Billy Bob Thornton Bad Santa 2

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks, Brett Kelly
Director: Mark Waters
Genre: Comedy

Synopsis: Bad Santa 2 returns Academy Award-winner Billy Bob Thornton to the screen as everyone's favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (Tony Cox), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is -the kid' - chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie's sliver of humanity.

Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy-winner Kathy Bates, as Willie's horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang's ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Emmy Award-nominee Christina Hendricks, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel.

You better watch out: Bad Santa 2 is coming to town.

Bad Santa 2
Release Date: November 24th, 2016

About The Production

Willie Soke: A Santa for Every(no)one

Bad Santa premiered in 2003 as a quirky, independent dark comedy and made news when it grossed $60 million domestically. The story of a cynical thief who disguises himself as a department store Santa each winter so that he and his partner, Marcus, can rob malls, the film's mordant wit and wild antics endeared itself to audiences everywhere.

'The first movie has become iconic," says Billy Bob Thornton, who received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Willie Soke. 'You have a feeling when you're doing it that there are certain moments that are classic"when you have something like that, you have a tall order when you're going to do a sequel because it has infiltrated the culture in some way."

Director Mark Waters cited the 'bizarre chemistry" of the first movie, which drew his interest in directing a follow-up film. 'I loved the movie when I saw it, and tried to turn my friends on to seeing it," he recalls. 'It got laughs where you gasp first, and then laugh, but somehow it works as comedy."

Producer Andrew Gunn and executive producer/director Mark Waters met in 2002 when they worked on the remake of Freaky Friday together. They kept looking for other projects to work on again together, but the timing was never right. When they were approached to do Bad Santa 2, Andrew Gunn was thrilled.

'I was a huge fan of the first movie," he says. 'It was a surprise because it had a lot more going on than you thought it did when you first watched it. It was one of those great movies to discover."

Producer Geyer Kosinski was along for the initial Bad Santa ride and had been trying to get Bad Santa 2 off the ground ever since. 'It took a while; there was a lot of changing of the guard," explains Geyer Kosinski. 'Everything happens for a reason and the time that it took to get to this place was very positive."

Mark Waters and Andrew Gunn felt that Bad Santa 2 suited their strengths and enthusiasms perfectly. Mark Waters says, 'The fact that Billy Bob Thornton was doing this sequel made it intriguing for me. I'm a huge admirer of that guy's talent.

'The thing that was most attractive about it," Waters continues, 'was that we could make this really raunchy Christmas movie while sneakily making an actual Christmas movie."

Says Andrew Gunn, 'Mark Waters is one of the most prepared directors that I've ever met and he likes to have a lot of fun while he's making the movie, which is good when you're making a comedy. It was really great to be back doing another movie with him."

Billy Bob Thornton was adamant that there had to be both a demand and the right elements in place to make the follow-up film work. 'Some movies shouldn't have a sequel and some should," says Billy Bob Thornton. 'This was a movie that people loved and there are a lot who are fanatics about it, so we thought it deserved a sequel."

Everyone felt that the key to the success of Bad Santa 2 lay squarely with Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of the cynical, crude and luckless Willie Soke.

'There would have been a million different ways to play Willie Soke," says Andrew Gunn. 'A lot of people's inclination would have been to make this character really big and crazy, and drunk and stumbling, but Billy brings this very slow, even energy to everything.

'Willie's not a bad guy; he's one of those people who he is what he is," continues Gunn. 'He's not about to change for anyone… Billy Bob Thornton was able to find this wonderful comedic character that was so much more complex and had this tragic part to his character."

'Seeing him the first day of shooting walk out in a Santa suit, that was Willie Soke," continues Andrew Gunn. 'Everybody fell into their characters seamlessly because Billy Bob Thornton was so firmly established in who Willie is that it's very easy for everyone else to fall into their respective roles."

Mommy Issues

One of Bad Santa's biggest fans was Kathy Bates, who came on board for Bad Santa 2 as Willie Soke's mother, Sunny Soke. 'Bad Santa is one of my favourites. I just loved it, and oddly enough, had seen it again last summer before I had been invited to do the part, so it was even more exciting when I got the news. It was -Hot damn, yep, I'm in there.' Any of my friends that I told I was going to do it said, -Oh my god, it's perfect.'"

