|
Billy Bob Thornton broke from the filming of the upcoming thriller, Eagle Eye, to discuss with the IESB about playing an FBI Agent, touring with his band and all the films hes got coming soon.
{sidebar id=1}In Eagle Eye, Thornton plays an FBI agent chasing after Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monahan. He entered the interview, declining to shake hands due to a large bandage wrapped around his right palm.
I have every disease in the world, he said, with a deadpan grin and when he was asked if he hurt his hand during shooting, he responded likewise with, I dont remember exactly what it was.
Q: Can you talk a little about your role in this movie?
Thornton: I play Thomas Morgan, head of the anti-terrorism task force for the FBI. Its one of those movies where I basically run around the airport and factories and warehouses with a gun, chasing Shia.
Q: We saw your stunt-double jumping onto the conveyor belt.
Thornton: Yeah, my turn was later. You kind of overlap the stuff. The stunt-double will do it and then you come do part of that or sometimes all of it, sometimes part of it depending on how much they need to see your face. Ive always done a lot of my own stuff. My double, Mickey, is a really good double. I mean, they can shoot a lot with him. The older you get, the happier you are about that. Weve done several movies together. I cant remember what the first one was but I think it might have been Bad Santa. Ive probably done five with Mickey. I had another guy before him for years. He got hurt all the time, though.
Q: Do you ever find yourself getting carried away with fight scenes?
Thornton: No, you try to be as realistic as possible and without hurting anybody or, you know, getting hurt yourself. Although, Ive been hurt on movies a lot of times. People always ask me if I do my own stunts and I say, "Not on purpose." I guess the worst one was years ago at least 15 years ago I got six broken ribs and a broken collarbone, a cracked pelvis and a concussion. All kinds of stuff on a movie a long time ago. I probably shouldnt have been doing the thing that I was doing and I did it anyway. Fight scenes, you know, you learn ways to do it that look very real. Some of it is, some of its not. A lot of young actors will feel a lot of bravado. Theyll say, "Go ahead and hit me, man, its okay." Ill say, "Alright (laughs), you may not like it." I used to do that, too. I did a TV show back in the 80s one time where there was this girl who was supposed to slap me. She was supposed to slap me twice. I told her. "Ah, its okay. Go ahead and slap me as hard as you can." She was doing it kind of weak and I said, "Its not going to look real. Seriously, I can take it. Dont worry." Finally, she just knocked the piss out of me. My face swelled up. It was all red and the makeup people had to put stuff on it. So thats what you get for acting like that. You just learn ways to do it that are close to real as close as you can possibly get without hurting people. Most of the time when youre doing movies with legitimate film companies, they have really good stunt coordinators. Theyre usually pretty good about keeping everybody safe.
Q: The way you describe your character, its almost a character-type. When youre playing someone like that, do you find someone to emulate or do you do research and try to get inside the head of the character?
Thornton: Well, it depends on the role. There are roles that you need research for. I tend to only take roles that Im right for. I think thats one of the most important things for an actor. Some will just play anything and theyll end up with a British accent when theyve got no business doing it or an Irish guy has a hillbilly accent when hes got no business doing it. The FBI guys are from a lot of them are from Texas or Mississippi or wherever like I am. Its not like I had to learn to be from the Bronx or anything like that. Then for all the technical stuff, the dialogues written. The thing thats important for me is when youre saying stuff like when Im doing a lot of technical speak that I learn what it means instead of just saying it. When youre just saying it, it sounds like just a list of stuff. If you know what it means then, as you say it, it actually sounds like you know what youre talking about. For Pushing Tin, this movie I did with Cusack years ago about air traffic controllers, he and I went to actual air traffic control school. Im glad they sent us through that, way up in Toronto. That was a monster to learn that stuff. When were looking in scopes, we saw the actual planes that were coming in. You really had to know which ones where there and what their numbers were and what headings they were one because you could see it on the screen. You also you know, you dont have to do this because of the average movie-going public because they dont know what that stuff means but there will be air traffic controllers watching the movie and there will be FBI guys watching the movie. Personally, I just like to make sure that none of them see me over at Safeway and come up and say, "Hey, I really liked your movie but thats bullshit!" So you try to get it right.
Q: Have you ever had an experience like that where somebody came up to you?
Thornton: I dont think so. I dont think so far. I dont do a lot of movies where I need to learn stuff like that. I guess this one and Armageddon and Pushing Tin. I mean, nobody knew what Davy Crockett said to anybody.
