Billy Bob Thornton

Blu-Ray Round Up, Aug. 12, 2009: ‘The Last Starfighter,’ ‘Sling Blade,’ ‘The Waterboy’

BrianTT — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:31:13 -0600

CHICAGO – You won’t find the kind of diversity that exists in HollywoodChicago.com’s Blu-Ray Round-Up too many places online. Where else can modern sci-fi mingle with quarter-century-old genre product and hang out with Oscar winners and slapstick comedies? Nowhere.

The Round-Up is our regular informational column about titles that may have slipped under your radar just because they haven’t been on the cover of Entertainment Weekly or in the point-of-purchase slot at your local Blu-Ray store. Today’s edition of the Round-Up is particularly impressive with a massive comedy hit from Adam Sandler, a sci-fi cult classic, a great new TV show, and the film that made Billy Bob Thornton a star.

“Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” was released on July 28th, 2009.

“Sling Blade,” and “The Waterboy” were released on August 4th, 2009.

“The Last Starfighter” will be released on August 18th, 2009.

“Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead”

Photo credit: BBC/WB

Synopsis: “When a London bus travels through a worm-hole to an alien world, the Doctor must join forces with the mysterious, aristocratic Lady Christina to help the unfortunate passengers, and themselves, get back home. But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets, hidden in the sand. And time is running out, as the deadly swarm gets closer…”

“Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” stars David Tennant, Michelle Ryan, Lee Evans, Noma Dumezweni, Adam James, and Glenn Doherty. It was written by Russell T. Davies & Gareth Roberts and directed by James Strong. It is presented in High Definition 1080i with a 16:9 enhanced picture and includes a DTS HD audio track. It is not rated.

Special features include “Extra: Doctor Who Confidential,” a 60-minute special that brings you behind the scenes of “Planet of the Dead.

“The Last Starfighter: 25th Anniversary Edition”

Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis: “Greetings, Starfighter! You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada.” So begins an adventure of galactic proportions in The Last Starfighter. After Earthling Alex (Lance Guest) conquers the Starfighter video game, he is recruited by alien Centauri (Robert Preston) to be part of an elite legion of fighters. Leaving behind his trailer park home for the outer regions of space, Alex becomes the last hope for the beleaguered Star League and hundreds of worlds – including Earth. Loaded with out-of-this-world bonus features and digitally remastered for optimum picture quality, The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Edition is the ultimate video game fantasy come true!”

“The Last Starfighter” stars Lance Guest, Dan O’Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Robert Preston. It was written by Jonathan Betuel and directed by Nick Castle. It is presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and accompanied by an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. It is rated PG.

Special features include “Heroes of the Screen,” an all-new retrospective documentary with the cast and crew as they revisit the scripting, casting, and ground-breaking computer effects, “Crossing the Frontier: Making of The Last Starfighter,” image gallery, and a feature commentary with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb.

“Sling Blade”

Photo credit: Buena Vista Home Video

Synopsis: “25 years after committing an unthinkable crime, a quiet man named Karl (Billy Bob Thornton) finally returns home. Once there, he’s befriended by a fatherless boy and his mother. But when his newfound peace is shattered by the mother’s abusive boyfriend (Grammy winner Dwight Yoakam), Karl is suddenly placed on a collision course with his past! Also starring Robert Duvall, John Ritter, and J.T. Walsh, this emotional powerhouse is an unforgettable experience for the eyes and ears as well as the heart. Feel the stirring power of Sling Blade as never before in Blu-Ray High Definition.”

“Sling Blade” stars Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, and Robert Duvall. It was written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton. It is presented in 1080p High-Definition with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and accompanied by an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. It is rated R.

Special features include Audio Commentary by Writer/Director/Actor Billy Bob Thornton, “Mr. Thornton Goes To Hollywood,” “Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton,” “A Roundtable Discussion with Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Mickey Jones, and Producer David Bushell,” “A Conversation with Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Duvall,” “A Conversation with Robert Duvall,” “A Conversation with Billy Bob Thornton and Composer Daniel Lanois,” “The Return of Karl,” “On the Set: Billy Bob at Work,” “On the Set: Doyle’s Band: The Johnsons,” “On the Set: Doyle Gets Pummeled,” and “Doyle’s Dead” with Introduction by Billy Bob Thornton.

