The Hit 1996 Movie That Changed Landman Star Billy Bob Thornton's Life

Billy Bob Thornton's pitch-perfect performance in "Landman" is a testament to the actor's compelling nature no matter what he is in, whether film or television show. But while he's made some great TV in recent years, he will always be best known for his big screen work. His breakthrough in this arena was the 1996 drama "Sling Blade," a movie he not only starred in but also wrote and directed.

In the movie, Thornton plays a man with intellectual disabilities named Karl Childers. Karl spent the majority of his life in a mental institution after having murdered his mother and her boyfriend over an unfortunate misunderstanding. He befriends a boy named Frank (Lucas Black), with the pair bonding in part over the shared trauma of losing a parent — in Frank's case, his father had taken his own life. As such, Frank's mom invites Karl to stay with them, though her abusive boyfriend doesn't take too kindly to the new houseguest. 

In addition to huge critical acclaim, Thornton took home an Academy Award for writing "Sling Blade's" screenplay as well as a nomination for his performance. Despite making over 50 films, when ranking every Billy Bob Thornton movie, "Sling Blade" remains his best, and still represents his sole Oscar win. 

As it turns out, Billy Bob Thornton had actually spent nearly a decade developing not only the story for "Sling Blade" but the character of Karl Childers. While looking into the mirror in his trailer while working on the 1987 HBO movie "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains," the actor envisioned Karl looking back at him and yelling. Thornton then came up with a monologue for the mysterious new character.

Next, he took the monologue and backstory he'd come up with for Karl and turned it into a one-man show. From there, the show became the short film "Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade," funded through friends and investors and co-starring J.T. Walsh and Molly Ringwald. Thornton showed it around, and eventually, scored a deal to make "Sling Blade," launching his Hollywood career.

However, there was one more chapter in the fascinating story behind Thornton's breakthrough movie: being able to actually watch it. While it was initially as easy to view as any other mainstream release on cable and physical media, streaming "Sling Blade" was impossible before 2024. It's not exactly known why — some theories point to a later feud between Thornton and Harvey Weinstein — but the general assumption is that some nebulous rights issues probably needed to be worked out first.