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From: Buddy McPeters
Date: October 17, 2003
I was going to suggest that maybe Jim Carey could play a young Luke Wills. Bob always had a resemblance to Bogie until he got up in years. I think George Strait is a much better actor than Yoakum, and he is certainly easier on the eyes, especially to the ladies. He should play Tommy Duncan and even sing Tommy's part in it! It would have been nice for Merle to play Bob way back when this talk of making a movie on Bob first got started in the mid 70's, but now I don't think he would be a very good choice as he has really aged in the last decade, plus he has all of that beard. This idea to do a movie about Bob has sat around way too long. Johnny Gimble played an excellent Bob Wills in Eastwood's Honky Tonk Man, but that was over 15 years ago too. I thought Merle Travis played a very good Eldon Shamblin in that movie in the radio station scene sitting back there with his teeth out just like Sham just grinning away. It was Allsup's idea for Clint to get Travis because Eldon was sick and couldn't make the filming schedule. He even told Merle, "Take your teeth out while you play, so you'll look more like Eldon."