Billy Bob's Filmography

SIMPLE PLAN (1998)

Movie Quote
JACOB:  I'm thirty-three, Hank, and I've never even kissed a woman.  If being rich'll change that, then fine.  I don't care if it's just for the money.

Plot
Adapted by Scott B. Smith from his acclaimed novel, A SIMPLE PLAN stars out with a simple plot.  Three men--Jacob Mitchell (Billy Bob), a sad-sack, unemployed Wisconsin boy, his happily married brother Hank (Bill Paxton), and Jacob's ne'er-do-well best friend Lou (Brent Briscoe)--stumble across a bag filled with money from a botched kidnapping pay-off. The more the three men try to hide their ill-gotten gains, the further they become ensnared in their own web of deceit.  

What Billy Bob Gets To Do
The heart of this film is Billy Bob, whose Oscar^®-nominated work cut close to the bone for anyone who has ever been the unpopular kid, the perpetual loser at love, the always left behind. We bawl like girly girls every time we see this movie, but then again . . . we ARE girly girls. 

Backstory
Can you believe that this emotionally complex, chilling cautionary tale of easy money and its horrendous consequences came from Sam Raimi, the man who gave us THE EVIL DEAD and SPIDERMAN?  Well, yes, we can, when you consider how much Jacob has in common with the under-confident Peter Parker.  Billy Bob has confided to us that Jacob is his all-time favorite character (followed by Ed in THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE). He also noted that because the locale was so frosty, he told the wardrobe department that he believed Jacob would wear lots of layers of clothing.  

Bridget Fonda, Gary Cole, and Chelcie Ross round out the outstanding cast.  Sharp-eyed ZZ Top fans will spy bassist Dusty Hill shivering next to poor Jacob and Billy Bob's songwriting partner Mike Shipp during a brief funeral scene.  Harry Knowles, Internet's ultimate movie fan and founder of Ain't-It-Cool-News proclaimed A SIMPLE PLAN his favorite film of 1998.  And yes, Raimi's beloved car, The Classic, appears in the film.

Awards (for Billy Bob Thornton)
Academy Award (Oscar, Best Supporting Actor) - 1999 - Nomination
Saturn Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1999 - Nomination
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award (Best Actor) - 1999 - Winner
Boston Society of Film Critics Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1999 - Winner
Chicago Film Critics Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1999 - Winner
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1998 - Winner
Golden Globe Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1999 - Nomination
Golden Satellite Award (Best Supporting Actor, Drama) -1999 - Nomination
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1998 - Winner
Online Film Critics Society Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1998 - Winner
San Diego Film Critics Society Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1998 - Winner
Screen Actors Guild Award (Best Supporting Actor) - 1998 - Nomination

Awards (for A SIMPLE PLAN)
The list is extensive; here's the IMDb awards page.

Relevant Links
IMDb Link
Bomis inks to several A SIMPLE PLAN Sites
MQRE links to A SIMPLE PLAN reviews
Yahoo! Movies Upcomingmovies.com preview page
Filmtracks review of Danny Elfman's score
William P. Coleman Mathetmatics Page
Photos of The Classic in action!

Related Merchandise
Scott B. Smith's novel is easy to acquire.  Danny Elfman's unspeakably eerie score (including a de-tuned piano and nine, count 'em, nine flutes!), is one of our favorites and well worth collecting.