Sling Blade

Sling Blade is a 1996 American independent Southern Gothic 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, 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 was released by Miramax Films on November 27, 1996, and became a sleeper hit, launching Thornton into stardom while grossing $34.1 million against a $1.2 million budget. Thornton won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, 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, on location in Benton, Arkansas, produced by David L. Bushell and Brandon Rosser.