'I immediately thought of Kathy Bates for the part of Sunny," says Mark Waters. 'As far as casting goes, she's a fastball down the middle for this role. She's a formidable talent…a really intelligent person who's able to be really crass. She, Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox, who plays Marcus, are all from the South and they shared a sensibility that really worked."

'I hope people enjoy it," says Kathy Bates. 'Adding a woman into the mix was a great idea"not just because I get to play the part, but it's a different kind of energy to put that female energy in there with those guys."

'She's a lovely woman, I love Kathy Bates," says Billy Bob Thornton. 'We did a movie in -96 together and she's a consummate actor. She fits the part perfectly."
'Sunny and Willie have a very fractured past -- Willie took the fall for her when he was only eleven. Sunny was in prison and you get the sense that Willie really raised himself," says Andrew Gunn. 'But deep down inside Willie is still an eleven-year-old kid who just wants to know that his mother loves him. That's a really powerful motivator for a lot of what happens in the movie."

'At the end of the day, they're thieves," says Geyer Kosinski, 'and most of Willie's relationships, particularly the ones with his mother and Marcus, revolve around thieving. Willie is good at one specific thing, and that's cracking a safe. His mother exploited him as a child; she's now doing that again, thirty-odd years later."

Working with director Mark Waters, Kathy Bates and Billy Bob Thornton hashed out their characters' relationship. 'They're very much alike," says Kathy Bates. 'We talked about having them do things the same way or at the same time, but Billy Bob Thornton and I both felt that we didn't want to do anything too obvious. We wanted to pick things that were less obvious, but they're definitely from the same tree. He picked up all those words from her and from his dad, I'm sure."

Recalls Mark Waters, 'There was a moment where we considered having Willie and his dad in this story, but it makes much more sense this way. With a mom, there's always that yearning for emotional connection. Willie is as cynical as they come, but Sunny manages to sneak in and make him care again…which I don't think would play the same way with a dad."

Kathy Bates was impressed by Billy Bob Thornton's honesty in playing Willie. 'Working with him, I was telling someone else today, is like working with a child, because he's so truthful and it's scary when you work with an actor who's very truthful. I've worked with Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson on American Horror Story and they're that truthful."

Kathy Bates and Billy Bob Thornton worked on their characters' backstory together. 'I had the idea that they were carny people," recalls Kathy Bates. 'Billy Bob Thornton said the same thing to me when we got together, so it fit that they were pretty rough people, they were on the road a lot and she had the same kind of scam going, only Willie was the elf and she was Mrs. Santa Claus. They got caught and she let him go to a reform school rather than her going to jail, which tells you right away who she is and how she felt about being with a kid."

Costume Designer Mario Davignon had a lot of fun creating Sunny's look. 'The mother of Willie, who is so wild -- we could play with her look," says Mario Davignon. 'With Kathy Bates it was wonderful, because what I proposed was exactly the way she imagined everything. We went very far with the bad and the nice side of that woman.

'We wanted to create a past for her," continues Mario Davignon. 'Kathy Bates, Mark Waters and I decided that she was an old biker from a biker gang. It's funny to see Kathy Bates in a biker jacket, with the hairstyle, the tank top, a lot of jewellery, silver and big buckles, the big wallet in the back pocket. People will see somebody else, especially with the hairdo -- you have a different image than anything Kathy Bates has ever given us."

'She's pretty rough, although this is a comedy," says Kathy Bates. 'Billy Bob Thornton and I, as we-ve gone along in the shooting, we've really investigated the mother-son relationship: the good side, the bad side, the memories good and bad, all of those things. This film is a lot more complex than the first one was"to have a relationship that inserts itself in between Marcus and Willie, then there's this kid, Thurman, who is now 10-plus years older and not part of Sunny's plan at all..."

'Watching Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates work together is truly one of the most amazing things," says Andrew Gunn appreciatively. 'You catch yourself and realise that, yeah, these are two people with Academy Awards, but just the way that they work off of each other is truly one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Both of them can play so much without even saying anything. It's really amazing to see how it goes into the comedic, then into the dramatic, then into heartfelt and then into comedic again."

