By Jon Chattman, for thecheappop.com
Some actors who hit it big on a hit television show often try to distance themselves from it long after the series ends or oft-times, while it's in the middle of its run. "ER's" George Clooney comes to mind, and it's safe to say "Brokeback Mountain's" Michelle William's a long way away from her "Dawson's Creek" days. Ben Jones, however, hasn't detached himself from his role of the lovable mechanic Cooter on the original "The Dukes of Hazzard." He and his wife Alma Viator, own Cooter's Place, a "Dukes" museum and shop in Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tennessee. They also produce a yearly gathering of the show's fans and stars at "DukesFest," at the Bristol Motor Speedway. (Check out more info on CootersPlace.com). But, Jones' talent extends beyond museums and car parts.
These days, Jones balances his Dukes days with other acting gigs (he's appeared in such films as "Primary Colors" and "Meet Joe Black") and fulfills his political thirst by appearing on shows like "Crossfire" and "Hardball." Jones actually served as a congressman from Georgia for two terms after the series went off the air.
JC: Many stars often don't want to bring up their old TV days, but you embrace it... can you explain?
BJ: The show is still a hit show. Millions of young people are coming to it weekly and they think it's a new show. So whether or not I would say "oh, I don't want anything to do with it" would be foolish. I'm in show business and the show still has "legs" as we say. It's always going to be around. It's been shown in over 50 countries and kids now watch it not just once a week like they did in the early '80s, but all day long on CMT, DVDs, video games and VHS. The show is always going to be around. I enjoyed the work. I enjoy the impact that the show has had and the positive influence that it's had, and I think that's a fine thing, I don't want to separate myself from it. It never prevented me from doing anything else. I've done a lot of other things. This one's going to be around after we kick the bucket.
JC: "Dukes" made a lot of press last summer when the film version came out. Did you see it?
BJ: No, I haven't. I read the script. I was on CNN, FOX TV, Today Show, and a half a dozen others and did hundreds of radio interviews all over the country saying this doesn't reflect the family values of our show or the spirit of our show. It's certainly not anything you should take a child to see. It was a miserable movie. It got the worse reviews in the history of cinema and a lot of the critics pointed out that I had said that's what's coming. You know, I'm not a prude. I love "The Sopranos." I've seen all kinds of entertainment. I've been involved in all kinds of entertainments. There's a place for that sort of thing, I suppose, but it isn't in a franchise like ours. You don't trash it like they did. That just, to me, points out the gap between the values of Hollywood and the values of the heartland of America. And that film stunk to high heaven and hopefully it's been buried out in the Mahabi Desert somewhere. Our show continues to be a hit, and they should've listened to old Cooter!
Some actors who hit it big on a hit television show often try to distance themselves from it long after the series ends or oft-times, while it's in the middle of its run. "ER's" George Clooney comes to mind, and it's safe to say "Brokeback Mountain's" Michelle William's a long way away from her "Dawson's Creek" days. Ben Jones, however, hasn't detached himself from his role of the lovable mechanic Cooter on the original "The Dukes of Hazzard." He and his wife Alma Viator, own Cooter's Place, a "Dukes" museum and shop in Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tennessee. They also produce a yearly gathering of the show's fans and stars at "DukesFest," at the Bristol Motor Speedway. (Check out more info on CootersPlace.com). But, Jones' talent extends beyond museums and car parts.
These days, Jones balances his Dukes days with other acting gigs (he's appeared in such films as "Primary Colors" and "Meet Joe Black") and fulfills his political thirst by appearing on shows like "Crossfire" and "Hardball." Jones actually served as a congressman from Georgia for two terms after the series went off the air.
JC: Many stars often don't want to bring up their old TV days, but you embrace it... can you explain?