“The Waterboy”

Photo credit: Buena Vista Home Video

Synopsis: “Bobby Boucher (Sandler) never wanted anything more than to quench the thirst of the dehydrated athletes who treat him like dirt! But when Coach Klein (Henry Winkler – Holes, TV’s “Happy Days”) makes the call that allows Bobby to finally stand up for himself, it unleashes a torrent of bottled-up frustration and exposes a talent for tackling that transforms him from a meek “water distribution engineer” to the hardest hitter ever to roam the gridiron! The Waterboy is a crowd pleasing favorite featuring an all-star supporting cast that includes acclaimed actress Kathy Bates (About Schmidt, Titanic, Misery), zany comic actor Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, The Hot Chick) and the sexy Fairuza Balk (Almost Famous, Return To Oz). This
July, quench your thirst for riotous comedy as The Waterboy makes a refreshing new splash on Blu-ray Hi-Def!”

“The Waterboy” stars Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, and Henry Winkler. It was written by Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler and directed by Frank Coraci. It is presented in 1080p High Definition with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and accompanied by an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. It is rated PG-13.

The Blu-Ray for “The Waterboy” includes not one special feature. Shameful.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Eagle Eye’ Makes Modern Paranoia Ridiculous

BrianTT — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:20:04 -0700

CHICAGO – “Eagle Eye,” the second collaboration between new star Shia LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso after the surprise success of “Disturbia,” isn’t nearly as successful a diversion, stretching the very concept of suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.

The Blu-Ray release matches the success of the film with solid video and audio and an entertaining set of special features, but the movie itself brings the entire package down.

With “Eagle Eye,” writers John Glenn & Travis Adam Wright and Hilary Seitz and Dan McDermott (it took four people to write this thing?) attempt to turn modern-day paranoia about the intrusive nature of technology into an action adventure a la “Die Hard”. The set-up isn’t bad, but the film quickly dissolves into a barrage of unbelievable, unrealistic, and unenjoyable action sequences fueled by increasingly ridiculous plot twists.

Shia LaBeouf stars as Jerry Shaw, a drop-out from Stanford who gets caught in an international crisis after his twin brother Ethan, an Air Force star, passes away in a car accident. Jerry goes to the funeral and comes home to a complete nightmare. His bank account, usually too empty to buy a latte, has three-quarters of a million dollars in it, and his apartment is full of terrorist supplies, which, apparently, can easily be shipped via DHL.

The money and the bomb-making equipment make Jerry a target of the government (including agents played by Rosario Dawson and Billy Bob Thornton), but Shaw keeps getting phone calls that keep him one step ahead of the people trying to get to him. Meanwhile, Rachel Holloman (the lovely but miscast Michelle Monaghan) gets a similarly omniscient call that tells her that her son will die if she doesn’t do as she’s told.

The idea is that Jerry and Rachel are pawns in an elaborate plot fueled by our civilization’s increasing reliance on items that come with a certain lack of privacy. It’s not the concept that fails “Eagle Eye,” it’s the development of it.

The problem with “Eagle Eye” is that it’s played with a completely straight face. Half of the charm of the “Die Hard” movies, especially the last one, is in Bruce Willis’ winking performance. He’s knows it’s ridiculously over-the-top. “Eagle Eye” feels like LaBeouf and Caruso think this is a cautionary tale. If the filmmaker and cast had put their tongues even slightly in their cheeks, “Eagle Eye” might have worked as escapist entertainment.

So, as the film seems to continuously top itself with more and more ridiculous, nonsensical plot twists, it’s far too easy to be eye-rolling instead of sitting on the edge of your seat. When the power on the other end of the phone starts to manipulate the system well beyond reason - my favorite being when it cannot only break a power line but snap it into a running individual - the suspension of disbelief collapses.

The film may be a mess but the Blu-Ray release is satisfactory. On Blu-Ray, the presentation of “Eagle Eye” is neither remarkable nor below par. The video in 1080p High Definition is the highlight. DreamWorks has become one of the leaders in HD transfers. And the audio in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD is better than average.

