Billy Bob Thornton Video Interview On ‘Jayne Mansfield’s Car,’ Robert Duvall

Billy Bob Thornton returns to directing with his new film Jayne Mansfield’s Car. Thornton found directing and starring alongside an all-star cast, including Robert Duvall, John Hurt and Kevin Bacon, to be almost effortless. “Really you just call ‘Action’ and ‘Cut.’ There’s nothing to it,” Thornton told Uinterview exclusively.

The movie is set in 1969 Alabama and tells the story of the three Caldwell brothers (Thornton, Bacon and Robert Patrick), all World War II veterans, and their father, patriarch played by Duvall. After the death of the clan’s estranged mother, the family ends up in a cultural clash with their English relatives.

Deciding to return to directing was a natural decision for Thornton, once he began to develop the film’s story. “I think I’m only the best guy to direct the things that I’m very close to,” he said. “And I just didn’t have a story that I wanted to tell for a few years and then this one had been rolling around in my head so I just thought it was time.”