY, THE LAST MIMZY,
KUNG FU PANDA, and a host of TV appearances on everything from CSI, FAMILY GUY, and BONES to TWO AND A HALF MEN. His rich, bass voice made him a go-to talent for many animated projects.
Michael Clark Duncan suffered a major heart attack last July from which he never recovered, and he passed away on September 3. His funeral was heavily attended, with Stevie Wonder performing during the services.
Condolences from Planet Billy Bob to his friends, family, and fiancée Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, who heroically saved him by applying CPR when he suffered the initial heart attack. Duncan was 54. He will be missed and remembered forever.
Just as unexpectedly came the death of Sammi Kane Kraft (age 20), a first-rate athlete who won the coveted role of super-pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer in the remake of BAD NEWS BEARS after throwing a breathtaking pitch during her audition. A loyal Yankees fan, Kraft could lob a fastball at a head-spinning 70 mph. Small wonder she found herself more than holding her own against Billy Bob (no slouch in the pitching department, either) as her coach in the film.
BAD NEWS BEARS was her only film, although she enjoyed acting as much as she did her sports. And her skills were multiple. "I love to surf," she said. "Every summer we go to my grandma's house on the Jersey Shore, and I taught myself to surf there. I also play basketball, and I also play tennis, volleyball. I play the guitar and I was on the swim team, soccer, and last summer I got my junior lifeguard certification. I don't think I do much but sports."
Sammi Kane Kraft was killed on October 9th in an automobile accident in Los Angeles. She was a passenger in the car, and the driver was operating under the influence of alcohol. Planeteers worldwide, many of whom saw her in person at the cast and crew party for BAD NEWS BEARS in 2005, were heartsick to receive the news. She had matured from a spunky teen to a lovely young woman (see photo right), and she could have gone far in so many different ways.
Planet Billy Bob extends its hearthfelt sympathies to Sammi's family and friends. She had star quality and a mean right arm. For those who want to post condolences and light a virtual candle in her name, you can click here. To read an ESPN reporter's appreciation of her talents, click here.
We at Billybobapalooza can tell you a few things about this book.
First of all, it's called The Billy Bob Tapes: A Cave Full of Ghosts.
The book features commentary from Robert Duvall, Dwight Yoakam, Tom Epperson, and Daniel Lanois, four of the most important creative collaborators in Billy Bob's extraordinary life as an actor, writer, director, and musician.
There is a moving and keenly observant introduction written by Angelina Jolie.
It arises from a series of conversations that American music legend, mystery novelist, and humorist Kinky Friedman conducted and recorded with Billy Bob. Kinky describes it as an "eye-opener!"
Because nobody can tell a story quite like Billy Bob, it's ribald, irreverent, surprising, touching, and funny as hell. It also helps that Billybobapalooza good-time gal and founding Planeteer Sage helped with the transcription chores. Here's a dandy description from Amazon.com:
Raised in small-town Arkansas, Billy Bob Thornton grew up amid a rich storytelling tradition. See, the South is just different than other places. . . . You can feel the ghosts there. As a kid, he would sit on the porch listening to his family or some old man down the road spinning yarns about colorful neighbors. These stories didn't have to be made up. The characters were already there, so the stories just came out of the characters we knew. Thus was borne his Oscar®-winning masterpiece SLING BLADE and now The Billy Bob Tapes—a narrative based on late-night conversations with Kinky Friedman and other friends who gathered 'round to hear Billy mine a cave full of ghosts.
Billy grew up shooting squirrels, playing drums in VFW clubs, and dreaming of rock 'n' roll stardom or pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals. Then at sixteen he took a drama class to meet chicks—and met Mrs. Treadway, who noticed the young man's talent and encouraged him as an actor and writer. "You don't know what it's like to be a drama teacher in a small town in Arkansas where nobody really cares," she said, "but let me tell you something. You can do this." Everything I've accomplished since, I can trace back to this woman, Maudie Treadway."
