3:10 To Yuma

Opening weekend is now over for this and it has taken the top spot at the box office with 14 million. Between this and Brad Pitt's western in a few weeks perhaps this will rejuvenate the genre a little bit...we can only hope. I've been hearing good things about Yuma and will definitely catch it in the next few weeks. I saw a spoiler of the ending but it won't dampen my enthusiasm for it. A new western that's well made, I'm definitely there! I've also caught wind that Kevin Costner is wanting to do another Western. I don't know if he has a script or not, but I know he's trying to get financing for the film. Tom Selleck is also in talks with CBS about an adaptation of L'Amour's The Empty Land. Apparently CBS wants to see how the Val Kilmer movie does in the ratings which I think will be broadcast in November.

My books

Since my last blogging, my book The Assassin has been released and is doing fairly well. I also have a story called Day Of The Assassin which will be appearing on Amazon Shorts pretty soon. If anyone is interested in viewing some of my work I have the first 2 chapters of The Assassin, the 1st chapter of my next book, Escape, and 1st chapter of a future release, Bounty Hunter, all on the site www.authorsden.com/ryejames I've had a few requests to send my book to soldiers overseas which I'm only too happy to oblige. If anyone is so inclined, visit the Books For Soldiers website and help support our troops.

New Westerns

Feb. 22- It's always an encouraging sign when new Westerns are released. So far for 2007, there are 3 releases that I'm aware of coming to theaters. The remake of 3:10 To Yuma starring Russell Crowe, a movie about Jesse James starring Brad Pitt, and a Val Kilmer flick. Three pretty good box office draws. It's a shame when that's all we have to look forward to though. I still believe that a Western TV show could be a hit on one of the Big 3 networks if done correctly. It's gotta be better than Big Brother 23, doesn't it? I'm not sure why the Western has been phased out to this point. I went into Borders the other day and the Western section was so small I overlooked it 3 times. Is it that nobody wants as many Westerns anymore? Is it that people want more westerns but have no way to get the message out? Now, I don't want just any Western. I'd rather have none than something crappy. The last few years I've come to believe that if it's not made by Selleck, Berenger, Duvall, or Costner...it's not getting made. They're the only ones who seem to enjoy the genre. That's got to change.