Bad Santa - (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0307987) I'm really looking forward to his. :( I wouldn't worry about John Ritter.
Quote from: ShanghaiOrangeI wouldn't worry about John Ritter. (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0307987)
He's the only thing that sort of hurt my anticipation for this...him and the coens not directing, I still think it'll be cool though, Terry Zwigoff could be cool...I like Ghost World.
I guess I need to see the trailer before I see this one...it'll definitely be a rental if nothing else.
Aw, he's not that bad. He cracked me up in "SlingBlade," and it's cool to hear him and Billy Bob are teaming up again for "Bad Santa."
And who doesn't love "Ghost World."
"Freedom of speech, baby!"
Quote from: ebeaman69Terry Zwigoff could be cool
'Crumb' is one of the best documentaries ever. 'Ghost World' is pretty hype too. And with a Coen brothers script? No way will this film be bad.
Actually, I think it is, "rock and roll, baby, freedom of speech!" I'm looking forward to this one.
Quote from: GhostboyQuote from: ebeaman69Terry Zwigoff could be cool
'Crumb' is one of the best documentaries ever. 'Ghost World' is pretty hype too. And with a Coen brothers script? No way will this film be bad.
I've had this on my radar for a while too. The Coen brothers have yet to disappoint me.
This seems pretty cool to me, too.
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After looking at those caps, my gut tells me this movie's gonna kick solid ASS!!!
As a sidenote, I'm happy to see that Me, Myself and Irene midget again.
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Now that John Ritter's dead, I want to see this even more. :(
i am looking forward to this, but its going to flop hard. its an R rated movie about santa claus.
The draft I read of the script was absurdly wonderful. Thornton tips strippers w/ scratch off lottery tickets, has sex w/ fat women in dept. store dressing rooms, vomits everywhere, and other awfulness occurs. Yeah, probably not going to make much, but I suspect it will have a following. Some friends saw an early version and rave about it. Can't wait.
Quote from: themodernage02i am looking forward to this, but its going to flop hard. its an R rated movie about santa claus.
After seeing Crumb and Ghost World, I can conclude that there's a method to Zwigoff's madness.
Quote from: GloriaI heard that Bill Murray dropped out of the project and was later replaced with Billy Bob Thornton.
Yes, Bill Murray was originally attached, but dropped out for unspecified reasons.
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: GloriaI heard that Bill Murray dropped out of the project and was later replaced with Billy Bob Thornton.
Yes, Bill Murray was originally attached, but dropped out for unspecified reasons.
Hmmmm.....curious.
Thanks for the confirmation, MacGuffin.
Quicktime Trailer here. (http://progressive.stream.aol.com/aol/us/moviefone/movies/2003/badsanta_015660/badsanta_trlr_dl.mov)
can't wait for this fuckin flick....one of the few films to look forward to in this dreary holiday season that's filled with shit.
much less excited after seeing the trailer. thanks, trailer!
Quote from: governor jimcan't wait for this fuckin flick....one of the few films to look forward to in this dreary holiday season that's filled with shit.
Your getting coal from Santa this christmas if you keep that attitude :wink:
Quote from: picolasmuch less excited after seeing the trailer. thanks, trailer!
I'm with Chewing Picolas on this one, however, I think they're just trying to market it as some kind of christmas Problem Child... learning from eachother and what not.
yeah. after watching that i said to myself, "wait a minute, the guy who made ghost world made this? but this looks so...bad."
Richard Linklater directed School Of Rock.
The Coens Bros. directed Intolerable Cruelty.
Both of those had crappy looking previews and ended up being good.
Hell, Kill Bill even looked lame.
Trailers suck these days.
I saw this preview before Kill Bill and I must say it looks fucking terrible. And stupid. Yup, terrible and stupid.
Quote from: ShanghaiOrangeRichard Linklater directed School Of Rock.
The Coens Bros. directed Intolerable Cruelty.
Both of those had crappy looking previews and ended up being good.