As for the special features, renters and buyers of “Eagle Eye” might be disappointed by the lack of a commentary and the featurettes are a little perfunctory. It’s also disappointing to not have any picture-in-picture capability. It’s a movie about technology. Shouldn’t the presentation of the special features feel more than average?

“Eagle Eye” includes, all in HD, deleted scenes, “Asymmetrical Warfare: The Making of Eagle Eye,” “Eagle Eye on Location: Washington, DC,” “Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me?,” “Shall We Play a Game?,” a gag reel, “Road Trip: On Location with the Cast and Crew,” a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer.

‘Eagle Eye’ is released by DreamWorks Home Video and stars Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, and Anthony Mackie, and was written by John Glenn & Travis Adam Wright and Hilary Seitz and Dan McDermott and directed by D.J. Caruso. It was released on December 28th, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Exclusive Portrait: Oscar-Winning Actor Billy Bob Thornton in Chicago With His Band The Boxmasters

HollywoodChicago.com — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:21:49 -0600

CHICAGO – Oscar-winning actor and screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton appeared in Chicago on Aug. 29, 2008 with his band The Boxmasters to promote his new CD. We captured and present to you an exclusive portrait of Thornton in Chicago.

Billy Bob Thornton in Chicago with his band The Boxmasters on Aug. 29, 2008.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

In addition to breaking out in “Sling Blade” in 1996, Thornton appears in “Eagle Eye” in 2008 (which was filmed in part in Chicago) with Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, “The Informers” in 2008, “Manure” in 2008, “Tulia” in 2008, “Duplicity” in 2009 and “Peace Like a River” in 2009.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Scene Spoiler: Reader Submits Full ‘Eagle Eye’ Report For Nov. 15 Filming in Chicago

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:21:44 -0700

As we’ve been reporting here, “Eagle Eye” – a DreamWorks picture staring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson and Billy Bob Thornton – has been filming at various locations across Chicago over the past two weeks.

What follows is a very specific report from a reader that fleshes out Chicago filming details for Thursday, Nov. 15 and heading into the wee hours of Friday, Nov. 16.

I can validate this source as accurate and verifiable based on prior submissions. Warning: Spoiler information follows.

Michelle Monaghan (left) and Rosario Dawson.
Photo credit: IMDb

Thursday’s filming, which is [said to be] the second to last day of shooting, was a shoot in the evening in the Uptown neighborhood [of Chicago] at Wilson and Broadway.

The shoot began with Shia and Michelle parked in their Porsche Cayenne Turbo in an alley next to the El [train] station on Wilson. Michelle sat on the driver’s side.

Shia began the scene by running up to the car in a panic. He jumped into the passenger’s seat where he and Michelle began to argue. All of a sudden, the rear driver’s side window would shatter.

They were simulating Shia and Michelle being shot at.

Chicago Police [Department] officers were running out of the El stop with guns drawn. [They were] shooting at the car as Shia frantically began screaming at Michelle to “Go! Go! Go!”

Numerous takes and angles were shot as the car sat idled.

Around 12:30 a.m., the crew began setting up for a high-speed car chase scene where the Porsche would barrel out of the alley heading east on Wilson. [It would] fly around the corner and turn left on Broadway.

Chicago police had Wilson and Broadway closed in all directions as rehearsals began between 1 and 1:30 a.m. Michelle and Shia’s stunt doubles were in the car with Michelle’s stunt double driving.

Shia LaBeouf (left) and Billy Bob Thornton.
Photo credit: IMDb
There were five or six regular cars being driven by stunt drivers and three Chicago police vehicles with stunt drivers. All the streets were sprayed down with water.

One of the Chicago police vehicles would be heading north on Broadway.

As the Porsche fishtailed through the middle of the intersection, the police vehicle would do a [180-degree turn] in the middle of Wilson and Broadway to chase the Porsche. [The] other police vehicles would chase from other directions.

The chase scene was very well choreographed and rehearsed numerous times.

It was amazing to see all the stunt drivers carry out their assignments with perfect precision take after take at high speed with numerous cars spinning and fishtailing in the middle of the intersection.

