Sling Blade

This article is about the 1996 film. For the tool, see Sling blade.
Sling Blade
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBilly Bob Thornton
Screenplay byBilly Bob Thornton
Based onSome Folks Call It a Sling Blade
by Billy Bob Thornton
Produced byLarry Meistrich
David L. Bushell
Brandon Rosser
Starring
CinematographyBarry Markowitz
Edited byHughes Winborne
Music byDaniel Lanois
Production
company
Distributed byMiramax Films
Release date
  • November 27, 1996 (1996-11-27)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million[1]
Box office$34.1 million[2]

Sling Blade is a 1996 American drama film written, directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Set in Arkansas, it is the story of intellectually challenged Karl Childers and the friendship he develops with a boy and his mother. Karl was released from a psychiatric hospital where he had grown up due to having killed his mother and her lover when he was 12 years old. It also stars Dwight Yoakam, J. T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, and Robert Duvall.

The film was adapted by Thornton from his previous one-man show Swine Before Pearls,[3] from which he also developed a screenplay for the 1994 short film Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, directed by George Hickenlooper. Sling Blade became a sleeper hit, launching Thornton into stardom. Thornton won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay,[4] and he was also nominated for Best Actor. The music for the soundtrack was provided by French-Canadian musician/producer Daniel Lanois.

Sling Blade was filmed in 24 days,[5] on location in Benton, Arkansas,[6] produced by David L. Bushell and Brandon Rosser.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Collins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Sling Blade (1996) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  3. ^ ROGER CORMIER (2016-11-26). "14 Fascinating Facts About Sling Blade". www.mentalfloss.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  4. ^ "Dwight Yoakam Reflects on 20 Years of "Sling Blade"—"One of the Seminal Moments of My Life as an Artist"". Nash Country Daily. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  5. ^ "Billy Bob Thornton by John Bowe for Bomb Magazine". Bomb Magazine. Jan 1, 1997.
  6. ^ "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. ^ "Sling Blade - Official Site". Miramax. Retrieved 2021-01-01.