The Odd Couple

Tony Cox, who returns to play Willie's short and cranky partner in crime, Marcus, was excited to reprise his character, though he admits he was surprised the original Bad Santa ever got made in the first place. 'From reading the script, I didn't think the movie would be made, due to the language and stuff," says Tony Cox. 'It was a movie that was either going to do really well or not well at all. There was no in-between. Thankfully it did well."

'He's just a real character," says Tony Cox about Marcus. 'Marcus and Willie really don't like each other, but they need each other. Willie can crack a safe like nobody else can and what I do"being short-statured, being able to get into vents and stuff"he needs me. I'm always on him but, actually, I can't really do anything without him. No matter which way you call it, we need each other."

Continues Tony Cox, 'I get the jobs and put them together because I am the brains. I tell Willie what I need him to do and I expect him to do it. A lot of times he doesn't agree because Willie likes to drink and Willie doesn't really like anybody to tell him what to do, especially me. Hey, there's a little three-foot-six-inch guy trying to tell him what to do and that gets on his nerves a little bit."

Mark Waters explains the dynamic between Willie and Marcus in this movie by saying, 'It's a stretch to think Willie would accept Marcus after Marcus betrayed him in the first film. But Willie has reached his bottom, and it makes him vulnerable; he's in a space where he'll do anything because he really doesn't care anymore."

'They're the strangest Odd Couple/Abbott and Costello pairing who seemingly hate each other," explains Andrew Gunn, 'yet they certainly need each other for the work that they do. In the time between the first movie and the second movie, while Marcus was in prison, Willie hasn't gotten anything done. Marcus is the brains and Willie is the technical safecracking half of the duo. As a comedy pairing they're genius because there's nothing funnier than Tony Cox yelling at Billy Bob or vice versa. They're like a constantly bickering pair of siblings."
Kathy Bates loved working with Tony Cox. 'He's hysterical. Sometimes I can't keep a straight face. He was the one that really made me laugh in the first movie."

In actuality, Tony Cox is very different from the character he plays. 'Tony Cox is a very interesting guy," says Geyer Kosinski. 'He comes from a very Christian place. If you know him as a person, the fact that he's in this movie doing the things that he does, you're like -wow, he's really acting,' because he's got a very spiritual side to him. As funny as he is and as crazy as his character comes off, he's a really good human being and an amazingly soulful person. He loves his church. It's very interesting to watch him go through his moves as we're telling the story."

The Kid Kind of Grows Up

Thurman Merman was introduced in Bad Santa when he was a young boy. In Bad Santa 2, Thurman Merman has grown to manhood, but he's still childlike and adores Willie, no matter how hard Willie tries to avoid him. Brett Kelly, who played Thurman in the original film, returns to play the same character as an adult.

'It was a weird, wild shot," says Andrew Gunn about bringing back Brett Kelly. 'It's one thing to be 10 years old, you don't have a lot of lines and you're just this pudgy kid who can be odd and cute. It's another thing to then go to a guy who's 21 or 22 and say, -Hey, I know you stopped acting when you started University and now you've graduated with a degree in business, but do you want to come back and do a movie?'"

'When people watch Brett Kelly playing Thurman, it's easy to think he's just playing himself, but that couldn't be farther from the truth," says Andrew Waters. 'Brett actually has very little in common with Thurman. When we caught up with him, he had just graduated from University and was in great physical shape – he had to gain 50 pounds to play this part! He's also playing this sweet naiveté as an adult, which is quite a dynamic performance. And there's a moment toward the end where Thurman actually moves the audience to tears."

'Thurman hasn't seen Willie in a very long time," explains Brett Kelly of his character.

'Thurman shows up and, not wanting to spend another Christmas alone, follows Willie to Chicago, possibly the coldest place he's ever been. He's not prepared in the slightest.

'When I got the first draft of the script, I was thinking -How is this going to work, he's an adult now,'" says Brett Kelly, 'and figuring out what's been going on with Thurman in the years between the films. The first time I saw Billy Bob Thornton, though, and we got on set and started running lines, it made sense right away. Thurman never really fully grew up. It wasn't his going from child to adult"it was more from child to man-child. He's still straddling that line in between; he's still that kid that he used to be, but in a different way."

'Seemingly he's been fairly isolated," continues Brett Kelly. 'His dad still doesn't want to have anything to do with him, or can't. Grandma has died, but she wasn't the best caretaker to Thurman while she was alive; as hard as she tried, she wasn't exactly guiding Thurman in the best of ways. Willie is really the best role model that he's had, and that says everything you need to know."

