Billy Bob Thornton. Wow.

Marc Jenkins · Post by **Marc Jenkins** » 8 Apr 2009 9:13 pm

I'm not sure how far this has spread yet. The Boxmasters (including Billy Bob Thornton) were on the CBC program 'Q' this morning, and Thornton seriously butted heads with host Jian Ghomeshi. It was pretty ugly, and is quite interesting. You can watch the whole thing here.

From the CBC site: "The highlight was when Ghomeshi asked him about his former and current tour-mate Willie Nelson, and Billy Bob replied that he’d never met him."

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 8 Apr 2009 10:13 pm

I saw it.

Either he's high on something or he's suffering from some kind of mental disorder.

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 9 Apr 2009 4:51 am

Good interviewer, Billy Bob needs help desperately...

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 9 Apr 2009 7:11 am

Another side of Karl Childers.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 9 Apr 2009 8:05 am

How childish, self-centered, and rude! I'm using nice words... but other adjectives apply.

The other band members looked like they wanted to crawl under the table and hide. That band won't last long.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 9 Apr 2009 10:16 am

Doug Beaumier wrote:The other band members looked like they wanted to crawl under the table and hide.

but, they had that look as soon as the interviewer mentioned Billy Bob's "other" career, something he was asked not to do. He not only mentioned it in the introduction, but he was reading it off a script and when he gets to the parts he says it half under breath and real fast, like maybe no one in the room will hear it. Then as soon as he says it every one in the room gets this look on their face like they know it's going to be downhill from there, and that's before Billy Bob says a word.
Then when Billy Bob does bring up the fact that the interviewer was asked not to bring up s___, the interviewer tries to deny that he was told anything, even though every time he mentions it he makes it sound like it's his secret.

I'm not saying that Billy Bob wasn't acting like a jerk, but I think there was a conflict before the interview even started. The interviewer was told not to ask or talk about some things and decided to anyway, maybe to see if he could push Billy Bob's buttons, if that was the case it worked.

Greg Simmons · Post by **Greg Simmons** » 9 Apr 2009 10:22 am

yeah, saw that one yesterday (bein' a Canuck and all)...you could feel the vibe from the bandmates...good thing they didn't ask him about Sling Blade....yeeeesh

IMHO, he's an excellent actor, I'm not sure why that wouldn't be at lest a tangential point of any media type discussion; for me his acting doesn't diminish or iliegitimize (or vice versa) his musical endeavours/abilities $:\$

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 9 Apr 2009 11:38 am

Wow. That was painful to watch!

Somehow all I could think of was that it must have been a loooooong, awkward ride on the bus to wherever they were heading next. Seemed like the bandmates did a valiant job of trying to cover for Mr. Thornton but there's only so much you can do to cut through that kind of atmosphere. Yikes.

Ellis Miller · Post by **Ellis Miller** » 9 Apr 2009 12:00 pm

Mr. Thornton is an extremely talented individual with limited social skills. I submit that we would not expect otherwise.

Another thought: This has been all over the internet forums and will, no doubt, get a great deal of attention when it goes to YouTube. The phrase "shameless self promotion" jumps to mind.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 9 Apr 2009 12:11 pm

In attempting not to draw attention to himself, he has succeeded in drawing all the attention to himself. His poor, poor bandmates.

Waah, waah, waah...nobody takes me seriously as a musician...waah, waah, waah....

Marc Jenkins · Post by **Marc Jenkins** » 9 Apr 2009 12:56 pm

It's amazing to me that he even thinks that his acting career could possibly be avoided in conversation. He's a freaking CELEBRITY who dated ANJELINA JOLIE. It comes with the territory...

Darrell Criswell · Post by **Darrell Criswell** » 9 Apr 2009 1:30 pm

We understand now how he was able to do such a realistic job playing the guy in Slingblade. He didn't have to act!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 9 Apr 2009 4:46 pm

Waah, waah, waah...nobody takes me seriously as a musician...waah, waah, waah....

You're right, Mike! ...immature, self-centered, insulting... and a lot other things I can't say here. I'd say his new music career is Dead On Arrival.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 9 Apr 2009 7:00 pm

Doug Beaumier wrote:immature, self-centered, insulting... and a lot other things I can't say here. I'd say his new music career is Dead On Arrival.

Reminds me of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8YuIGqWi4

Marc Jenkins · Post by **Marc Jenkins** » 9 Apr 2009 7:08 pm

Alvin Blaine wrote:
Doug Beaumier wrote:immature, self-centered, insulting... and a lot other things I can't say here. I'd say his new music career is Dead On Arrival.
Reminds me of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8YuIGqWi4

Except the DOA part. And the not being Bob Dylan part.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 9 Apr 2009 7:38 pm

Marc Jenkins wrote:
Alvin Blaine wrote:
Doug Beaumier wrote:immature, self-centered, insulting... and a lot other things I can't say here. I'd say his new music career is Dead On Arrival.
Reminds me of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8YuIGqWi4
Except the DOA part. And the not being Bob Dylan part.

but he sure knew how to crash an interview, insult the interviewer and the publication.