BJ: The show is still a hit show. Millions of young people are coming to it weekly and they think it's a new show. So whether or not I would say "oh, I don't want anything to do with it" would be foolish. I'm in show business and the show still has "legs" as we say. It's always going to be around. It's been shown in over 50 countries and kids now watch it not just once a week like they did in the early '80s, but all day long on CMT, DVDs, video games and VHS. The show is always going to be around. I enjoyed the work. I enjoy the impact that the show has had and the positive influence that it's had, and I think that's a fine thing, I don't want to separate myself from it. It never prevented me from doing anything else. I've done a lot of other things. This one's going to be around after we kick the bucket.
JC: "Dukes" made a lot of press last summer when the film version came out. Did you see it?
BJ: No, I haven't. I read the script. I was on CNN, FOX TV, Today Show, and a half a dozen others and did hundreds of radio interviews all over the country saying this doesn't reflect the family values of our show or the spirit of our show. It's certainly not anything you should take a child to see. It was a miserable movie. It got the worse reviews in the history of cinema and a lot of the critics pointed out that I had said that's what's coming. You know, I'm not a prude. I love "The Sopranos." I've seen all kinds of entertainment. I've been involved in all kinds of entertainments. There's a place for that sort of thing, I suppose, but it isn't in a franchise like ours. You don't trash it like they did. That just, to me, points out the gap between the values of Hollywood and the values of the heartland of America. And that film stunk to high heaven and hopefully it's been buried out in the Mahabi Desert somewhere. Our show continues to be a hit, and they should've listened to old Cooter!
JC: One good thing came out of it at least. The movie was so bad that it didn't ruin the memory of the old show. It was so different and so bad that you forgot about it instantly.
BJ: Out of that, three things happened that were positive. One, they spent $38 million just promoting it. The film cost over $50 million and they spent another almost $20 million just because they didn't own the rights. They didn't even know they didn't have the rights, so that tells you how clumsy those folks were. And then they spent $30 million marketing it to kids! So, it helped us with name ID. They created some controversy and controversy always peaks people's interest, but it also did a couple of other things. It made us look great by comparison. People then realized that it's not easy to do what we did. We did it extremely well. Hopefully it brought some people to the quality of our show.
BJ: Out of that, three things happened that were positive. One, they spent $38 million just promoting it. The film cost over $50 million and they spent another almost $20 million just because they didn't own the rights. They didn't even know they didn't have the rights, so that tells you how clumsy those folks were. And then they spent $30 million marketing it to kids! So, it helped us with name ID. They created some controversy and controversy always peaks people's interest, but it also did a couple of other things. It made us look great by comparison. People then realized that it's not easy to do what we did. We did it extremely well. Hopefully it brought some people to the quality of our show.
JC: Did you speak to Tom Wopat or John Schneider about the film?
BJ: Yes, we were altogether in Nashville at the CMT Awards and sort of collectively made the point that we weren't involved in the film and it's not our responsibility for it. They didn't want us involved in that film and after reading the scripts, I certainly didn't want to be involved with that film. As far as I know, everyone pretty much agreed with that. They may have had different opinions on the quality of the thing itself, but not on that issue. Everyone said, "No, this is not something to take your kids to." It sort of missed the point. If I'd been doing that movie, I would've gotten Danny DeVito to play Boss Hog and Robert Duvall to play Uncle Jesse. And then I would've gone to Nashville and have gotten Tim McGraw to play Bo and Dale Earnhert to play Luke. You've got lots of choices in Nashville to pick Daisy Duke. And you could've just made a great movie, where the Dukes save the Grand Ole Opry or save the world: just make the stakes real high: save America from terrorists or something. But, they missed it. Part of the problem is the arrogance of power. They get in those positions and think they're geniuses, when in fact, they couldn't pour beer out of a boot with the instructions on the heel.