Thurman Merman has one consuming love apart from Willie"sandwiches. 'The sandwiches are still there," says Brett Kelly. 'The sandwiches are still his first love. I guess Willie would be his first love in a non-creepy way…and then sandwiches in a creepy way."

And as an adult he has followed his passion – he now works in a sandwich shop, Hungry Hoagies.

Naughty List: Christina Hendricks

Christina Hendricks plays Diane Hastings, Willie Soke's female distraction, in Bad Santa 2. 'Before we started casting, we started thinking about Diane Hastings," recalls Andrew Gunn. 'We thought, this is probably a girl who grew up with a lot of money, went to an Ivy League school and then it was a question of -what do I want to do with my life?' So, she got into philanthropy. We needed somebody who could be really sexy, but not overtly, and be really smart but also be really sweet."

The filmmakers threw around a lot of names. 'Then Christina actually went on tape and we saw her," says Andrew Gunn. 'She had taped herself in New York, we saw it and Mark just said, -oh my god, that's Diane Hastings.' She was funny, sweet and charming and yet there's still a little mischievous spark in her eye. She's incredibly beautiful and you bought her as this refined woman of means. As soon as we saw her reading the lines, we knew, okay, that's Diane Hastings."

'Christina Hendricks is a beautiful, elegant woman," says director Andrew Waters, 'but she was game to try anything. That juxtaposition between her appearance and her behavior leads to great comedic response."

Thornton also thought she was an ideal choice. 'Christina Hendricks fits the part; that's the kind of girl you need for that role. I saw a couple episodes of that 'Mad Men" show and she was very good on that."

Christina Hendricks hadn't seen the first movie when she was approached for the part. 'I was one of the few people who had not seen it, but then I watched it after I got the part and laughed my butt off," says Christina Hendricks. 'It's just so audacious, the way that Billy plays the character with this underplayed, deadpan look. The things he says to children and the way he says them, you are literally holding your face in horror, but it's so funny."

Christina Hendricks enjoyed working with Billy Bob Thornton. 'Billy Bob Thornton 's been amazing," she says. 'He's been gracious, welcoming and collaborative, and really puts you at ease on set. The first day we had to have faux sex and he was open, fun, sweet and a gentleman. It makes it very easy to be playful and as raunchy as you want to be, because you feel safe with him."

Christina Hendricks sees being a Bad Santa 2 newbie as a bonus. 'I was lucky; I got to read the script and experience it as the audience will experience it," says Christina Hendricks. 'Diane Hastings is involved with this charity, Giving City, and she helps the homeless and young children. She really tries to be a good human but is repressing a lot, which Willie brings out in her.

'Diane Hastings decides that one of her good deeds will be to help Willie out," explains Christina Hendricks. 'He's clearly got an alcohol problem and you discover that she once did too. She takes him to AA and what's supposed to be a very helpful evening turns into dirty sex in a dark alley…as it's meant to be."

Christina Hendricks was exposed during some scenes. 'I have a lot of outdoor sex, but you just have to believe in how ridiculous it is and dive in," says Christina Hendricks. 'Everything you say on this set sounds dirty, no matter what it is. We've discovered that."

New Faces Round Out the Ensemble

Waters says that the remainder of the casting went smoothly because they focused on actors who could deliver the humour of the script. 'We auditioned people and chose the ones who were the funniest. They added a lot of life to the movie."

Ryan Hansen, who plays Diane Hasting's husband, Regent Diana Hastings, says, 'Bad Santa is one of my favourite Christmas movies of all time, in the filthy Christmas movie category. It's such a raunchy piece of meat and yet there is a little bit of heart. You actually care about these characters and it's very sweet."

He adds, 'I was so excited to get this part, and when they said Christina Hendricks would play my wife, I was even more excited." Ryan Hansen says Diane Hasting brings some much-needed contrast to the vileness of the other characters, 'but her character's no Princess Flower."

'Regent is this guy who met her when she got sober," says Andrew Gunn about Diane Hasting's husband. 'She thinks that he's that anchor, he's part of her sobriety and I'm sure he was a very nice guy when they met."

'Diane Hasting's been married to Regent for years," says Christina Hendricks about the Hastings' relationship. 'They seem more like buddies than anything. Of course we find out that Regent also has his own issues."

