15 "Must-See Westerns"

Riding on the coattails of 3:10 to Yuma, which will have a nationwide sneak preview Sunday prior to a Sept. 7 opening, Entertainment Weekly offers an on-line list of 15 "Must-See Westerns." And partners, let me tell you: It's a pretty dadgum respectable line-up, ranging from Red River (1949) to Tombstone (1993), with room for at least one Budd Boetticher classic (1956's Seven Men from Now) and an epic miniseries (1989's Lonesome Dove).

Westerns ride again

USA Today sees a renaissance for the Western on the horizon as 3:10 to Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (with Brad Pitt, above) and No Country for Old Men prepare to gallop into megaplexes. Also in USA Today: A DVD guide to Westerns (including the original 1957 3:10 to Yuma) starring the late Glenn Ford.

Playing Dallas for laughs

If you laughed when you first heard that John Travolta would be subbing for Larry Hagman (above) as Texas oil tycoon J.R. Ewing in a big-screen version of the 1978-91 TV soap Dallas -- well, looks like the folks making the long-delayed film actually want you to giggle. According to the showbiz trade paper Variety, Betty Thomas, the director who mined two successfully spoofy movies from The Brady Bunch, and a considerably less funny comedy from I Spy, is in discussions to direct. And Pam Brady, who most recently scripted Hot Rod, is writing the screenplay. Travolta remains attached to the project -- for now.

Unemployed? Go West!

Employers are struggling to fill jobs created by a booming economy throughout many parts of the West, according to an Associated Press report. So far, however, it appears that the workforce isn't expanding fast enough to keep pace with the economic growth.

According to the AP: "Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs... Unemployment rates have been as low as 2 percent this year in places like Montana, and nearly as low in neighboring states. Economists cite such factors as an aging work force and booming tourism economies for the tight labor market...

"'This is actually the biggest economic story of our time, and we don't quite grasp it because it is 15 years in the making,' said economist Larry Swanson, director of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana.

"The U.S. Department of Labor reports the mountain West region — covering eight states along the Rocky Mountains — has the lowest overall unemployment rate in the nation. The region hit an all-time low of 3.4 percent in May."

Will 3:10 arrive even earlier?

First, Lionsgate announced that 3:10 to Yuma, originally set for an Oct. 5 release, would get pushed up for a Sept. 7 opening. Now there's word that the hard-edged Western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale will get a national sneak preview in theaters throughout North America on Sept. 2. Gee, do you think this means Lionsgate is bullish on the movie's box-office prospects?

Trailer park: The Assassination of Jesse James

The above trailer for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has been available on line for several weeks. But now there's a new trailer on the Internet -- and, to my mind, it's even more encouraging. Can't wait to see this Western when it opens in limited release Sept. 21. Literally: I can't wait. That's why I hope to catch it early next month at the Toronto Film Festival.

Adios to "Western America's Will Rogers"

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that cowboy poet Colen H. Sweeten Jr. was fondly remembered over the weekend at the third annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering at Antelope Island State Park in Utah. "We all took our hats off and bowed our heads and said thanks for having known him," said musician Lisa Stubblefield, who organized the Antelope Island event. "He was the type of storyteller that if you were sitting with him and a bunch of people around a campfire, you wouldn't want anyone else to say a word." Once described as "Western America's Will Rogers," Sweeten died of cancer Aug. 15 at age 88.