The colorful characters, stories, and experiences of his youth would find their way into Billy's work, in his films and music, and in his perspective and attitude. It's like the old saying goes: you can take the boy out of the hills, but you can't take the hills out of the boy. That boy did leave the hills—for Hollywood Hills. A true fish out of water, he recalls stories of miserable jobs, the cheapest accommodations, and physical hunger—but also a devoted writing partner Tom Epperson, a life-changing acting teacher in L.A., and a compassionate nurse who snuck him milk shakes when he was near starvation. But there was always the dream of being an actor, and his fortunes turned when he served hors d'oeuvres as a catering waiter to legendary director Billy Wilder, who advised him, "Write about your interesting life."
Billy's long career in Hollywood yields stories of inspired collaborations and failed ones, true friendships with other actors and musicians, and good friends gone too soon. In The Billy Bob Tapes, he reflects on the critics, the culture around fame, and the challenges of conveying an artistic vision in film. Most striking is Billy's clear-eyed perspective about the magic of entertainment, and how we perceive it in a rapidly changing world. With passion, unvarnished honesty, wry humor, and a little help from friends Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall, Dwight Yoakam, Tom Epperson, and Daniel Lanois, Billy Bob finally talks.
Billy Bob Takes the Rap for Prisoner of Southern Rock
Billy Bob has written the foreword for Prisoner of Southern Rock, a memoir by Michael Buffalo Smith that will be published by Mercer University Press in 2012.
Prisoner of Southern Rock is the unlikely story of one Southern boy's rise from near poverty to become a respected Southern music historian, specializing in the sub-genre known as Southern Rock. The book traces the Buffalo's journey from his meager beginnings in Upstate South Carolina to his work as a musician and journalist during his college years and his destined founding of the Southern rock magazine Gritz following a near death experience from a chronic bacterial infection. He is nationally recognized as The Ambassador of Southern Rock.
The memoir combines stories from his life growing up with stories of life on the road, backstage, and onstage with many of the bands he idol-worshipped during his early years. These are the life and times of the man known around the world as “The Ambassador of Southern Rock.” The book includes a chapter on Buffalo’s meeting and becoming friends with Billy Bob Thornton and the members of The Boxmasters.
When the book comes out, you can bet that we'll have direct links for you to buy it!
The Boxmasters will be releasing Bellflower, their fourth record on Vanguard/Sawmill Records. As with their previous releases, Bellflower is a 2-CD set: one disc of original songs and one disc of cover songs. Bellflower comes on the heels of the band’s current CD, Modbilly, which reached the Number one spot on the Americana Radio Chart for two consecutive weeks and was named one of the top 100 Records by the Americana Music Association in 2009!
Looking for something with that certain Waffle House je ne sais quoi?Coffee Fool has conjured up a smoky, Italian-roasted (and why not? Billy Bob's part Italian and he smokes!) Kona blend.
How would you like that ground? At Coffee Fool, you can get a 12-ounce or 2.25-pound bag ground to your exacting specifications: Whole Bean, French Press, Coarse Grind, Perk, Drip Grind, Grindhouse (no, wait, that's a Tarantino flick), Very Strong Drop Grind, Very Fine Grind, Turkish, and Espresso. Like Billy Bob himself, it's a little bit country, it's a little bit rock 'n' roll. If the up-tempo ballads don't rouse you from your post-roadhouse stupor, then a shot of this stuff'll cure
whatever ails ya.
First comes love, then comes marriage. But if you are a serviceman or woman for the United States, in between those two joyous life stages can come war, dashing hopes, dreams, and plans for what should be the happiest day of your life. Billy Bob has connected with Gil Cope, a professional photographer who has founded the Warrior Wedding Project. As Cope describes it:
The Warrior Wedding Project is my effort to give back to the men and women who go in harm's way on our behalf. The couples involved with the Warrior Wedding Project pay absolutely nothing. I absorb all costs involved with shooting their wedding. This includes all travel & hotel expenses, hiring a second shooter, a photographers assistant, as well as providing the couple a site where friends and family can either download the images for free, or order prints at cost. It's my dream to be able to offer my couples as much as possible - that's where you come in.
Billy Bob has always been a big supporter of our people in the services, often performing free concerts on military bases. He is also a supporter of the Warrior Wedding Project. If you wish to support this wonderful cause, click here.
Thanks to Lynne Eagan, a good FOBB (Friend of Billy Bob), you need never suffer
this humiliating catastrophe again! You can learn about Shower Vision
and the new
Kitchen Vision by visiting ShowerVision.com!