Hell, Kill Bill even looked lame.
Trailers suck these days.
Exactly. I'm avoiding this trailer...
I think the trailer to this looks pretty good, although it makes it look like Terry Zwigoff is going to rely on a lot of slapstick for comedy. But some physical humor wouldn't be too bad.
Guys, ignore the horrible trailer and see this movie. It's really good. I saw it last night and you could just sense the uncomfortableness in the audience. It has EXACTLY the same dark humor and pessimistic view of humanity as "Ghost World". You can definitely tell that Terry Zwigoff directed this. This is not a movie for kids; even teenagers probably won't like it because it's not silly enough...it's a very dark, dark, black comedy. There are a few moments of physical comedy, but pretty much everything that's in the trailer is a severely edited version of what's in the real movie. Like Billy Bob actually says "I'm on my fucking lunch break" when that kid interrupts him, and the midget guy says to Bernie Mac "These lips were on your wife's pussy last night.." This movie earned it's R-rating for sure. There's Billy Bob drinking (a lot), cursing at children, screwing women while dressed in his Santa outfit....the movie it reminded me the most of was Bob Goldthwait's "Shakes the Clown".
I have no idea how they are going to market this movie, because it's really a comedy/drama intended for adults. It's a miracle it even got released. But you definitely shouldn't pass it up because it probably won't be out for long.
I was wandering around during my lunch break and this guy asks me if I want to see Bad Santa in 15 minutes (there is a theatre nearby). For a moment, I considered telling my boss I wasn't feeling too hot so I could leave early and slip into the movie.
DISNEY IS FUMING OVER BILLY BOB THORNTON'S 'BAD SANTA'
After last month’s report that Disney top executives were distancing itself from Quentin Tarantino’s fourth film the blood-filled kung-fu movie, Kill Bill Vol.1, where the enigmatic director told a reporter that … “girl or boy you must go and see KILL BILL and you will have a damn good time.’
Well according to the Drudgereport.com, Disney, who is known for their family friendly movies, is now fuming over the upcoming film ‘Bad Santa,’ from Ghost World Director Terry Zwigoff. A studio source told the news website "Nothing appears sacred any more, this is just not in the spirit of Walt Disney."
Bad Santa is described as a dark comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton as Willie T. Soke a criminal ripping off unsuspecting mall-goers while disguised as a shopping centre Santa. Although the mean spirited character is shown as a tattooed Santa having sex with barmaids, swearing at children and drunkenly wrecking shop displays, he is suppose to have redeeming qualities and evidently find the true meaning of Christmas.
Bad Santa opens next week on Nov. 26.
That's so sad, Disney needs to get over their fucking image. People will still go see their kids movies, I never even knew Miramax was a subsidiary of Disney. If they try to pull some shit with Bad Santa, I'm gonna be really pissed, because this is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time.
Hahahaha, Disney's "image". Wasn't old Walt a nazi sympathizer or something?
This movie looks like a good afternoon watch for a laugh or two. I'm gonna go see it, if it gets any release here.
what i cant understand is, how did disney read the script, agree to fund the movie, watch dailies, see the finished cut, pay all this money for the marketing, and decide 2 weeks before its release they were concerned about all this stuff? its not like it snuck up on them. why dont they just not make movies they have a problem with, and let another studio have them. i didnt realize bad santa was disney, but it cant be worse than The Santa Clause 2.
Bad Santa is a Disney movie? I didn't think they made "R" rated films. Somebody in the front office apparently wasn't paying attention (i.e. Michael Eisner) Remember him from the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights when you were a kid? He did the introduction to all the movies. Sorry, just had a flashback from my youth. He must be retarded to have not realized what kind of film was being made.
Just opened yesterday...anybody seen it?
