Jayne Mansfield's Car | |
---|---|
Directed by | Billy Bob Thornton |
Written by | Billy Bob Thornton Tom Epperson |
Produced by | Alexander Rodnyansky Geyer Kosinski |
Starring | Robert Duvall John Hurt Billy Bob Thornton Kevin Bacon Robert Patrick Ray Stevenson Katherine LaNasa Frances O'Connor |
Cinematography | Barry Markowitz |
Edited by | Lauren Zuckerman |
Music by | Owen Easterling Hatfield |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Anchor Bay Films Aldamisa Releasing |
Release dates | |
Running time | 122 minutes |
Countries | United States Russia |
Language | English |
Box office | $79,178 [2] |
Jayne Mansfield's Car is a 2012 drama film directed by Billy Bob Thornton, marking his first fiction directing job since 2000's All the Pretty Horses . Thornton also stars alongside Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, Frances O'Connor, Ron White, and Robert Patrick. [3] The film had its world premiere at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012. [4] The film was released in limited release on September 13, 2013. [1]
One of the locations in which the movie was shot is Cedartown, Georgia, USA. [5] Exterior home shots were filmed in Troup County, Georgia, [6] while additional scenes were shot in Decatur, Georgia. [7] For the Greek Revival home, the interior shots were filmed at The Bailey-Tebault House located in Griffin, Georgia. [6]
The film is set in 1969 Morrison, Alabama. The Caldwell family includes three World War II veterans, their sister Donna, and a patriarch, Jim, who is a World War I veteran. The Caldwells are involved in a cultural clash with the Bedfords, a family which includes Phillip, a World War II veteran, his sister Camilla, and their father Kingsley, also a World War I veteran.
The Bedfords are a London family in Morrison for the funeral of Kingsley's wife, who is the ex-wife of Jim Caldwell and the mother of Caldwell's children. Duvall described the film in an interview as "putting Tennessee Williams in the back seat". [8]
The film's title refers to the automobile in which movie star Jayne Mansfield was supposedly decapitated in 1967. When a nearby town has a side show displaying the vehicle, Jim Caldwell takes Kingsley Bedford along to gawk at the grisly artifact.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 35% of 37 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10.The website's consensus reads: "Jayne Mansfield's Car assembles an impressive number of talented actors, but the screenplay — co-written by director and star Billy Bob Thornton — never gives them much of anything to do." [10] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [11]
PopMatters contributor J.C. Macek III found criticism in Thornton's unfocused direction of the multiple stories and the screenplay being more suited for a mini-series than a condensed two hour film filled with vignettes. He did however give praise to the performances for adding substance to their given arcs, singling out Bacon, O'Connor and White as the highlights. [12] Norm Schrager from Paste commended Thornton's direction for bringing out great performances from the cast and his scenes having competent execution but felt the film overall suffered from "a distinctive lack of cohesiveness" throughout the script in its handling of plot concepts and themes, concluding that: "[T]here's something here. It just needs a clearer road to travel." [13] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap also voiced problems with Thornton and Epperson's screenplay, calling it "too sprawling and [too] tidy" with its generational family drama and misuse of plot devices towards the third act. [14] Claudia Puig of USA Today felt the familial themes were elevated by "intriguingly impressionistic cinematography and a strong ensemble cast", but criticized the characterization of both families for containing stereotypical rednecks and stuffy aristocrats that conduct "tedious monologues and theatrical speechifying" and the misuse of the film's title for lacking "insight and depth." She concluded that: "Self-indulgent, heavy-handed and lumbering, Jayne Mansfield's Car is not a wreck, but it's certainly a vehicle for boredom." [15]
Billy Bob Thornton is an American film actor, filmmaker, singer, and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. For his role in A Simple Plan (1998) he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is also known for his film roles in One False Move (1992), Dead Man (1995), U Turn (1997), Primary Colors (1998), Armageddon (1998), Monster's Ball (2001), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Bad Santa (2003), and Friday Night Lights (2004). He has written a variety of films including A Family Thing (1996) and The Gift (2000) and has directed films such as Daddy and Them (2001), All the Pretty Horses (2000), and Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012).
Cedartown is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,190. Cedartown is the principal city of the Cedartown micropolitan area, which is included in the Atlanta–Athens-Clarke–Sandy Springs combined statistical area.
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Sling Blade is a 1996 American drama film written, directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Set in Arkansas, it is the story of intellectually challenged Karl Childers and the friendship he develops with a boy and his mother. Karl was released from a psychiatric hospital where he had grown up due to having killed his mother and her lover when he was 12 years old. It also stars Dwight Yoakam, J. T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, and Robert Duvall.