Numerous takes were done with the stunt doubles from different angles. This was shot with multiple cameras. Around 4 a.m., Shia returned to the vehicle for interior filming with Michelle’s stunt double still behind the wheel.

The camera was placed inside the vehicle with the camera operator in the back seat filming Shia as the Porsche went through the same route (this time, however, at a slower speed).

After a couple takes, Shia was done for the evening.

It was now Michelle’s turn behind the wheel with Shia’s stunt double in the passenger seat. She did a couple rehearsals and a couple takes. Filming was done at approximately 5:30 a.m.

News You Need: Mackie in ‘Eagle Eye,’ ‘Star Trek’ Beams in New Captain, Strike Pauses ‘24’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:08:07 -0700

We! Are! Terrorist Cell!: We already told you about Billy Bob Thorton being cast in “Eagle Eye,” which is shooting now in Chicago and is directed by D.J. Caruso.

Now Variety and Hollywood Reporter and are reporting that Anthony Mackie (“Half Nelson,” “We Are Marshall”) has joined the cast as a “hot-shot soldier”.

“Eagle Eye” stars Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan as a falsely accused young man and single mother who are “forced to become members of a cell with plans to carry out a political assassination”.

Thorton will play a “patriotic hero” while Rosario Dawson plays a government agent. Dawson opted out of a role in Kevin Smith’s “Zach and Miri Make a Porno” (a role written specifically for her) to make “Eagle Eye”.

“Eagle Eye” comes from a screen idea by Steven Spielberg. Dan McDermott, John Glenn, Travis Wright, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, J.J. Abrams and finally Hilary Seitz all worked on the screenplay, according to Film Jerk.

Kurtzman and Orci – who worked on Abrams’ “Star Trek” and did a rumored rewrite to the “Watchmen” screenplay – are overseeing Seitz. Let’s hope in light of the WGA strike that “overseeing” is past tense.

Unless Voted Out By Focus Group, Greenwood Will Boldy Go: Speaking of J.J. Abrams’ increasingly more-interesting “Star Trek” reboot, Hollywood Reporter says Bruce Greenwood (“Thirteen Days,” “I, Robot”) has been cast as Captain Christopher Pike.

Originally played by Jeffrey Hunter, Pike was technically the first captain of the starship Enterprise. That’s due to his having been in the original, shelved “Star Trek” pilot.

Bruce Greenwood.
Photo credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Scenes from this unused pilot were reworked as flashback footage into first “Star Trek” season two-parter “The Menagerie”. In that episode Sean Kenney took over the role and played Pike as a scarred mute who communicated via light on his wheelchair.

At one point, Tom Cruise (who worked on Abrams’ last film “Mission: Impossible III”) was rumored for the role. There’s still no official word if the movie is a restarted Ultimatization or simply an alternate reality.

Jack Bauer Now Has Time to Use Restroom: The first big casualty of the Writers Guild of America strike is the seventh season premiere of Fox’s “24”.

Originally set to air on Jan. 13, TV Week reports that Fox has chosen to hold off on airing the show until the strike’s end. The show has run the past two seasons week to week with no repeats.

After last season’s critical drubbing, which saw its viewership down drastically, “24” was set for a major revamp this season. The show already started production a month late after Fox scrapped a storyline that was to partly take place in Africa.

In Bauer’s absence, perhaps now we can finally have a real national dialogue about torture.

By Shane Hazen
Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com

Confirmed: ‘Eagle Eye’ Filming in Chicago From Nov. 6 to 16

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:52:20 -0700

Since actor Shia LaBeouf popped up on the Chicago grid this weekend and was arrested following an incident at a Walgreens on the Magnificent Mile, we questioned which film he was in town to film.

Michelle Monaghan (left) and Rosario Dawson.
Photo credit: IMDb
IMDb lists LaBeouf as only having two projects in the works: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Eagle Eye”. We know the new Indiana Jones didn’t film in Chicago and we logically assumed “Eagle Eye” would be it.

I can now confirm that LaBeouf is in Chicago for “Eagle Eye” filming.

Rich Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office, told me on Tuesday: “‘Eagle Eye’ is currently scheduled to be filming in Chicago and the surrounding area from Nov. 6 to 16.”