Sweet Jews for Jesus that was one funny movie! I haven't laughed that hard during a film in quite some time. This was like the film to piss on the boots of all the other christmas films ever made. Thornton is so nasty and so unlikeable...but so freaking hillarious. It is sort of a one note premise, but just when you think they have sucked that one note dry, they come in with something even more disturbing and you just have to love it. Please go check this out now...it truly is a wonder any studio would fund a christmas movie like this, but it's truly a blessing they did. So I leave you with some wisdom from Bad Santa.......Shit Happens...When You Party Naked. And that, my friends, is just the kind of film that it is.
Nothing like Bad Santa to put you into the holiday spirit. Saw it last night, and it's wonderfully funny, dark, and mean-spirited. Loved every minute of it.
Just saw it and loved it! It wasn't really what I expected in a good way. It was like the anti-Elf movie that I expected it to be but then I automatically thought it was going to be trying to hard...like pulling a muscle to be controversial or whatever...being that R rated christmas movie that everybody hates to love. I'm glad it wasn't like that. It was much better than that, much smarter. It was unsentimental as can be with tons of funny parts...and there were even parts that were pretty damn heartwarming if you ask me, some of the most oddly moving stuff I've seen. I really liked it, cool movie. John Ritter went out with the first good movie I've seen him in since Problem Child 2 and that makes me happy, he didn't just go out with some throaway piece of trash...this is something different.
Definitely was the Anti-Elf. What a wonderfully profane movie. It's no masterpiece of cinema, but damn if I wasn't howling at several scenes. I was kind of surprised/amused at how many kids were in the theatre-- the parents obviously having no idea what they were getting into.
And ebeaman:
Ritter was in Sling Blade, which I think was much better than PC2. He was friends w/ Thornton since they both were on the crappy sitcome 'Hearts Afire'. And 'Panic' is worth checking out too.
I really loved it too! Terry Zwigoff is brilliant! I loved the way it opens with the piano music (which I think was also used in Waking Life) and we see him at the bar. But it opened on such a down-beat note that I was kinda afraid that the movie would be too depressing to be funny. But they pulled it off. I also loved the fact that they used the theme from Eyes Wide Shut later on. Billy Bob Thorton is just so funny with his dead-pan deliveries. But as the movie went on, I began to care about him more (which is a good thing). Only complaint : could have had a better ending.
My God I haven't laughed this much with a movie in a long time. If you laugh at the PG commercials, wait till you see/hear the complete uncensored lines of dialogue. Billy Bob was brilliant. He was perfect at spouting out the foul language with just right amount of attitude. Watching him with the kids, asking them what they wanted, was priceless. The main little boy was pure innocence, and the relationship between the two was funny, yet touching. I felt more Christmas sweetness and caring in this film than I did in "Elf".
Quote from: MacGuffinMy God I haven't laughed this much with a movie in a long time. I felt more Christmas sweetness and caring in this film than I did in "Elf".
good. i'm simultaneously dreading/looking forward to seeing this from the awful reviews/previews and the great people who made it. ill probably go see it next weekend.
i was disappointed in this one. as a regular studio film it wasn't bad, but i was looking for something a little more from zwigoff, a director who i am really excited about.
everyone talks about how crude and ruthless it was, but i guess i didn't see it that way. there was still quite a bit "spirit of christmas" stuff in it too...not as much as in elf, but more than i expected. and what's w/ the recycled music? and not just from christmas movies...music from eyes wide shut was in it. what the f was up with that?
But it wasn't like it was original score from Eyes Wide Shut or anything. That was a pretty well known classical piece.
Anyway, I loved this movie. A lot. Just enough Christmas spirit to keep it from being TOO mean, but damn if it didn't pull any punches. Effin' brilliant. That wooden pickle and singing walnut...jesus christ.
the "going to the bathroom on mom's dishes" line was pretty damn hilarious as well.
wow, it's that funny eh? might have to check it out.
Talk about the power of good word of mouth:
Bad Santa is Being Naughty at the Box Office
Source: Dimension Films
Dimension Films' Bad Santa took over the North American box office on Monday after grossing $16.8 million in its first weekend of release. Dimension plans to expand the film a few hundred theaters each week through Christmas. The film's opening weekend and strong exit surveys indicate that Bad Santa will continue to remain strong among a wide-range of moviegoers.