BJ: Yes, we were altogether in Nashville at the CMT Awards and sort of collectively made the point that we weren't involved in the film and it's not our responsibility for it. They didn't want us involved in that film and after reading the scripts, I certainly didn't want to be involved with that film. As far as I know, everyone pretty much agreed with that. They may have had different opinions on the quality of the thing itself, but not on that issue. Everyone said, "No, this is not something to take your kids to." It sort of missed the point. If I'd been doing that movie, I would've gotten Danny DeVito to play Boss Hog and Robert Duvall to play Uncle Jesse. And then I would've gone to Nashville and have gotten Tim McGraw to play Bo and Dale Earnhert to play Luke. You've got lots of choices in Nashville to pick Daisy Duke. And you could've just made a great movie, where the Dukes save the Grand Ole Opry or save the world: just make the stakes real high: save America from terrorists or something. But, they missed it. Part of the problem is the arrogance of power. They get in those positions and think they're geniuses, when in fact, they couldn't pour beer out of a boot with the instructions on the heel.
JC: Are there any similarities between politics and Hollywood?
BJ: Ronald Reagan showed that. He was great. He brought all those skills he learned in show business and entertainment into his political career. People who are in those jobs, lawyers, car salesman, preachers...they all want those skills of influencing people; being able to engage people charismatically. So in that sense, it was helpful for me to have had that experience. It didn't hurt me that people knew who I was and were familiar with my face. Once you get past that though, you still got to make sense and win an election. And in my case, that was tough, but we pulled it off.
BJ: Ronald Reagan showed that. He was great. He brought all those skills he learned in show business and entertainment into his political career. People who are in those jobs, lawyers, car salesman, preachers...they all want those skills of influencing people; being able to engage people charismatically. So in that sense, it was helpful for me to have had that experience. It didn't hurt me that people knew who I was and were familiar with my face. Once you get past that though, you still got to make sense and win an election. And in my case, that was tough, but we pulled it off.
JC: Do you have any desire to jump back into politics?
BJ: No. I think it's our responsibility, for all of us, as American citizens, we have a whole lot of rights. And with all of those rights come responsibilities. Our first responsibility is citizenship and citizenship involves saying what you think and making sure that the political system, be it local, state or international, is responsive to the taxpayers. So, we're all involved in it. If we go to the barbershop and say what we think of Bush or Clinton, we're involved in politics. It's a wonderful right that we have. It's a precious thing. I've seen a very small group of people able to make enormous changes. We just had Martin Luther King Day. That was just one guy, who through his force of personality and his power of persuasion and moral convictions, made an enormous difference for a whole lot of people. That's our job. No matter what your politics are, get them out there.
BJ: No. I think it's our responsibility, for all of us, as American citizens, we have a whole lot of rights. And with all of those rights come responsibilities. Our first responsibility is citizenship and citizenship involves saying what you think and making sure that the political system, be it local, state or international, is responsive to the taxpayers. So, we're all involved in it. If we go to the barbershop and say what we think of Bush or Clinton, we're involved in politics. It's a wonderful right that we have. It's a precious thing. I've seen a very small group of people able to make enormous changes. We just had Martin Luther King Day. That was just one guy, who through his force of personality and his power of persuasion and moral convictions, made an enormous difference for a whole lot of people. That's our job. No matter what your politics are, get them out there.
JC: Do you think Cheney handled himself correctly with the whole shooting thing?
BJ: No, he should've been on television the next day telling the whole story. When he finally went on television, he handled himself extremely well. He was down to earth and genuinely contrite about what had happened and genuinely sorry, but he should've done that immediately. You don't wait four days to let that story fester and all those questions fester, because that [gives off] the appearance of not caring. We're paying his salary, so he better be transparent about these things. If you don't, then you pay a political price and he has on this one.
BJ: No, he should've been on television the next day telling the whole story. When he finally went on television, he handled himself extremely well. He was down to earth and genuinely contrite about what had happened and genuinely sorry, but he should've done that immediately. You don't wait four days to let that story fester and all those questions fester, because that [gives off] the appearance of not caring. We're paying his salary, so he better be transparent about these things. If you don't, then you pay a political price and he has on this one.
