Billy Bob Thornton walks briskly into the Jefferson Conference Room at the Philadelphia Four Seasons Hotel and approaches one of two round tables draped in white tablecloths. At the other table, Michael Polish - the co-writer and director of The Astronaut Farmer - is already seated with his brother and Farmer co-writer Mark. The brothers, who also happen to be identical twins, are a thin, fair-skinned, soft-spoken pair. They keep their eyes on the ring of reporters planted in front of them as they respond to a barrage of questions.
Thornton, dressed casually for the press event in a black blazer over a T-shirt and jeans, smiles and shakes hands with each reporter at his table before sitting down. One eager reporter jumpstarts the interview by asking what it was about the script of this movie that caught Thornton's attention. The 51-year-old star of The Astronaut Farmer speaks warmly about the film.
"I love the idea of the classic story of the common man fighting the system . a dreamer fulfilling his dreams and yet also having to balance that with 'Well, how about my family?'" Thornton says in his characteristic southern accent.
In what is probably his most family-oriented film to date, Thornton plays Charles Farmer, an ex-astronaut-in-training who was forced to give up on his dream of going into outer space when he had to take over his father's farm. Now, with the uneasy support of his wife (played by Virginia Madsen) and his three young children, Farmer builds his own rocket in the family barn, planning to take off without the help of NASA. Thornton says he took on the role of Charles Farmer because he can relate to the main character, as he has to sacrifice time with his own family for his career.
"I deal with that in this business because right now, my two-and-a-half-year-old is real upset that I'm gone. That whole thing is something I deal with in my life, plus I grew up as a dreamer. I think anybody in entertainment does. [The role] just kind of fit."
Thornton also notes that he wanted to depart from his recent string of dark comedies.
"I wanted to do a movie like this that's more of a family movie because some of my movies, you know, my kids can't go to see them," he says (referring, perhaps, to films like Bad Santa).
"I remember Lou Dobbs saying I'd 'ruined the name of Santa Claus' or something like that and I'm thinking 'Lou Dobbs, you're a Moneyline guy. What are you even doing talking about something like this?'"
In spite of The Astronaut Farmer's family appeal and the big name actors involved, the movie isn't a product of Hollywood. It's an independent film whose high production values belie its 12 million dollar cost. And though Thornton's rise to Hollywood fame has been meteoric since the release of Sling Blade in 1996, he claims that he mostly tries to stay away from Hollywood.
"I don't really participate in Hollywood much. I don't go to a lot of functions - really any. And I kind of stay out of it and live a pretty normal life, even though I live right in the middle of it."
For the Polish brothers, though, Thornton's name could push The Astronaut Farmer into the mainstream. Though their past films have garnered some critical acclaim, the brothers' films have tended towards off-beat material that focuses on socially deviant characters. The Astronaut Farmer, the brothers' fourth film, has more mass appeal, but it keeps some of the quirkiness of their past productions.
"Charles Farmer is a little bit eccentric, but that's because he's doing what he wants to do. Any time you contrast that with people who seem to have a normal life, who are likely not doing what they want to do, you're going to see someone who looks a little bit out on the edge," says Michael.
The film also parallels the brothers' experiences as independent filmmakers. They reminisce about Northfork, their last film - a highly visual one - which partially takes place inside the imagination of a young, dying orphan. It was an ambitious project that challenged the brothers with budget constraints and cold weather while shooting in Montana. For them, blind faith is "everything" in the movie-making industry.
"In Montana, it was like 20 below zero. So you just keep the faith and then you've got to go tell the crew, 'We're not eating tonight.' And then you get through that," says Michael. "Because we're so involved with the crew aspect of it . we're setting an example, showing them that we're together. If this ship goes down we're not bailing," Mark says.
Though it hasn't been easy for the brothers to crack into the movie-making industry, they are willing to take whatever obstacles are put before them. For them, The Astronaut Farmer is a token of their struggle against Hollywood.
"I think the rocket is really a metaphor for our filmmaking. Each film is kind of our vessel up against them," says Mark.
The Astronaut Farmer opens everywhere Friday, February 23.