Q: Was there something specific in this movie that you did have to learn?
Thornton: Yeah, quite a bit. A lot of that dialogue I had to learn what it meant. The guy that we have as the technical advisor on this movie actually did my job in the movie. That was his actual job. He knows all about that, Tom, and hes a great guy. Hes on the set a lot and hell tell me little things that I wouldnt have thought about. Even chasing after them with a gun, hell say something and Ive used guns a lot and shot them a lot in movies but just little things about where I would have the gun when I was standing by the corner for specific reasons or whatever. That stuffs always great to know. Usually, like I said, in an action movie or something, the people that go to see action movies are a larger part of the public. Like if you watch most movies, this is pretty realistic right here. But there are some that you watch them and you just have to forget all that stuff because its all just horseshit. Those movies, usually, are not very good but at the same time its the guy sitting there eating Cheetos and drinking beer going, "Ha! Look, he killed him!" So they dont really care. But this guys great. DJ pays a lot of attention to detail so you have a lot of help.
Q: In the film, do you have much interaction with Michelle and Shia?
Thornton: Hardly any with Michelle. I have quite a bit with Shia because, see, in the beginning we have him in custody and I question him. Theres a big interrogation scene between Shia and myself. Its one of the bigger dialogue scenes in the movie, actually. So he and I have quite a bit of stuff and then, in the end, were together once I discover that its not just about him. Its, in a lot of ways, like The Fugitive with Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford where after a little while its like, "You know, I smell a rat here." Its kind of odd in a movie like this because even though youre the FBI, you start off as the bad guy. The hero of the movie, youre trying to get him and even though people shouldnt think that way because the guy is just doing his job at the same time, in the beginning, its like you dont want me to get him because it wasnt him or whatever. But then it ends up that hes doing his job and he knows that and I know that and everything works out okay. With Michelle, as close as I get to her is just running after her. She pops me in the face with a briefcase at one point. Other than that, not really.
Q: What do you have coming up after Eagle Eye?
Thornton: Ive got a lot of stuff coming up after this. Its funny because I was off of movies for a lot of years. People always say, "God, youre working all the time," but its just because of the way movies come out. Youre always interviewing someone and they say, "Why did you do this one after this one?" and I say, "Well, I didnt. I did that one two years ago." I guess Astronaut Farmer was the last movie I did before this one. No, I did The Informers which is this movie, this Brett Easton Ellis book that we just did. I finished it just before this one and its one of those movies I dont know if you saw Love, Actually where I play the President of the United States where its a cameo buts not also not because everyone thats in it has a cameo. They all sort of have a thread through them and theyre all sort of linked in some way. The Informers is one of those so each person has their part. Kim Basingers in it and Winona Ryder. A bunch of young actors that I cant remember but who are supposed to be really well known. I know Brad Renfro, God rest his soul, is in it but I didnt have any scenes with him. But I knew Brad very well from way back. He read for me for All the Pretty Horses. At one point, I was going to direct Cinderella Man but I ended up not wanting to do it at the time. I think I met with him about that. I think it was that or something. But one way or another, I knew him over the years and only found out after he passed away the other day that he was in The Informers. I didnt know because it was such a compartmentalized movie that you do your own bit and then these people have theirs. I really worked predominately with Kim Basinger and Winona Ryder. But for the future? In the last two years Ive made a record and a half. I had one finished that came out that we toured with the band in July and August and September of last year. I also play music and have all my life. I sort of exist in the Americana music world which is a little more underground. Now Im sort of coming to the forefront more. We just became the face of Dell Lounge. Its like Dells version of Itunes, I guess youd say but its more than that. Itll be documentary footage and all kind of nice things you can get on there. The Boxmasters is like the cover artist for that deal. So were becoming a little more public.
Q: Will your passion for music eventually outgrow your passion for acting?
Thornton: Not my passion for acting but my passion for making movies. I grew up as a starving musician and a starving roadie. I was a roadie for a lot of famous bands when I was a teenager. I kind of grew up in the music world and really came to LA to do that or be an actor or do whatever didnt involve shoveling asphalt for the Arkansas highway department. I just went with what happened. I love acting. And I stress acting. Making movies, not as much. I love making movies I love making small movies. Ill tell you what I love; I love Monsters Ball, The Man Who Wasnt There, A Simple Plan, Slingblade, Bad Santa. I actually loved making Bandits, Astronaut Farmer. Those movies. And I enjoy making this movie because the crew and the people Im working with are so great. Theyre really a professional crew. Theyre wonderful and I think its going to be a great movie.