This holiday season the traditional Christmas tale will never be the same with the cleverly twisted, merrily irreverent story of a Santa so bad he's wickedly funny. Terry Zwigoff's Bad Santa stars Billy Bob Thornton as one of the most crooked, corrupted and downright hysterical Kris Kringles ever to grace the screen. Inspired by a mix of movie classics including the outrageous one-liners and outcasts of The Bad News Bears and the riotous impertinence of South Park, with a dash of the holiday spirit of It's a Wonderful Life, albeit one that would make Capra wince, Bad Santa is a Christmas comedy unlike any other.
Bad Santa also stars Bernie Mac, John Ritter, Lauren Graham, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Cloris Leachman and Lauren Tom.
Quote from: themodernage02what i cant understand is, how did disney read the script, agree to fund the movie, watch dailies, see the finished cut, pay all this money for the marketing, and decide 2 weeks before its release they were concerned about all this stuff? its not like it snuck up on them. why dont they just not make movies they have a problem with, and let another studio have them. i didnt realize bad santa was disney, but it cant be worse than The Santa Clause 2.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/answ-man/sho-sunday-ebert30.html
p.s. - there's also an interesting question about Kubrick
Been looking forward to this movie since I first heard about it at the beginning of this year - any idea when it's released in the UK? I thought maybe the tone would be something like Death To Smoochy... is it? I hope it'll be even darker, and sounds like it'll be kinda depressing too. Sounds like a kick-ass Christmas movie.
Oh, and yeah the trailer looked shit, but then studios really have no idea how to properly market non-mainstream films really, do they? I mean look at the ad campaignes for stuff like The Good Girl or Solaris. i don't mean the amount of money spent on them - just that the ads completely mislead the audience - so that a mainstream audience will be disappointed by the film becuase they expected something simpler, and less mainstream audiences (like you or me) might be put off becuase the trailer makes the whole thing look like standard studio shit. This is one of the reasons I get so annoyed when people ask what kind of film it is... good films don't come neatly packaged in a genre!!! Anyway, I'll take my rant elsewhere. I just think filmmakers have yet to realise how indie-ish films can still make a lot of money - the superb films are out there, but the business of film still serves Hollywood exclusively. Something has to change.
Does that make sense to you guys?
This movie was hilarious! It would have been so easy to screw this film up and make the audience quickly tire of the drinking and cursing Santa, but it was extremely funny. The jokes were more than his saying "fuck" in front of the children. I was afraid that the scenes with the kid would lead to something extremely sentimental and changing Billy Bob's heart, but it didn't end with him learning the true meaning of Christmas or anything like that.
My only complaint is Lauren Graham's character. She pops up throughout the film, but isn't that important for the plot, though the car scene is pretty funny. She was shown to have a weird Santa fetish, why not show a little more weirdness to her character?
The theater was packed when I came in, and everyone was enjoying the film immensely. Two couples walked out.
I expected a lot of people to walk out on this because the movie was so crowded that it was sold-out material when I saw it. But nobody did it. I think half of the audience was laughing while the other half was just sitting there in depression.
But, didn't anyone feel in the first couple of minutes that the movie might not work? It starts off on such a down-beat note that it looked it would be too depressing to be funny and would instead be some kind of tragic character study. But they really did pull it off and it was hilarious.