The Apostle is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Robert Duvall, who stars in the title role. John Beasley, Farrah Fawcett, Walton Goggins, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Joe Shaver also appear. It was filmed on location in and around Saint Martinville and Des Allemands, Louisiana with some establishing shots done in the Dallas, Texas area. The majority of the film was shot in the Louisiana areas of Sunset and Lafayette.
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress and Playboy Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s, Mansfield was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. Although her film career was short-lived, she had several box-office successes, and won a Theatre World Award and Golden Globe Award, and soon gained the nickname of Hollywood's "smartest dumb blonde."
The Gift is a 2000 American paranormal thriller film directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson based on the alleged psychic experiences of Thornton's mother.
Janet Vivian Hooks was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her tenure on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where she was a repertory player from 1986 to 1991. After leaving SNL, she continued to make cameo appearances until 1994. Her subsequent work included a regular role on the last two seasons of Designing Women, a recurring role on 3rd Rock from the Sun, and a number of other film and television roles, including on 30 Rock and The Simpsons.
Steve Rubell was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York City disco Studio 54.
David Bacon was an American stage and film actor.
Frances Ann O'Connor is an Australian actress and director. She appears in roles in the films Mansfield Park, Bedazzled, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Timeline. O'Connor won an AACTA Award for her performance in Blessed, and also earned two Golden Globe Award nominations for her performances in Madame Bovary and The Missing. In 2022, her debut feature as writer and director, Emily, was released.
John Patrick Amedori is an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Gabe Mitchell in Dear White People.
Irma Dolores Player Hall is an American actress who has appeared in films and television shows since the early 1970s. Hall often played matriarchal figures in films including A Family Thing, The Ladykillers and Soul Food, in which she portrayed Josephine "Big Mama Joe" Joseph, a role she reprised in the television series of the same name. Hall earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for portraying the character in the film version.
Katherine LaNasa is an American actress. She starred in films Jayne Mansfield's Car, The Campaign, and The Frozen Ground. On television, LaNasa had a leading role in the NBC sitcom Three Sisters (2001–2002) and Truth be Told (2019–23), appeared in recurring roles on Judging Amy, Two and a Half Men, Big Love and Longmire, and starred in the short-lived dramas Love Monkey (2006), Deception (2013), Satisfaction (2014–15) and Imposters (2017–18). In 2020, LaNasa portrayed Gloria Grandbilt in the musical dramedy series Katy Keene.
It Happened in Athens is a 1962 American sports comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox. It is directed by Andrew Marton and features Jayne Mansfield, newcomer Trax Colton, Maria Xénia, Nico Minardos, Roger Browne in his debut, and Olympic champion Bob Mathias.
The Texas Film Hall of Fame honors Texans who have made a significant contribution to film or filmmaking, as well as non-Texans who have made significant strides in the advancement of the Texan film industry. Classic Texas films are also honored, with a member of the cast or crew accepting on behalf of their colleagues. New inductees are announced at the annual Texas Film Awards, organised by the Austin Film Society.
Jayne Mansfield was an actress, singer, Playboy playmate and stage show performer who had an enormous impact on popular culture of the late 1950s despite her limited success in Hollywood. She has remained a well-known subject in popular culture ever since. During a period between 1956 and 1957, there were about 122,000 lines of copy and 2,500 photographs that appeared in newspapers. In an article on her in the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (1999), Dennis Russel said that "Although many people have never seen her movies, Jayne Mansfield remains, long after her death, one of the most recognizable icons of 1950s celebrity culture." In the novel Child of My Heart (2004) by Alice McDermott, a National Book Award winning writer, the 1950s is referred to as "in those Marilyn Monroe/Jayne Mansfield days". R. L. Rutsky and Bill Osgerby has claimed that it was Mansfield along with Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot who made the bikini popular.
The Boxmasters is an American rock band founded in Bellflower, California, in 2007 by actor Billy Bob Thornton and Grammy Award-winning recording engineer J.D. Andrew. The group has released thirteen albums, with another one being released on May 5, 2023
The Judge is a 2014 American legal drama film directed by David Dobkin. The film stars Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall with Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard and Billy Bob Thornton in supporting roles. The film was released in the United States on October 10, 2014. It received mixed reviews; critics praised the performances of Duvall and Downey and Thomas Newman's score. However, they criticized the formulaic nature of its script and the lack of development for supporting characters.
A special election for Ohio's 12th congressional district was held August 7, 2018, following the resignation of Republican U.S. Representative Pat Tiberi. The Republican Party nominated State Senator Troy Balderson for the seat while the Democratic Party nominated Franklin County Recorder Danny O'Connor. Balderson led O'Connor in preliminary results; however, the race was not officially called on election night. Counting of outstanding ballots began on August 18 and was completed on August 24. The outstanding ballots did not change the margin enough to trigger an automatic recount, so Balderson was declared the winner on August 24.