Billy Bob ‘classic’ unearthed in Cannes

CANNES - A bit of Billy Bob Thornton’s past came back to haunt him when he stopped by the American Pavilion on Tuesday morning for a one-on-one conversation with film critic Roger Ebert.

No sooner had Ebert completed a complimentary introduction for the actor — who is making his second visit to Cannes, for the out-of-competition screening of Terry Zwigoff’s “Bad Santa” — than an eager fan presented him with a DVD copy of the 1989 Troma Films classic — or at least classic title — “Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town,” which bears a big mug of Thornton on its cover.

“I had four scenes (in that movie); at the time, my name was 15th down on the list,” the actor laughed. The artwork for the DVD box is designed, however, to make it look as if Thornton is the movie’s top dog.

In the course of a discussion of his career, Thornton lamented the critical and box office drubbing experienced by his latest film, “The Alamo,” which has grossed only $22 million domestically. The movie, which opened last month, was postponed from its originally scheduled Christmas opening so that its director, John Lee Hancock, would have more time to complete postproduction.

“I think it became a casualty of the whole putting it off for a while,” Thornton said. “Also, at the time, there was a lot of infighting at Disney — and lots of articles in the New York Times — which made this film a failure before it came out.” The acerbic “Bad Santa,” on the other hand, was a surprise hit of the Christmas season, grossing more than $60 million for Disney-owned Miramax’s Dimension Films.

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