The 2001 movie “put on the shelf” just to spite Billy Bob Thornton: “That was a casualty”
Harvey Weinstein delayed the release of Billy Bob Thornton’s 2001 film *Daddy and Them* after a dispute over *All the Pretty Horses*, Thornton said. The episode illustrates how a powerful producer could limit a film’s audience in response to a clash with its director.
Thornton said Weinstein threatened to shelve the film, which had been shot in 1998 and was among his favourite projects. It premiered at a film festival in 2001, then aired on television in January 2003 and reached home video a year later, but never received a cinema release. The film earned generally favourable reviews.
- Weinstein delayed *Daddy and Them* after a dispute with Thornton.
- The film never received a cinema release.
- It reached television in 2003 and home video a year later.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A distributor may reasonably delay or limit a release when it believes a film’s prospects, costs or fit with its slate do not justify a cinema launch; a festival screening or later television and home-video release can still reach audiences. The long gap and lack of theatrical release do not by themselves prove that spite was the decisive motive, especially when the account rests on Thornton’s recollection of a dispute.
The case against
If Weinstein shelved the film to punish Thornton for their disagreement, that would be an abuse of the control a powerful producer had over whether a completed film could reach cinemas. The film was among Thornton’s favourite projects, received favourable reviews and eventually found audiences through other formats, strengthening the concern that its theatrical prospects may have been sacrificed for personal reasons rather than a fair assessment of the work.