'Regent runs a charity called Giving City," says Ryan Hansen. 'Now, running a charity you would think, -What a great fellow.' He's not; he's a little slimy."

Andrew Gunn says Ryan Hansen plays the jerk perfectly. 'It's the weirdest thing, he's actually the sweetest guy with three beautiful little kids and married for 15 years," says Andrew Gunn, 'but he just reads -handsome jackass,' which was perfect for us."

Jeff Skowron is Diane Hastings' sidekick and henchman, Dorfman. 'We're the baddies. Regent's corrupt; I'm his henchman, sent out to do his dirty work. They're the real jerks in the movie, not Willie," says Jeff Skowron.

Jeff Skowron continues, 'I was a huge fan of Bad Santa for years, so playing this part has been incredible." Jeff Skowron's account of getting the part of Dorfman is its own little heartwarming Christmas tale. 'I went in and read for it, and on Christmas Eve I got an email making sure I was available …Bad Santa 2 gave me a great Christmas!"

He describes Dorfman as a character who is 'like Barney Fife who thinks he's Magnum P.I." Dorfman cherishes his power, no matter how small or big the opportunity, to whip out his weapon and show it to everyone. 'I like to let people know who's boss when they enter Giving City," says Jeff Skowron. 'I will waste your time until you realize that I'm in charge."

Another character who brings major attitude to her appearances is Gina, the security guard at Giving City, played by standup comedian Jenny Zigrino. 'Jenny Zigrino's great," says Billy Bob Thornton. 'Another one who's perfect for the part. Couldn't get anybody better than her for that."

'Marcus really thinks he has a shot with Gina," laughs Andrew Waters, 'and he eventually discovers that just about anyone can get in there except Marcus. Jenny really made Gina's character work."

'It was great to join this group, who seemed willing to go anywhere with the story as long as it was funny and true to the characters," says Jenny Zigrino. 'I loved playing a woman who knows her own mind and adds to the ensemble humour."

-38 Below and…Action!

Montreal stands in for Chicago and Arizona in Bad Santa 2 and one of the challenges was dealing with the cold while shooting. 'Because it's a Christmas movie we came to Montreal, which has to be the coldest city in Canada," says Andrew Gunn. 'Add on top of the coldest city ever, there's the idea that Thurman gets on a bus in Arizona to follow Willie to Chicago but wears his shorts and t-shirt from Arizona. You have a recipe for disaster because now you're asking Brett to walk down the street making a phone call in -38 weather. But this kid doesn't complain, ever! I did more complaining for myself and for him than he ever did, but he was very happy when the last of those scenes had been shot and he got some sweat pants and a coat. It was really cold."

The other challenge was to replicate warmer climates during the middle of a Montreal winter. 'Willie's apartment in Arizona, with the -20 weather, that was a funny one," says Production Designer Isabelle Guay. 'It was actually snowing when we shot outside! I picked a little motel that was mostly contained and had a little backyard so it was easy to remove the snow."

One of the many funny moments in the film was inadvertently created because of the dominant French language spoken in Montreal. 'We had a little girl we decided to use as one of the kids who sits on Santa's lap and tells him what she wants for Christmas," says Andrew Waters. 'We discovered, though, that she didn't speak any English at all, and on top of that, she ran her two lines together so the result was completely incomprehensible. Billy Bob Thornton's reaction, when he hears this jumbled sentence in French, is great. He just looked at us and said -I have no idea what she's taking about,' and then did the scene by saying -Yeah, OK,' to her, when he is clearly not understanding a word."

The movie's climax and major chase scene takes place during SantaCon, an annual event that involves people dressing like Santa and going on a massive, drunken bar crawl. What started as a small event has grown, and now fills city streets with hundreds of blind-drunk Santas once a year. In short, it doesn't really get any more Bad Santa than SantaCon.

The SantaCon scenes were shot over three nights, involved hundreds of Santas and elves, and a tightly scripted chase scene.