Q: Is it just your character involved in chasing Shia?
Thornton: Its the whole FBI and other agencies, too but as oftentimes happens in movies, they want the moviestar guy to be onscreen most of the time. So, yeah, theres a lot of just me chasing them.
Q: Any chance of a third film with the Coen brothers?
Thornton: Yeah, I hope so. They talked to me about doing their film that was just out recently and I wasnt able to do it at the time to play one of the parts in No Country for Old Men. They know exactly who they want and what they want them for. Like, for instance, when they did O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you would think that I would have been in that movie, you know what I mean? And that Clooney might have been in The Man Who Wasnt There. But thats what they do. They put him in that and had him play a hillbilly and then put me in this thing in Santa Rosa, California in the 40s in all these Humphrey Bogart suits. So theyll know when its time. We talk about stuff all the time. At one point they talked to me about well, we all came up with the idea years ago. Ive know the Coens for years and years before I worked for them and we always talked about doing a version of Tarzan with me. Thatd be pretty hysterical. I remind them of it all the time. I was talking with Ethan not that long ago and I said, "Ethan, what about Tarzan?" and he said, "Yeah, we gotta do that." But Im sure I will do one with the Coen brothers. I love working with them. I love working with the Coens and Sam Raimi and Barry Levenson on Bandits. That was a real fun movie to make, Bandits. Things like that, I love doing that stuff. I did a few comedies in a row so my next stuff is all more dramatic stuff. After this, Im doing a movie called Duplicity with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts and Tom Wilkinson. I knew Tom from some time on the Academy Awards circuit time. You know, when you run into people you dont really know but you wind up in a room with them for some kind of interview or whatever. I remember what a great guy he was and what a great actor. The opportunity to work with him is really appealing to me. Thats what Ive got next and then Ive got two movies that Im going to direct. A lot of it just depends on strikes as well as Ive got another tour in July, August and September. Ive been finishing up a Boxmasters record. See, I do solo records but this new record is under my bands name. My Traveling Wilburys bunch. Its the same guys. Its just me and the other guys in my band. Its kind of punk hillbilly music. You might say that its electric hillbilly music with a 60s vibe. Its pretty great. If you guys like music, I think youll dig this. Some of its very irreverent. Even though its hillbilly music, some of its very dark. Theres one about the prospect of marriage called, Ill Give You a Ring When You Give Me Back My Balls The Boxmasters are going to be at South by Southwest. Were going to be at the festival this year. Were playing March 11 and were also opening for George Thorogood in Dallas on the ninth. We love George. Hes a great guy. But if you guys ever liked that kind of thing, its real slammin but its old-fashioned at the same time. Were pretty happy with whats going on there. Matter of fact, two songs you can get right now on Dell Lounge. Theyre doing free downloads of Boxmasters music to kind of introduce the Boxmasters to the public from January to February. Theres two songs every other week. Theres two songs and in two weeks, therell be another two songs. Some of themll be on the album and some of them wont be. But Ill Give You a Ring When You Give Me Back My Balls is actually available right now. It was our first song and we figured we should go ahead and tell everyone what we are right now. We have some interesting covers, too.
Q: You were close friends with Warren Zevon; theres a book out now about his life. Could you ever see his life becoming a film?
Thornton: Ive certainly been talked to about it. Thats the idea. I think they want to make that book into a movie. Ive been approached about it. I mean, just in terms of helping getting it going. Not to play Warren or anything like that. Frankly, I dont think anybody can play Warren. It aint an easy job. But, yeah, I loved Warren. He was a close friend of mine. Im in the book a few times. He was an amazing guy, Warren.
Q: Any chance of getting back together with Tom Epperson and Carl Franklin?
Thornton: Yeah, you know Tom, actually. One of the movies I directed I havent directed anything since All the Pretty Horses so its been seven years or whatever. Or more. Or eight years, I guess but one of them is based on a true story and I actually had Tom write the screenplay. The first draft of the screenplay. So he and I still talk and we may write something together again but Ive been so busy with records and touring and movies that I havent written anything in a while except for songs. Ive written probably a hundred songs in the last two years. Carl Franklin, actually, was going to do a movie with me and Halle Berry last year. Something called Tulia. She got pregnant and things like that so it never happened but I talk to Carl. I think that one mightve been really good, too.
Eagle Eye is slated to hit theaters this August. Look for more on-set coverage soon!
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