Quote from: GhostboyNo way will this film be bad.
i wish that were true. i dont know what sort of crack everyone else was smoking before they saw this movie, but it must've been pretty good cause this movie was pretty terrible. how in the world could a Zwigoff film produced by the Coen Bros. be terrible? i dont know, but this is.
the movie is a one joke premise that isnt particularly that funny to begin with. oh, hahah i get it. he's drunk all the time and every other word out of his mouth is "fuck", EVEN in front of kids! i am just lapping this up.....for an hour and a half. becauset thats it. it doesnt expand on that idea, or do anything other than that which is completely predictable. which, would be fine, if it were atleast funnier. but it aint. there are 'curse words' every other sentence and after about 10 minutes, its not funny anymore. and you become numb to them. and then it just starts to get sad at how terrible it is. the opening narration and credits sequence was promising and i could feel myself beginning to enjoy it, but its all downhill from there.
there isnt hardly a touch of Zwigoffs style or humor throughout this lowbrow piece of shit. i felt that Billy Bob's was not very funny in the lead and for this movie to work, they needed someone like Bill Murray who has natural comic timing who would add the right touches to make more of the jokes hit right. there is no subtlety in this whole film of any kind. it panders to the lowest common denominator. and it isnt even clever about it. "ahhhh anal sex with fat chicks!" i'm dying with laughter already.
shows like south park or family guy, are able to use crude humor involving such topics and do it successfully because the writing is smart. its clever and its funny. there is none of that here. any episode of Family Guy is 100 times more clever and funnie than any 30 minutes out of this piece of shit. there were a few times where i laughed but really there is no 'smart humor' there. no subversive elements, nothing other than the lowest of lowbrow mainstream movies parading as something edgy or indie because of the talent behind it (weinsteins, coens, zwigoff). its not. i just watched 8 crazxy nights the other night, which was TERRIBLE. but i think Bad Santa was worse. even the supporting players like Bernie Mac and John Ritter who seemed to be trying their best were just missing the mark. the little kid was probably the funniest thing about it and he aint THAT funny.
how Zwigoff could miss the mark this badly is beyond me. what a disappointment. there's more, i just forgot the rest of my rant from a few hours ago.
My best friend's wife felt exactly the same way as you, right down to the Bill Murray comment. Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars, Entertainment Weekly gave it a D. Guess it just rubs some people the right way. I'm glad I'm one of 'em.
I enjoyed Thornton's delivery of the character as I think the film would've been too "Quick Change" with Murray. I found Thornton to be very funny.
this was like bad lieutenant but with santa. which is a good thing
when i saw the movie, there was a family with 2 kids, and they were laughing at all the cursing and i head a "why is he always drunk?" question from a little girl. heheheh
I think and hope that my experience with this film will replicate Cecil's.
Its good for the cheap drunk jokes and how far some of those jokes go, but nothing really that great for a comedy. As usual, rigged love interest and sentimentality keep it commonplace and make all the raunchy jokes just look like cheap ploys for laughter. It should have went for satire from start to finish or something better than this.
Wow, I can't bare to read all of the comments b/c I just popped in to say I think this was the worst movie I may have ever seen. I usually like gratuitous cursing but this was just not funny. Poor poor John Ritter for this is to be his legacy. Poor Bernie Mac. He's way to talented to be brought down to this level. Where's the guy that made Slingblade? Tony Cox? Haha funny cursing midget....ok, I get it. Another role please. It's like they set up Thorton to be a likable opportunist...but he's really just a jerk.
Spoiler
QuoteHow did BBT get the shiner? Where did it go in the next scene? I bet that was a good scene we never got to see. Who was in his motel room? What did they find? How did the kid get his hand to stop bleeding? Did BBT use the wooden pickle on Sue? That would have been a scene. Ok, so if grandma isn't dead, what's the point of acting like she is and then popping her up?
Oh yeah, let's introduce a new character in the second half and we'll make her asian so we can get a joke in.
Ug, I can't think about it anymore...
I'm really disapointed that people were expecting any more out of this movie... really.
It was funny.. if you didn't find it funny, then you're not into that kind of humor (the humor was well done, you're just not into it) fine, move on. What else were you expecting from this?