Shia LaBeouf (left) and Billy Bob Thornton.
Photo credit: IMDb
Directed by D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia,” “Taking Lives”), the film stars Shia LaBeouf (“Transformers,” “Disturbia”), Michelle Monaghan (“Gone Baby Gone”), Rosario Dawson and Billy Bob Thornton (“The Astronaut Farmer”).

In “Eagle Eye,” IMDb says “a young slacker and a single mom get tangled up in a terrorist cell plotting a political assassination”.

Interview: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen on ‘The Astronaut Farmer’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:49:19 -0700

CHICAGO – “I have a lot of nervous energy in my head. I always have to be working on something,” said actor – and now entrepreneur – Billy Bob Thornton in a Chicago interview with Adam Fendelman.

Billy Bob Thornton stars at Charles Farmer in “The Astronaut Farmer”.
Photo by Richard Foreman and courtesy of Warner Bros.

Despite the mental projection of a guy who’s rough around the edges from earlier film work, Thornton’s unsuspecting lead role as Charles Farmer in “The Astronaut Farmer” tells a decidedly different story: one about the true tenets of American entrepreneurism and family.

Thornton’s taxing road to his dream – building and launching the first civilian rocket into space – is engrained with the uncanny ups and downs reminiscent to entrepreneurs and Internet start-ups.

Before reveling in all the rewards of his final pursuit, Farmer must first risk all that is sacred.

Entrepreneurs are very familiar with the sometimes genius yet sometimes “hypomanic” compulsion required to trek to the moon – nearly literally in Farmer’s case – and they stop at nothing to get there. They may even be willing to risk their life or family.

While many executives create start-ups out of their garages, Farmer follows suit out of his barn.

The happenstance for Warner Bros. to pick up the film in the first place is also likened to Farmer’s pursuit and that of entrepreneurs themselves. Filmmakers Michael Polish (director/producer/writer) and Mark Polish (producer/writer) describe the process of taking this movie from paper to reality in 33 shooting days as serendipitous.

“Filmmaking is identical to [entrepreneurs and Internet start-ups],” Polish said in an interview with Adam Fendelman on Feb. 7 at the Peninsula Hotel in downtown Chicago. “You have to go out and seek financing and sponsorship and you need a team to launch it. You have to instill a belief in the people around you to dream the same dream.”

Technology in Filmmaking Today

Without hesitation, the filmmaking brothers tag the technology required and the launch of the rocket as the film’s most intricate conundrum.

Billy Bob Thornton in space.
Photo by Richard Foreman and courtesy of Warner Bros.

“The space scene was the most difficult,” Polish said. “Our eyes weren’t trained to see what was real and what was fake. We were getting actual, high-definition Earth imagery from NASA and we kept looking at it and thinking it was fake. We had to trick our eyes into believing what was real.”

As their own worst critics, the brothers scrutinized these scenes meticulously until they felt they arrived on footage that looked true to real life.

“With the launch, we wanted to mix reality with technology,” Polish said. “All the explosions were real. All the wood flying and smoke and fire were practical. We took those and mixed it all with CGI to enhance the rocket. We thought a blend of those two would give it a more natural look.”

Farmer nearly fatally crashes and burns with his first launch. For the filmmakers, the scene broke new ground.

“We had nothing to pull from with the wrecked launch from the barn. You’ve seen lots of shuttle launches but not one coming out of a barn. There was a lot of rendering done. The material on the side of the vessel was very difficult to work with because it was so shiny and how it reflected distorted images. Some of the realness actually looked fake.”

While working with technology was a scrupulous adventure that proved to be rewarding for these filmmakers, Thornton is conflicted about modern-day advances and views technology as a double-edged sword.

“Technology really is a 50/50 thing to me,” Thornton said. “It’s amazing the things we can accomplish with technology. Even with something as mundane as the computer, they used to be the size of a room with blinking [stuff] and patch cords everywhere.

“The good thing is we can communicate so much more easily and the bad thing is we can communicate so much more easily. When there’s too much access, it takes away the power and magic.”

