Monday, August 04, 2008

How Old Do You Think Billy Bob Is? (Where's He Going?)

Today's Billy Bob Thornton's Birthday.

When I saw his age I was surprised. How old do you think Billy Bob is?

When I think of Billy Bob Thornton, the first movie I think of is Sling Blade, and then I think of a slew of other, like a Simple Plan, Monster's Ball, Friday Night Lights, Bandits, The Apostle, and Armageddon.

And so, if I had to guess how old Billy Bob is turning. I think I'd guess 58.

But nope, he's only turning 53. Which is a big gap of 5 years to me.

Because it's weird. Despite the tabloid press of Billy Bob and Angelina in the early part of the new millennium, it seems like Billy Bob Thornton's strongest career time was in the late 90s. Yet he is still super active in films, he's a recognizable name, a talented actor...and yet...

I wonder where his career is going to go over the next couple decades.

I imagine he'll stay active in films, but I feel like he needs a hit. He needs another Sling Blade or Simple Plan to rekindle his star power.

According to the Internet movie database Billy Bob Thornton has 6 movies in post-production for 2008 and 2009. That's an active career, but are any of them going to be good? Any of them going to be famous performances, or was Sling Blade the peak?

(Thornton's upcoming films include: The Informers, Eagle Eye, Tulia, Manure, Duplicity, and Peace Like a River...you feeling like any of these have the pop that Thornton needs to rekindle his career into the next couple decades?)

2 comments:

Loren Eaton said...

Peace Like a River was a stupendous book, not least of all because it presented an orthodox Christian message without being treacly. I don't know if Hollywood can pull it off, but I'm excited about it.

Out Of Jersey said...

The only thing I can say I am looking forward to is Manure. I kid you not, it sounds like it could be pretty interesting. None of these look like they'll rekindle his career though.