Add some pizazz to the way you view the world!
From the "That Burger's About the Size of Texas, Mr. President" Department
BBT's Hideaway at K-Bob's Steakhouse
The Sorocco El Defensor Chieftain (one of the best newspaper names we've ever heard) reports that John Woodworth is the new operations director for Billy Bob Thornton's Hideaway,
a mini-restaurant bar and grill adjacent to the famous K-Bob's Steakhouse located in Sorroco, New Mexico.
Woodworth has devised a menu with an average entrée price of about $7 and a selection of 20 rare wines from around the globe. Entrees includes the secretly spiced Armageddon Burger on a Kaiser roll, plus beer batter fries, which Woodworth serves with Roseblum Zinfandel from Paso Robles, California. Additionally, Woodworth has instated Wednesday Night Wine Dinners and a wine club called the Hideaway Club.
As the El Defensor Chieftain puts it, "The Wednesday Night Wine Dinners consist of a three-course dinner paired with three wines specially selected by Woodworth. The price of the dinner is $19.99 per person. Membership for the Hideaway Club is $40 per month and includes an engraved wine glass, a wine club T-shirt and four wine dinners."
Hey! Sign us up!
The restaurant is located at 1123 NW Frontage Road in Sorocco. Call (575) 835-2900 for further information.
Requests for unsigned photos, letters 'n' greetings for Billy Bob, and other whatnot now go to:
Planet Billy Bob
17216 Saticoy Street, Suite 378
Lake Balboa, CA 91406
By the way, we are getting a lot of e-mails from people in Russia asking for autographs. We do not have autographs, but we are always happy to send Billy Bob's fans from Russia and everywhere else our free, unsigned black and white glossy photos of Billy Bob from All the Pretty Horses, as well as headshots from MONSTER'S BALL. We've also got ARMAGEDDON programs from the 1998 world premiere. We'd love to give one to you for free! See our Contact info for more details!
Want to send Billy Bob a message he'll actually read? Visit our MySpace page and leave us a greeting! Throw in a picture (Billy Bob likes to see photos of his fans!) and Webmistress Amélie will print it out and personally deliver it to Billy Bob (now that she bought a refurbished color printer from a mysterious Russian connection). We can't make any replies (we get thousands of posts, and Billy Bob does not know how to compose or send an e-mail to save his life), but he will read and enjoy each and every one. And click here for more Contact Information.
Check Out Billy Bob's Music You Should Hear picks on Amazon.com!
Why do Western cultures read scanning from the left side of the page to the right? So they can see Billy Bob Thornton first in Vanity Fair's magnificent Paramount Studios group photo, shot by Art Streiber. Click on the thumbnail to see the photo in its lengthy, breathtaking glory. To see the subjects identified, click here. Kudos to JoliePittStop for the excellent scan of the photo as it appears in the magazine.
JAYNE MANSFIELD'S CAR: Hot Rod! 
THE RED MACHINE: Loaded for Bear!
THE BAYTOWN DISCO: Dance to the Beat-Downs!
BAD SANTA 2: Yes, Virginia, There Will Be a Sequel!
Want to send Billy Bob a message he'll actually read? Visit our MySpace page and leave us a greeting! Throw in a picture (Billy Bob likes to see photos of his fans!) and Webmistress Amélie will print it out and personally deliver it to Billy Bob (now that she bought a refurbished color printer from a mysterious Russian connection). We can't make any replies (we get thousands of posts, and Billy Bob does not know how to compose or send an e-mail to save his life), but he will read and enjoy each and every one. And click here for more Contact Information.
Michael Clarke Duncan was an immense man with immense talent and an immense heart. Pictured left with his 
Just as unexpectedly came the death of Sammi Kane Kraft (age 20), a first-rate athlete who won the coveted role of super-pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer in the remake of 
Sammi Kane Kraft was killed on October 9th in an automobile accident in Los Angeles. She was a passenger in the car, and the driver was operating under the influence of alcohol. Planeteers worldwide, many of whom saw her in person at the cast and crew party for BAD NEWS BEARS in 2005, were heartsick to receive the news. She had matured from a spunky teen to a lovely young woman (see photo right), and she could have gone far in so many different ways. 
We at Billybobapalooza can tell you a few things about this book. 
All