Says Davignon, 'It was fun to make so many Santa Claus outfits with so many different looks. We had more than 400 Santa suits, plus nearly 100 elves, in the same scene." 'There were 175, maybe 200 Santas, the first night," recalls Kathy Bates. 'Then I heard there were 300 or 400 the second night. The set was absolutely wonderful and it was fun for me to do an action scene. I had a wonderful stand-in, Marie-Laurence Paquin, who was doing my stunts for me and it was a lot of fun. The last night was hard. Billy Bob Thornton had to be on the ice lying down, it was one of those scenes where you can't move your mouth because it just feels so cold."

Finding the Good in the Bad

Bad Santa left its mark not only on Santa's dirty red pants but also in the hearts and minds of audiences around the world. 'Billy Bob Thornton is a movie star and Tony can't go to a supermarket without people coming up to him and wanting to take pictures because of Bad Santa," says Andrew Gunn. 'When you're out to dinner with Billy Bob Thornton, Brett Kelly and Tony, people immediately look at Brett 13 years later and say, -Oh my god, Thurman Merman,' which is either a really good thing or a bad thing. I don't know that there are a lot of Thurman Merman groupies right now, but maybe after this movie. They'll certainly have a very sweet, dedicated boy in Brett Kelly."

Of course, Brett Kelly's naive charms aside, without Billy Bob Thornton there would be no Bad Santa at all and certainly no Bad Santa 2. 'He created that role; he's embodied that role," says Tony Kosinski. 'The audience understands who he is, what he is and what he's going through. It allows him to be as outrageous as he is in his character. Willie just goes for it. Billy Bob Thornton is an incredible actor, but he's really created a character here that everybody feels for, and laughs with and at his actions. I couldn't imagine anybody else playing the part."

'You're going to have some signposts along the way that remind you of the first movie and you're going to have some new stuff," says Billy Bob Thornton, 'but if you don't elevate it, then you're not doing your job. What we're trying to do here is elevate it emotionally and comedically. If people go with that idea in mind, then they're okay."

Director Mark Waters made Bad Santa 2 fun for the cast to work on. 'I love working with Mark," says Jeff Skowron. 'Being a huge fan of the first movie, I feel like this sequel is taking it to a new level, but at the same time satisfying what my friends and I, who are Bad Santa fans, love about the first movie. The raunchiness, the irreverence. Thurman Merman, Marcus and Willie, the triumvirate back again. Everything that you loved about those characters is brought back again in this sequel, that's gonna satisfy people but it's a completely different movie."

'There's a part of Willie Soke in everyone," says Mark Waters. 'We appreciate someone who has no filter and watching him be his true self. He has zero pretensions, so audiences love him."

'With any really great comedy, unless you have some kind of emotional anchor to it, then it's just a bunch of jokes strung together," says Andrew Gunn. 'You'll see with Billy, everything he does along the way with Sunny is trying to figure out if there's a relationship they can mend and still be a mother and son," explains Andrew Gunn. 'Because, as much as he denies it, as much as he probably thinks that he shouldn't do it, every kid just wants to have their mom."

Bad Santa 2 may be crass but its success is based on something deeper. 'Everybody in the movie has really complex back stories," says Andrew Gunn, 'whether they're stories that you know through exposition or just what they have worked out in their head, all of that is what then informs every scene in the movie."

Billy Bob Thornton believes that it's the mix of the salty with the sweet that makes Bad Santa 2 work so well. 'These days it seems that movies have to be one thing or the other," says Thornton. 'If you have a drama it has to be earnest and if you have a comedy it has to be completely wacky. The great movies that we loved growing up were always a culmination of all those things.

'This is a profane comedy at times and it's a lighthearted comedy at times. It's got a plot, but not too heavy a plot, and it's got a beating heart and some actual emotion."

Producer Andrew Gunn was surprised to find out how much Billy Bob Thornton loved the character of Willie. 'We talked a lot about the fact that people will come up to Billy and say, -Yeah I love Bad Santa because I hate Christmas too.' Billy Bob Thornton points out that it's not an anti-Christmas movie"it's really a pro-Christmas movie. It's about the real meaning of Christmas."

'In the first movie it's all about anti-consumerism and the corporatization of Christmas. Willie's that reluctant hero drawn to do the right thing," explains Andrew Gunn. 'We got into this one and as soon as I read the script it was the same kind of feelings. There's this clear theme, which is that your family doesn't necessarily have to be the people that you share DNA with. Your family is who you make it and, as Billy said, your family is who's in your heart."

Bad Santa 2
Release Date: November 24th, 2016