Billy Bob's Filmography
CHRYSTAL (2005)
Distributor
Chrystal Productions/Meathouse
Productions/ Panache Pictures
Director and Writer
Ray McKinnon
Character
Joe
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Latest News
CHYRSTAL is now out on home video
Plot
Fleeing the police in a high-speed chase, Joe (played by Billy
Bob) winds up crashing his car, killing his toddler son and
leaving his wife, Chrystal (Lisa Blount) severely injured.
Fast-forward 16 years, Joe is released from prison and returns
to his home in the Ozarks to find Chrystal still wrestling with her physical and
psychological injuries. Joe moves back in with her, and
although they barely communicate, he begins to look after her in
the hopes of making some amends for the damage he has done to
her life. A local drug dealer (Ray McKinnon) tries to
pressure Joe into returning to a life of crime, but Joe
refuses. A reckoning is in the offing.
What Billy Bob Gets To Do
He gets to demonstrate his welding skills as he builds an
abstract metal sculpture.
Backstory
Shot on location in Eureka Springs,
Arkansas, CHRYSTAL represents a new chapter in the career of
Arkansas-born actress Lisa Blount (who starred with Billy Bob in
SOUTH OF RENO in 1988).
Blount gave a moving acceptance speech at the 2001 Oscars (when
she and husband Ray McKinnon won the award for Best Film Short
Subject for THE ACCOUNTANT), acknowledging that a life's work for an actress in
Hollywood can undergo many permutations. Wisely adding the
skill of producer to her talents, she is back in the spotlight,
with CHRYSTAL debuting at this year's Sundance Festival. Ray
McKinnon wrote, directed, and costars in CHRYSTAL, along with Harry Dean Stanton,
Grace Zabriskie (remember how her husband named the asteroid
after her in ARMAGEDDON?), Walton
Goggins (a Billy Bob threepeater who was also in THE
APOSTLE and DADDY AND THEM),
and rockabilly singer James Intveld (who was Johnny Depp's
singing voice in CRY BABY).
But wait, there's more backstory! If you manage to see THE
ACCOUNTANT (which we did a few weeks ago), you'll see that Ray
McKinnon (who plays the actual accountant in the film) managed
to write more than a few admiring references to Billy Bob, SLING
BLADE, and Arkansas movie success stories into the
script. If you can find this little gem of a short, do
watch it. It has some of the best-observed dialogue we've
heard in a long time, and it manages to be funny and grimly
poignant at the same time.
Still
more (thanks to our plucky Planeteer Judi): Apparently THE
ACCOUNTANT inspired the Drive-By Truckers' song "Sink
Hole." The Drive-By Truckers contribute three songs
to the soundtrack of CHRYSTAL.
Awards
(for CHRYSTAL)
Sundance Festival (Grand Jury
Prize, Dramatic - Ray McKinnon) - 2004 - Nomination
Relevant Links
IMDb Link
Official Site
Fan
Mariel's Lisa Blount Page (beware annoying pop-up window!)
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