Actually I beg your pardon. Just because I don't think it was successful doesn't mean I don't get it or I don't understand that humor. I know what they were going for, I can appreciate it, but feel they failed at their attempt. It's low brow humor and even at that it's done pretty pathetically. What I expected is smart satire, what I got was what should have been a first draft of a script. Completely unpolished and unrefined. Low brow humor is fine, vaudeville knew how to do it. These folks did not. It's like the difference between burlesque and strippers. There is a very fine line between art and pornography. And a very fine line between wit and sarcasm...and appearantly a very fine line between humor and drivel. I can tell you a story about bugs but it doesn't make me Kafka.
Quote from: metroshaneActually I beg your pardon. Just because I don't think it was successful doesn't mean I don't get it or I don't understand that humor. I know what they were going for, I can appreciate it, but feel they failed at their attempt. It's low brow humor and even at that it's done pretty pathetically. What I expected is smart satire, what I got was what should have been a first draft of a script. Completely unpolished and unrefined. Low brow humor is fine, vaudeville knew how to do it. These folks did not. It's like the difference between burlesque and strippers. There is a very fine line between art and pornography. And a very fine line between wit and sarcasm...and appearantly a very fine line between humor and drivel. I can tell you a story about bugs but it doesn't make me Kafka.
Where does the talent of Bernie Mac fit in
QuoteWhere does the talent of Bernie Mac fit in
It's is my opinion that Bernie Mac is an extremely witty comedian. He's more on the Richard Pryor side than say the Eddie Griffin. I'm not saying he's pryor, but knows the line. His comedy is funny and his TV show has lots of heart.
Quote from: metroshaneQuoteWhere does the talent of Bernie Mac fit in
It's is my opinion that Bernie Mac is an extremely witty comedian. He's more on the Richard Pryor side than say the Eddie Griffin. I'm not saying he's pryor, but knows the line. His comedy is funny and his TV show has lots of heart.
Okay, he has more heart than most other stuff out there, but I'm really tired from hearing about his family.
Dimension Home Video have announced the region one release of Bad Santa which stars Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham and Brett Kelly. This twisted, merrily irreverent comedy will be available to own from the 22nd June this year and should set you back somewhere in the region of $29.99. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Extras will include hilarious deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes special, a John Ritter tribute, outtakes and more. I'm afraid we don't have the artwork yet, but we'll bring you that shortly.
nothing says christmas like june... :roll:
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Dimension Home Video's artwork for an unrated edition of Bad Santa which stars Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham and Brett Kelly. Nothing is known about how much extra footage will be included on this release right now, but the disc will be available to own alongside the theatrical edition from the 22nd June this year. The disc will retail at around $29.99.
oh god
Quote from: Pedro the Wombatoh god
Yeah.
I imagine they'll give us 3.85 seconds more of Billy Bob rump humping that blonde girl against the pinball machine.
Yeah baby! Unrated..
Or the woman in the dressing room...
Quote from: RaviOr the woman in the dressing room...
she wont be shitting right for weeks!
Aww...I should've know they would pull something like this. Stick with the original version.
Quote from: QuoyleAww...I should've know they would pull something like this. Stick with NOT SEEING EITHER VERSION EVER.
the 'der' is ridiculously awful.
Hmm...I think my words were a little twisted around there :wink:
http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/bad-santa7.html
Title: Bad Santa
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton
Released: 10th October 2006
SRP: $19.99
Further Details:
Dimension Home Video has announced a 88 minute director's cut of Bad Santa which stars Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, and the late John Ritter. The disc will be available to own from the 10th October, and should retail at around $19.99. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Extras will include a new audio commentary With Director Terry Zwigoff And Editor Robert Hoffman, deleted and alternate scenes, a Behind the Scenes Special: Not Your Typical Christmas Movie featurette, and lastly, a Badder Santa Gag Reel.
Who would buy this?
Um, people who like the movie, and maybe would want to see Zwigoff's cut? This is an actual director's cut (screened at the last Ebert-fest), no horseshit-unrated-version like every other dvd these days.
From the Suicide Girls interview in the Art School Confidential thread:
Quote from: MacGuffin on April 30, 2006, 09:52:15 AMDRE: How was it having such a big mainstream hit with Bad Santa?
