Bad Santa

Bad Santa (known as Badder Santa on the unrated DVD) is a 2003 American Christmas black comedy crime film directed by Terry Zwigoff, and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Bernie Mac, and John Ritter. This was John Ritter's last film appearance before his death on September 11, 2003. The Coen brothers are credited as executive producers. The film was released in the United States on November 21, 2003.

The film was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

An unrated version was released on DVD on March 5, 2004 and on Blu-ray Disc on November 20, 2007 as Bad(der) Santa. A director's cut DVD was released in November 2006; it features Zwigoff's cut of the film (including an audio commentary with him and the film's editor), which is three minutes shorter than the theatrical cut and ten minutes shorter than the unrated version.

A sequel, Bad Santa 2, is scheduled for release on November 23, 2016.

Plot

Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his dwarfed assistant Marcus (Tony Cox) are professional thieves. Every year, Willie disguises himself as a department store Santa Claus and Marcus disguises himself as an elf in order for both of them to rob shopping malls blind at night. Marcus takes his duty as an elf extremely seriously, but Willie is an alcoholic, a sex addict, and is gradually unable to perform his Santa duties appropriately with children, much to Marcus' dismay. When they are hired at the fictional Saguaro Square Mall in Phoenix, the vulgar remarks made by Willie shock the prudish mall manager Bob Chipeska (John Ritter), who brings it to the attention of security chief Gin Slagel (Bernie Mac).

Bad Santa 2

Bad Santa 2 is an upcoming American Christmas black comedy crime film directed by Mark Waters and written by Shauna Cross, Doug Ellin, Johnny Rosenthal, and John Phillips. It is the sequel to the 2003 film Bad Santa. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Kathy Bates, and Christina Hendricks. Principal photography began on January 11, 2016 in Montreal. The film is scheduled to be released on November 23, 2016 by Broad Green Pictures.

Cast

Production

In 2009, Billy Bob Thornton first mentioned the sequel to the 2003 crime comedy film Bad Santa, with an aim for release at Christmas 2011. On December 16, 2010, it was announced that Miramax and The Weinstein Company had signed on an agreement to develop sequels including Bad Santa's. On March 18, 2011, TheWrap reported that Weinstein confirmed the sequel and negotiations had begun with Thornton to return for the lead role. On July 14, 2011, Los Angeles Times confirmed that Dimension Films and other producers on the film including Geyer Kosinski hired two writers Johnny Rosenthal and John Phillips to work on the screenplay for the sequel. The sequel had been scheduled to begin shooting in the fall 2012 for December 2013 release. On July 30, 2012, it was reported that Steve Pink was in early talks with the studio to rewrite and direct the film. On May 30, 2013, it was revealed that Miramax has hired Entourage creator Doug Ellin to rewrite the script and to possibly direct the sequel.

Bob Thornton

Robert George "Bob" Thornton (born July 10, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player whose career lasted from 1985 to 1996 and a current assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'10" 225 forward. He holds NBA career averages of 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 283 total games.

Thornton played college basketball at University of California, Irvine and Saddleback Community College, and was selected by the New York Knicks with the 87th pick of the 1984 NBA Draft.

Thornton, an eight-year NBA veteran, played for five NBA teams (New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards) and played three seasons in the Italian A-1 league with Rome, Siena and Pavia. He later held coaching positions with the CBA's Yakima Sun Kings and Quad City Thunder, the NBDL's Huntsville Flight, and the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. From 2007 to 2011, he worked as an advance scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was hired as an assistant coach by the Memphis Grizzlies on December 5, 2011.

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer, songwriter, and musician.

Thornton had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller One False Move, and came to international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He appeared in several major film roles in the 1990s following Sling Blade, including Oliver Stone's neo-noir U Turn (1997), political drama Primary Colors (1998), science fiction disaster film Armageddon (1998), which was the highest-grossing film of that year, and the crime drama A Simple Plan (1998), which earned him his third Academy Awards nomination.

In the 2000s, he achieved further success in starring dramas Monster's Ball (2001), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), and Friday Night Lights (2004); comedies Bandits (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), and Bad Santa (2003); and action films Eagle Eye (2008) and Faster (2010). In 2014, Thornton starred in the first season of the anthology series Fargo, earning a nomination for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie at the Emmy Awards and won Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards.

Santa Claus

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa is a mythical figure with historical origins who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of well-behaved, "good" children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December). The modern Santa Claus is derived from the British figure of Father Christmas, the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, and Saint Nicholas, the historical Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra. During the Christianization of Germanic Europe, this figure may also have absorbed elements of the god Odin, who was associated with the Germanic pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.

Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded manβ€”sometimes with spectaclesβ€”wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children. Images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books and films.