Sling Blade

Sling Blade
Sling Blade
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Billy Bob Thornton
Screenplay by	Billy Bob Thornton
Based on	Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade ; by Billy Bob Thornton
Produced by	Larry Meistrich ; David L. Bushell ; Brandon Rosser
Starring	Billy Bob Thornton; Dwight Yoakam; J. T. Walsh; John Ritter; Lucas Black; Natalie Canerday; Robert Duvall;
Cinematography	Barry Markowitz
Edited by	Hughes Winborne
Music by	Daniel Lanois
Production; company	TSG Pictures
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date	November 27, 1996;
Running time	135 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.2 million
Box office	$34.1 million

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 artist/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]

^ Cite error: The named reference Collins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Sling Blade (1996) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
^ ROGER CORMIER (2016-11-26). "14 Fascinating Facts About Sling Blade". www.mentalfloss.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
^ "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.
^ "Billy Bob Thornton by John Bowe for Bomb Magazine". Bomb Magazine. Jan 1, 1997.
^ "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
^ "Sling Blade - Official Site". Miramax. Retrieved 2021-01-01.