JC: What do you think about Bush's administration thus far?
BJ: Boss Hog would've done a better job, and that's all I have to say about that. His administration ought to be tried up there with Warren G. Harding and James Buchanan and Franklin Pearce. Those are generally considered at the bottom. He's got a while to go, but we'll see.
BJ: Boss Hog would've done a better job, and that's all I have to say about that. His administration ought to be tried up there with Warren G. Harding and James Buchanan and Franklin Pearce. Those are generally considered at the bottom. He's got a while to go, but we'll see.
JC: Getting back to "Dukes," how'd the concept of Cooter's Place come about?
BJ: It's always ridden around in the back of my head. We moved up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia some time ago, and every time I'd move, I'd have this Dukes of Hazard stuff: old costumes, scripts, props, pictures from the show, and all the memorabilia I'd ended up with action figures, lunch boxes, window curtains, and that stuff. I just had this idea to start, for fun, a little roadside stand where we'd put the General Lee out there and call it Cooter's Place. My wife thought I was nuts and I admit to being nuts, but just thought that'd be fun. She thought that at least 'it'll clean out the barn and get him out of the house or something.' Anyway, 5,000 people showed up the first weekend. It just went from there. My hunch was that the 'Dukes of Hazzard' continues to resonate in the hearts of people of America. They love it. They grew up with it. It was as important to a couple of generations as, say Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were to me. Those things last forever. And I was right.
JC: It's arguably more popular now. Have you kept in touch with the cast since? Are you guys basically an extended family at this point?
BJ: Oh yeah. When you work that closely with people for seven years, you go through a lot with them. And we went from going to obscurity to stardom. We were a very unlikely group in our taste and ways and personalities, but very much bonded together by that common experience. So we've watched each other: our marriages, our children, our careers, hard times and good times. We've also watched the passing of our friends.
JC: Last question, where do cousins Coy and Vance fit into "Dukes" history?
BJ: Well, those guys did the best they could in a very difficult situation and you've got to hand it to them. They had tough shoes to fill there. It was almost an impossible task. They weren't quite right. We, as a cast, tried to make them feel at home as possible. Frankly, we kept really waiting for the day Tom and John would join us. All of us were pulling for that.
BJ: It's always ridden around in the back of my head. We moved up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia some time ago, and every time I'd move, I'd have this Dukes of Hazard stuff: old costumes, scripts, props, pictures from the show, and all the memorabilia I'd ended up with action figures, lunch boxes, window curtains, and that stuff. I just had this idea to start, for fun, a little roadside stand where we'd put the General Lee out there and call it Cooter's Place. My wife thought I was nuts and I admit to being nuts, but just thought that'd be fun. She thought that at least 'it'll clean out the barn and get him out of the house or something.' Anyway, 5,000 people showed up the first weekend. It just went from there. My hunch was that the 'Dukes of Hazzard' continues to resonate in the hearts of people of America. They love it. They grew up with it. It was as important to a couple of generations as, say Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were to me. Those things last forever. And I was right.
JC: It's arguably more popular now. Have you kept in touch with the cast since? Are you guys basically an extended family at this point?
BJ: Oh yeah. When you work that closely with people for seven years, you go through a lot with them. And we went from going to obscurity to stardom. We were a very unlikely group in our taste and ways and personalities, but very much bonded together by that common experience. So we've watched each other: our marriages, our children, our careers, hard times and good times. We've also watched the passing of our friends.
JC: Last question, where do cousins Coy and Vance fit into "Dukes" history?
BJ: Well, those guys did the best they could in a very difficult situation and you've got to hand it to them. They had tough shoes to fill there. It was almost an impossible task. They weren't quite right. We, as a cast, tried to make them feel at home as possible. Frankly, we kept really waiting for the day Tom and John would join us. All of us were pulling for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment