Bill Paxton

"Frailty" comes to us complete with testimonials to its ability to thrill from authorities like Sam Raimi, James Cameron and Stephen King. Could experts like this ever be wrong? Of course they could, but in this case, they're not. The scary directing debut of star Bill Paxton, "Frailty" is a well-crafted, disturbing Texas gothic thriller, a completely spooky piece of business that gets under your skin and, some plot blips aside, stays there for the duration.

If Emmys were given out for underdog TV projects that appeared to be an expensive, risky gamble, it would be hard to beat History's "Hatfields & McCoys. " Executive producer Leslie Greif had tried for 30 years to bring his passion project to fruition, with endless rejection from studios and networks. Its miniseries format had been largely abandoned by networks, and its massive scale, historic setting in a remote part of the country and western-movie overtones were considered out of vogue with younger, hip audiences, particularly when juxtaposed against flashier modern fare such as HBO's "Girls" or even the stylish retro flavor of "Mad Men. " In addition, History had little experience with scripted programming, with its first scripted drama, "The Kennedys," derailed after drawing extensive controversy.

In his various film roles, Bill Paxton often seems to be in over his head, whether battling nature (and estranged wife Helen Hunt) in "Twister" (1996), trying to untangle the complications of "A Simple Plan" (1998) or bottoming out as a doomed submarine captain in 2000's "U-571."

History knows more than a little something about the dangers of messing with a big family. The network's first foray into scripted drama was derailed last year when its ambitious biopic "The Kennedys" drew intense pre-release criticism from family members and leading historians. Eventually, the basic cable channel abandoned its firstborn, and the relatively unknown ReelzChannel aired the program, which later earned Emmy nominations for all of its male leads, and an Emmy win for Barry Pepper's portrayal of Bobby Kennedy.

If Emmys were given out for underdog TV projects that appeared to be an expensive, risky gamble, it would be hard to beat History's "Hatfields & McCoys. " Executive producer Leslie Greif had tried for 30 years to bring his passion project to fruition, with endless rejection from studios and networks. Its miniseries format had been largely abandoned by networks, and its massive scale, historic setting in a remote part of the country and western-movie overtones were considered out of vogue with younger, hip audiences, particularly when juxtaposed against flashier modern fare such as HBO's "Girls" or even the stylish retro flavor of "Mad Men. " In addition, History had little experience with scripted programming, with its first scripted drama, "The Kennedys," derailed after drawing extensive controversy.

On his copy of the script for the film "A Simple Plan," Bill Paxton has written himself a simple reminder: "You don't know your true character unless it's been tested." This is the truth that the story--which orbits more directly around discovered treasure and the consequences of greed--forced Paxton to confront. He stalks it, obsessively at times, like some great grizzly that is all the while leading him back to its lair. "Everyone asks me, 'Would you keep the money?'

Almost sent directly to TV, this bleakly amusing and truly moving film by director Carl Franklin proved to be the sleeper of 1992. Dramatic and suspenseful, it charts a collision course involving three losers on the run. They include Billy Bob Thornton, who also wrote the script with Bob Epperson, Cynda Williams (pictured) and Michael Beach. Jim Metzler and Earl Billings play two Los Angeles cops in pursuit and Bill Paxton portrays a naive Arkansas sheriff (Bravo early Tuesday at 1 a.m.

"Aliens" director James Cameron recently went back behind the camera--but you won't be seeing the latest efforts at your local cinema. He served as "executive creative consultant" on "Reach," a new video by Warner Bros. recording artists Martini Ranch (they had a cult hit last year with something titled "How Can the Laboring Man Find Time for Self Culture?"). Well . . . some sources say Cameron actually directed.

Actor Bill Paxton is known for his work in big studio films like "Apollo 13" and "Twister," but his new film, "Traveller," which opened Friday, suggests he has other tricks up his sleeve. The story of a clan of Irish grifters who prowl the highways of the rural South, the film casts the 42-year-old actor as a con artist who undergoes a redemption. Evocative of "One False Move," Carl Franklin's nuanced thriller of 1992 that featured Paxton, "Traveller" was shot last year in Wilmington, N.C.

Now that Tony Soprano sleeps with the fishes (we know in our hearts that it's true, so let's all stop arguing), it falls to Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) -- father, owner of the rapidly expanding Home Plus chain of stores and recently exposed polygamist -- to carry on HBO's torch as its leading harried patriarch.

Even 150 years later, no one can say for sure what started the bloody feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky. Some think it was shifting allegiances during the Civil War that drove a wedge between the two neighboring families. Others point to a pull-and-tug over land, timber and money. And some feel it was a prized pig, lost or waylaid, that sent the mountain clans into decades of murders and vengeance. Bits of all those theories, plus a disastrous Romeo-and-Juliet love story, lay the foundation for History channel's "Hatfields & McCoys," a six-hour miniseries launching Monday.

As HBO unveils the fifth and final season of "Big Love" Sunday night, Bill Paxton, 55, returns to the dramatic fray as Bill Henrickson, a freshly minted state senator and the patriarch of a polygamous family of sister wives played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. How are you? Relieved. Relieved I got through the season in one piece. It's a very hard role to perform for six months every year. This season took it to another level. It's always been intense for Bill Henrickson.

"Big Love" has been blazing through its third season. Will Scheffer, who created the show with Mark V. Olsen, his partner in work and husband in life, said, "Everything that we hinted at, that we were building to, we said: 'Let's just do it -- let's go as far as we can this year and burn through it.' " The results: Love has ebbed a bit for now, and we have been left with big.

Now that Tony Soprano sleeps with the fishes (we know in our hearts that it's true, so let's all stop arguing), it falls to Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) -- father, owner of the rapidly expanding Home Plus chain of stores and recently exposed polygamist -- to carry on HBO's torch as its leading harried patriarch.

LAST Christmas, as Mark V. Olsen screened a new episode of "Big Love," the HBO drama about a suburban polygamous family that he created and produces with his partner Will Scheffer, he found himself deeply unsettled. The actions taken by the Henrickson family to protect their way of life -- measures that seemed so palatable in the script -- had a different veneer when Olsen viewed them onscreen. "I couldn't tell what I was watching," he recounted. "Is it a cult at work?

In his various film roles, Bill Paxton often seems to be in over his head, whether battling nature (and estranged wife Helen Hunt) in "Twister" (1996), trying to untangle the complications of "A Simple Plan" (1998) or bottoming out as a doomed submarine captain in 2000's "U-571."

LAST Christmas, as Mark V. Olsen screened a new episode of "Big Love," the HBO drama about a suburban polygamous family that he created and produces with his partner Will Scheffer, he found himself deeply unsettled. The actions taken by the Henrickson family to protect their way of life -- measures that seemed so palatable in the script -- had a different veneer when Olsen viewed them onscreen. "I couldn't tell what I was watching," he recounted. "Is it a cult at work?

As HBO unveils the fifth and final season of "Big Love" Sunday night, Bill Paxton, 55, returns to the dramatic fray as Bill Henrickson, a freshly minted state senator and the patriarch of a polygamous family of sister wives played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. How are you? Relieved. Relieved I got through the season in one piece. It's a very hard role to perform for six months every year. This season took it to another level. It's always been intense for Bill Henrickson.

"Frailty" comes to us complete with testimonials to its ability to thrill from authorities like Sam Raimi, James Cameron and Stephen King. Could experts like this ever be wrong? Of course they could, but in this case, they're not. The scary directing debut of star Bill Paxton, "Frailty" is a well-crafted, disturbing Texas gothic thriller, a completely spooky piece of business that gets under your skin and, some plot blips aside, stays there for the duration.

On his copy of the script for the film "A Simple Plan," Bill Paxton has written himself a simple reminder: "You don't know your true character unless it's been tested." This is the truth that the story--which orbits more directly around discovered treasure and the consequences of greed--forced Paxton to confront. He stalks it, obsessively at times, like some great grizzly that is all the while leading him back to its lair. "Everyone asks me, 'Would you keep the money?'