With the Internet documenting the world’s data, Thornton as an actor is annoyed with all the information being amassed about him. He added: “On a personal level, I don’t like people being able to look anything up about me. Everywhere you go, it’s like people know more about me than I do.

“Technology has depersonalized so much today and given too much access to the magical things you had before. When you saw Jimmy Stewart in a movie before, that was the only time you ever saw him. You couldn’t Google him and see him in his house drinking a cup of tea.

“Advances in technology have made us lazier and not as smart in some ways. On the other hand, it’s incredible what we can do with medicine and businesses are more efficient.”

The Model American Family

The fictitious setting of the film in Story, Texas put the limelight on Farmer’s family and his wife and three children. While a successful rocket launch was a zealous goal with omnipotent presence in the family’s everyday life, it was equally paramount to achieve completion for the message the act would send to his kids.

With support from his wife, Audrey (played by Virginia Madsen from “Sideways”), Farmer enlisted his son as mission control and removed his two daughters from school to advance his cause. Indeed, Farmer had his whole family dreaming the same dream.

With the image of his character in “Bad Santa” in many people’s lobes, Thornton in this film played a husband and family man. The role was designed to be an accurate representation of his beliefs on the institution of family and marriage. Following five real-life divorces and four children, though, it was a tough sell.

“There was concern when releasing this movie about whether people would like him,” Polish said. “Once people give this movie a chance, they see that he’s attractive, he’s solvent, he’s a good dad and it’s more connected to him as a person than any other role. He’s so close to Charlie Farmer and he’s a very strong family man when you see him in private with his family.”

Director Michael Polish on the set of “The Astronaut Farmer”.
Photo by Richard Foreman and courtesy of Warner Bros.

Whether or not you’re convinced of Thornton’s true nature, he is sending a bit of a mixed message playing such a role in a film and living that role differently in reality. He actually envies his Hollywood marriage in the film.

“It would be great to be in a marriage like that,” Thornton said. “I’m not ashamed to say I’ve been married so many times because I was trying. It didn’t work out and it’s better to get out of it than to live in something where no one is happy. There are plenty of people who stay married forever and never look at each other and never talk to each other.

“Just to say you were married for 50 years – if it wasn’t happy – who cares? If you have to get married 10 times, who cares? My view on marriage is not so different from the guy in the movie. I just haven’t happened to have one of those.”

Madsen’s character in the film is as her husband’s rock. After Farmer’s first failed launch, it was her inspiration that motivated him to reconstruct his derelict tin can from scratch and try all over again.

Virginia Madsen plays Audie Farmer.
Photo by Richard Foreman and courtesy of Warner Bros.

With the rocket as a metaphor to any dream and everyone therefore having their own version of one, she equates that turning point in the film to anyone who has ever had a dream and has struggled to realize it.

“After the first crash, he gave up his dream,” Madsen told Adam Fendelman. “Because of that, he was dying inside. His spirit was broken. That’s when the kids and I come back and said he couldn’t be broken. It’s because of how well I knew him. He was a shell of his former self.”

Madsen relates the film’s story to her own real life and a familiar entrepreneurial venture within it.

“It’s like my sister and her husband,” Madsen said. “He’s an entrepreneur. His dream wasn’t a rocket, but almost as crazy, it was a restaurant. They had a little diner and the kids worked there. Sometimes it was hellish for that family because they were always so close to being broke. Still, they managed to get through.

“The rest of us would sometimes tell them to get rid of that restaurant because it was too much of a struggle. But this was his dream. They all supported him no matter what. My brother-in-law recently saw the movie and he completely identified with the film’s story.”

In addition to the clear message about living the American dream, the filmmakers are gauging the movie’s success not only by how much money is raked in but also by the doors the opportunity can open for the future.

“If Warner Bros. has confidence in you, they leave you alone and let you work. We did this on our own and the business came to us,” Polish said. “Success is being able to do our next film. The minute you’re in a meeting and someone has the confidence in you to do something bigger and better, that’s your success.

“The Astronaut Farmer,” which is rated “PG” by the Motion Picture Association of America for “thematic material, peril and language,” opened in theaters everywhere on Feb. 23, 2007.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com