Scott Shipley · Post by **Scott Shipley** » 9 Apr 2009 10:49 pm

Not defending Silly Bob, but it was 6 AM. Any of you guys ever done live TV at 6 AM? Not much fun. Possibly jet-lagged? Or maybe just brilliant. TONS of free advertising.
And ok, yeah, he was prolly at least half-baked.
Any of y'all ever watch any of those early Roger Miller spots on the Ralph Emery morning show? Him and Thumbs were both test pilots.
A big point that I got out of this thing today was that he was noticably torqued about the interviewer using his acting fame to "build" the band, rather than just lettin the band stand on it's own. And it IS a great band.
Also, really seemed like B.B. was in character. He is, after all, an actor.

Edward Meisse · Post by **Edward Meisse** » 9 Apr 2009 11:43 pm

That was the first time I had ever seen that Dylan cut. It looked to me like he was being aggressive to cover up for being afraid. Terrified even. I think he was telling the truth when he said that there was no message in his songs and that he didn't know how he wrote them. He might have felt like a fraud. I've been told that alot of successful people do.
Billy Bob clearly was angry because, as someone else mentioned, he wanted the music to stand on its own rather than being bought as a curiosity because of his acting fame. And as someone has also pointed out, that seems like a highly unreasonable expectation. He is who he is. There is no escape.
I kind of feel sorry for both of those guys. They won't live down their faux pas (what is the correct plural spelling of that?).

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 10 Apr 2009 5:03 am

There are so many singers playing in bars for years, that can sing rings around Billy Bob.

He thinks he can buy his way to the front of the line, without paying any dues. Any struggling unknown act would have been quite happy to be interviewed by CBC.

There are quite a few American entertainers who do quite well financially and are highly respected, when they tour Canada from time to time. they are treated very well by Canadians, but respect is a two-way street. If Billy Bob thinks that we are just so much manure on his boots, why should we care if he lives or dies?
PS You don't demand respect, you earn it.

Tommy White · Post by **Tommy White** » 10 Apr 2009 5:17 am

Ah-ha. I would suspect the interview was not rehearsed but at least, directed and scripted by Billy Bob. It seems purposely assembled to me, maybe for viewers to react just as they have.

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 10 Apr 2009 5:34 am

Tommy, even American steel players, like Doug Jernigan (sp?), the late Don Helms and Tom Bromley and many more were treated like visiting royalty when they played in Canada, but they in turn were always gentlemen. If you ever come to play at one of our Steel gatherings, you too would be treated with the utmost repect.
I remember when Maurice anderson came to Toronto in the seventies to do a workshop. He was a humble gentleman who patiently answered the dumbest questions (the ones I asked). What a class act!

Mat Rhodes · Post by **Mat Rhodes** » 10 Apr 2009 6:47 am

I think Tommy White's on to something. Did you notice that there were cameras conveniently pointed on everyone at just the right moments to catch those facial expressions? I smell a little Andy Kaufman in this one. You don't get to see that kind of cueing even on productions like Today Show or Good Morning America.

There's nothing new about this kind of buzz stir-up method. Every time an actor has a new movie about to be released, there's always some kind of controversy. Jim Caviezel getting struck by lightning during the filming of "The Passion Of The Christ". Winona Ryder getting arrested for shoplifting. Russell Crowe having a tantrum and throwing a phone at a concierge. Donnie Davies with the "God Hates..." satirical gay-bashing video. Michael Jackson's hair igniting while making a Pepsi commercial. Lindsay Lohan... the list goes on and on.

You'd think we wouldn't fall for it, but sure enough we do it every $!*&@ time!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 10 Apr 2009 6:54 am

Judging from the exasperation on the band member's faces, I'd say BBT has a habit of behaving poorly.

Larry King · Post by **Larry King** » 10 Apr 2009 6:56 am

Well , I saw it a little different. To further embellish [what I think Alvin B. and Tommy W.] were saying , I think BB was enjoying the mental calisthenics and I was amused at the frustration he created in the interviewer. However , I do agree that the band members had to suffer through it. It seems to me that the rules were set down and someone strayed outside the lines and therefore I saw a certain humor in the "off the wall/off the subject" answers. From Billy Bob's perspective , he has nothing to prove as an actor , yet the challenge and his current focus is , can I replicate that success as a drummer/musician. In Douchette's words , 'proly not'.

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 10 Apr 2009 8:20 am

It sounds like a lot of his fellow countrymen are trying to rationalize his bad manners and insufferable ego.
There are a lot of good-hearted caring Americans in this world. He could be one of them, if he wanted to, but to use Canada for one of his publicity stunts is really low class.