Robert Duvall and Kevin Bacon in 'Jayne Mansfield's Car'

Put “Jayne Mansfield” and “car” in the same sentence, and the mind immediately goes to… well, a not so good place. Billy Bob Thornton means to change that.

Robert Duvall and Kevin Bacon in ‘Jayne Mansfield’s Car’
After 11 years out of the director seat, Thornton returns with Jayne Mansfield’s Car, a Southern-set, Vietnam-era family drama that will close out the 2012 Austin Film Festival. Thornton co-write the script with Tom Epperson (his One False Move co-writer), and it stars Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick, John Hurt, Frances O’Connor, and Irma P. Hall. The early word is mixed (the film had its international debut last February in Berlin), but Billy Bob’s always been warmly received in these parts.

‘Francophrenia’

Other additions to the AFF lineup include Francophrenia, James Franco’s experimental film built around footage from his General Hospital run, with Franco in attendance; Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Bill Murray as FDR; Terry George’s Irish crime comedy Whole Lotta Sole; and Deadfall, a blizzard-set thriller starring Olivia Wilde and Eric Bana.  

The 2012 Austin Film Festival runs Oct. 18-25.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...