Zwigoff: I liked the film but I liked my version better. I thought my film was much more moving and just as funny if not funnier. When I got that script, I could see it was going to be a big hit if it was marketed in a certain way. First thing you need to have a chance of making a successful commercial film is a concept you can get across in a ten second TV ad. With Bad Santa you can do that. With Art School Confidential or Ghost World, it's sort of tough. I do remember one of the Weinsteins telling me that if Miramax had released Ghost World, they could have cut a trailer for that thing and made 50 million dollars. I don't doubt it.
DRE: How long ago did you do your directors cut of Bad Santa?
Zwigoff: I did it when it became clear that they were going to go with a different cut for the theatrical version. I asked Bob Weinstein if he would preserve my cut, and at least put it on DVD and he agreed to do it. In fact they put up a lot of money to do it right. But then they sold their company to Disney, so Disney owns it now. I went to them and asked if they would put it out and they kindly agreed to do so.
DRE: Did you see Badder Santa?
Zwigoff: I did. It's uneven. All the scenes in there didn't quite work out for me. It works on a certain level where there are scenes in there I like and other scenes I don't like. The whole thing doesn't quite have this consistency to it. My cut is a character study of Billy's character. It generally makes his character arc and his relationship with that boy much more truthful and ultimately much more human. The audiences in the test screening wanted Santa to be nicer to the little boy. But that wouldn't make any sense. I always thought of Billy's character as a W.C. Fields character. He has to put up with this pest. Eventually when Billy has affection for him, it is earned. Therefore it just seems more truthful and more emotional to me.
Quote from: Weak2ndAct on May 18, 2006, 09:18:17 PM
Um, people who like the movie, and maybe would want to see Zwigoff's cut? This is an actual director's cut (screened at the last Ebert-fest), no horseshit-unrated-version like every other dvd these days.
But that's part of what I'm getting at. People don't EVER want to see less of a comedy. How many people who liked the movie would fork over another $15 to see 10 minutes less than they already have? I'd like to see Zwigoff's cut but unless that version is REALLY that much better than the theatrical or unrated cuts, I'm not going to buy it. A shorter cut of a comedy is going to be damn near impossible to sell and would only appeal in the least to film geeks who love the movie. Otherwise, it's: "Hey kids, here's the director's cut of Bad Santa... some of your favorite gags may not be in this one."
Exclusive: Good Vibes for Bad Santa 2
Billy Bob Thornton to reprise his role?
Bad Santa, perhaps the most off-beat comedy of Billy Bob Thornton's career, might have enough punch for a sequel. Thornton tells IGN that execs at Dimension have "mentioned the idea a few times," but nothing is definitely in place. "I can say they're interested because it has been brought to my attention. But I don't know where exactly things stand with it. Right now I think it's still just nothing more than an idea."
In the event a concrete opportunity should arise to reprise the role of Willie, the shopping-mall Santa with a shop-lifting tendency, Thornton says, "I'd probably do it. It was such a ball making the first film, I'd be more than happy to bring him back. The guy's just a really fun character to play."
Thornton says he's also interested in seeing where a screenwriter might take a sequel. However, he does have one firm preference: Willie must remain a bad guy.
"At the end of the first movie, we're both in jail, so the story could really go anywhere from there. But for my character, I suspect there might be a temptation to make him more of a softy or make him more of a likeable guy. He's really just a bad guy, and if you mess with that, you're pulling the essence out of the guy. He's just bad. He'd still have to be bad."
Director Terry Zwigoff has yet to inform Thornton he's interested in a sequel. In the event Zwigoff doesn't sign on, Dimension may still go ahead with the movie (which, it has been rumored, could be known as BS2) .Zwigoff's participation would, of course, also factor into Thornton's decision to return.
"I don't know if Terry wants to do it," says Thornton. "I don't know where his interest level is. But he'd be an important part of it. Without him it wouldn't be nearly as good."