The star and the writing / producing team talk about their family film, "The Astronaut Farmer"


Video Content:
- actor Billy Bob Thornton

- Writers Michael and Mark Polish


In the 2007 Warner Bros. Pictures film, actor Billy Bob Thornton ("Slingblade," Bad Santa," Monster's Ball") plays Charles Farmer, a former aerospace engineering and Air Force pilot, who was headed toward space in a NASA’s astronaut training program until a family situation forced him to drop out and return home.

But Farmer had a dream: he wanted to go into space.

For the next decade, Farmer -- along with the support of his family wife Audie (Virginia Madsen, "Sideways"), Audie’s father Hal (Bruce Dern, "Coming Home"), and his three kids -- build his own rocket and is getting close to launching into space. When he tries to secure 10,000 pounds of high-grade fuel, the FBI quickly steps in to end his goals.

In the February 2007 Sidewalks On-Demand interviews, host Cindy Rhodes interviews star Billy Bob Thornton and the writing team, The Polish Brothers (Michael and Mark, "Twin Falls Idaho").

In the first interview, Billy Bob talks about how he got started in the business, winning an Oscar® with "Slingblade," and his cast in "The Astronaut Farmer." 

The second interview has identical twin brothers Michael Polish, who directs the film, and Mark Polish, who also plays FBI Agent Mathis, tell us how true the story could be, the type of rocket design they used, and the debut appearances of their respective children in the roles of Farmer's daughters, Sunshine and Stanley.

"The Astronaut Farmer” is released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is rated PG for “thematic material, peril and language.”