FLORENCE LIBRARY HOSTS 'BILLY BOB'S BEST' AND PERSONAL FAVORITES
Jan. 31, 2008
FLORENCE, Ala. – In preparation for the 2008 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library will honor the festival’s scheduled guest – Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton – with a month-long series of film screenings leading up to the filmmaker’s festival appearances on March 7.
Movie historian Terry Pace, who teaches English at the University of North Alabama, will host “Billy Bob’s Best … Plus a Few of His Favorites,” combining Thornton’s own screen milestones – including the director’s cut of his Oscar-winning 1996 masterpiece “Sling Blade” – with some of the classic movies and television episodes that influenced and inspired him.
“One of the main reasons Billy Bob is coming to the festival is because he is a great admirer of our founder, George Lindsey, and George’s lovable role as Goober on ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’” said Pace, who also serves on the festival’s steering committee.
“Billy Bob also remains very passionate about two films he has loved all his life – the classic Western “High Noon” with Gary Cooper and the haunted-house comedy “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” with Don Knotts,” Pace added. “We thought it would be fun to build up some community interest in the festival – and introduce audiences to the diversity of Billy Bob’s career – by showing some of his finest films, along with his favorite ‘Andy Griffith Show’ episodes and his two favorite films.”
Thornton has been actively involved in planning the “Billy Bob’s Best” series and personally selected the individual film titles as well as the “Andy Griffith Show” episodes that will be shown Feb. 1-March 1 in the library’s conference room.
“Billy Bob has intimate ties to the Muscle Shoals music industry and the Sun Records musical heritage of Sam Phillips, the Florence native who discovered Elvis, Jerry Lee, Johnny Cash and so many others,” Pace remarked. “Muscle Shoals songwriting legend and veteran movie actor Donnie Fritts has become close friends and songwriting partners with Billy Bob, and he issued the official invitation for Billy Bob to join us at the festival.”
To mark those local connections, the “Billy Bob’s Best … Plus a Few of His Favorites” series will also include a “Salute to Two Sams” double feature made up of two television documentaries: the A&E Biography special “Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll,” which Thornton narrated, and a cinematic study of “Sam Peckinpah’s West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade,” which features on-screen interviews with Fritts, who appeared in three of the controversial director’s films, and lifelong Peckinpah fan Thornton.
“By the end of this film series,” Pace promises, “I think audiences will have a really vivid and colorful idea of who Billy Bob is and why he’s such a perfect fit for this area and this festival.”
The lineup for the free “Billy Bob’s Best” series, sponsored by the library and Pillar of Fire Productions, will feature:
Feb. 1, 7 p.m. – “The Man Who Wasn’t There” (2001), plus the “Opie the Birdman” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” (1963)?
Feb. 8, 7 p.m. – “A Simple Plan” (1998), plus the “Fun Girls” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” (1964)
Feb. 12, 7 p.m. – “The Astronaut Farmer” (2007), plus the “Man in a Hurry” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” (1963)
Feb. 20, 7 p.m. – “Monster’s Ball” (2001), plus the “Goober Makes History” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” (1966)
Feb. 24, 5 p.m. – A “Salute to Two Sams” double feature: ”Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll” (2000) at 5 p.m., plus “Sam Peckinpah’s West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade” (2004) at 7 p.m.
Feb. 29, 7 p.m. – The Director’s Cut of “Sling Blade” (1996), plus the short film “Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade” (1994)
March 1, 2 p.m. – A double feature of favorites: “The Haunted House” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” (1963) at 2 p.m.; ”The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966), starring Don Knotts, at 2:30 p.m.; and “High Noon” (1952), starring Gary Cooper, at 4 p.m.
The Florence-Lauderdale Public Library is located at 350 N. Wood Ave. in downtown Florence. For details on the Lindsey festival, March 6-9, visit www.lindseyfilmfest.com or call 256-765-4592. For details on the library series, contact Pace at 256-366-4512 or tgpace@una.edu, or call the library at 256-764-6564.
