The Astronaut Farmer Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Mark and Michael Polish may not be as well-known a fraternal filmmaking pair as Joel and Ethan Coen, but they could out-weird the Coens any day of the week. Their films range from virtually inscrutable (Northfork) to very strange (Twin Falls Idaho) to merely offbeat (The Astronaut Farmer), but it's clear they won't be getting hired to direct the sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks. So instead, they've formed their own production company, Prohibition Films, and are shooting two new projects back-to-back.

The first is entitled Manure, a title they should reconsider if only to make lazy film critics' jobs a little harder. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Tea Leoni, and my man Kyle MacLachlan, the movie will explore the world of manure salesmen in 1960's heartland America. Upon reading that I frowned for a moment, but then realized that had you asked me who would be most likely to write and direct a movie about manure salesmen in 1960's heartland America, I would unhesitatingly have said the Polish Brothers.

The debate over the difference between mainstream and independent movies has raged for decades. The line has blurred more and more over the years as so-called independent companies began financing multi-million dollar films like The English Patient or Fargo, which were still labeled as "independents." To make things more complicated, what does one call a movie made by an independent filmmaker for a mainstream audience, say Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight, Richard Linklater's School of Rock or Spike Lee's Inside Man? I'd argue that we could call it an acceptable compromise between personal vision and entertainment, and a case in which everybody wins.

That's also the case with Michael and Mark Polish's The Astronaut Farmer. It's the fourth film by the identical twins, who write all their screenplays together and appeared together in their debut, Twin Falls Idaho (1999). Subsequently, Michael has established himself as a director, while Mark has taken on acting roles. Their three previous films, which include Jackpot (2001) and Northfork (2003), certainly cannot be classified as "mainstream." A familiar collection of odd, beautiful wanderers and losers populate their frames, from Siamese twins, to a traveling, professional Karaoke singer and a pair of mysterious, black-suited agents charged with evacuating the site of a future lake. This time the hero of their film does not fit in with this crowd and we have the makings of an American hero: a man who launches his own rocket into space.

We have an exclusive first look at three photos from the new Billy Bob Thornton flick The Astronaut Farmer. The movie tells the tale of Charles Farmer (Thornton), a one-time aspiring astronaut who, in the face of a family crisis, dropped out of the Air Force -- effectively ending his chances of joining the NASA training program. But rather than give up on his dream, Farmer builds his own rocket in the barn of his Story, Texas, ranch, hoping to one day launch said projectile into space. Will he succeed? Or will his efforts crash and burn? Only time (the film flies into theaters Feb. 23) and a $10 movie ticket will tell. Click on the pics below for larger versions.

POST: What do you think of the photos?

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GET IT: More about The Astronaut Farmer

SEE IT: Watch the trailer now

While many dog lovers pride themselves on owning a pure-bred animal, I've always been a fan of the mutt, the mongrel, the "Heinz 57 different varieties" if you will. A pure-bred has many fine qualities, but a mixed breed draws its traits from a greater pool of resources. If you've read previous installments of Trailer Park you know how we like to link the trailers together with a common theme. This week, though, I came across five truly noteworthy trailers that don't have a thing in common. Nothing. Nada. Bupkis. And it's the fact that these trailers' strengths lie in such divergent areas that makes the group so interesting as a whole. I give you Trailer Park: The Mongrel Edition.

The Astronaut Farmer
Billy Bob Thornton plays a farmer who is building a rocket in his back yard and is planning to launch himself into space. His loving and mostly supportive wife is played by Virginia Madsen. The locals think he's crazy, and he's recruited his children to help with the project, with his 15-year-old son manning mission control. This one's a head scratcher. It's either going to be an inspiring tale of a man with a can-do attitude, or a cloying pile of schmaltz. Erik Davis first told us about this one back in August of 2005.

Like everyone else at about this time, the folks in the Warner Bros. release department are doing a bit of re-jiggering of their fall and winter schedule, moving several big-ish films back and picking up a Warner Independent Pictures release for a wide open in early 2007. The details are as follows:

• We Are Marshall, the based-on-a-true-story flick about a tragic plane crash and the recovery of a devastated team and community (Nice, huh? I should write tag lines!) has been pushed back a month, from late November to December 22. Mmm ... Christmas audiences.
• Lucky You, which I hope is a whole lot better than the trailer (there it looks like Tilt, except with Eric Bana instead of Michael Madsen), has been moved from September 8 to the end of the November. While that IS closer to Oscar time, I would be stunned if the move was actually to increase the film's profile. That said, though, it was directed by Curtis Hanson, so maybe it's a stunning work being screwed by a terrible trailer. Yeah, you're right -- probably not.
  
• The best bit of news is that the AWFUL-looking The Reaping (aka lesson #349 that signing an Oscar-winning star does not mean your movie be good) has been pulled from its November 8 release date and ... not rescheduled. I'm guessing someone at WB actually saw the final edit for the first time, and has buried the only print in his back yard.
• The Astronaut Farmer, originally scheduled to be released by the studio's independent arm, has been stolen by Warner's proper because of its star-filled cast (Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen and Bruce Willis), and will be given a wide release on January 12, 2007.