April 9, 2009
Remakes have always been a staple of Hollywood. I read recently that Sideways, the wine country indie sleeper of several years ago, is being remade for the Japanese market with Japanese actors. In the new version they spend quite a bit of time at Golden Gate Bridge because that is a favorite spot of Japanese tourists. Hmmmm.

Well, if the idea of the Coen brothers remaking True Grit raises your eyebrows, get ready for: the latest rumor is that Tom Cruise wants to star with John Travolta in a remake of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the 1969 classic that starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Now that just seems wrong. I'm not against a remake, but give me someone with some heft and outlaw charm, say, George Clooney as Butch, or even Russell Crow, or Brad Pitt. On the other hand, I'm happy that someone wants to remake the classic William Goldman penned story and introduce it to a new audience (read that—kids).

Speaking of kids we're working on a feature "Ten Ways To Get Your Kids Interested In History." If you have any ideas on how to do this, or, better yet, if you actually got your kids hooked on history, we want to know how you did it. Me, I ruined my kids for history by forcing them to go into every podunk museum in the West. I totally failed at recreating my passion for history in my offspring.

Tweaked a study this morning:

I ran a looser version of this image several months ago, but we're featuring it in a photo feature in the June issue: "Photos Don't Lie." This is a study, "Brothers In Arms" featuring Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, I did for the big oil painting I'm doing. And this is the painting that started the controversy on this site about whether Old West cowboys actually ever wore their knife in front of their holster and whether they actually ever wore V-topped boots. The photos of Texas Rangers in the feature prove they did both. The verdict is still out on the cuffs. That one "Never" may hold.

"I read the Constitution for the articles."
—A History Major I Know