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The Western genre continues to live on, but not quite in the way that it once did in the times of Autry, Wayne, and Clint Eastwood

Movie star John Wayne became the face of the Western genre for an era, which became a timeless image for cinema. However, not everyone was delighted with the hero image that Wayne presented on the silver screen. Actor Gene Autry had his own career working in Westerns, but he thought Wayne’s True Grit marked the end of the genre.

Gene Autry was nicknamed the Singing Cowboy

Autry came from a different set of Westerns, originally earning fame for his crooning style in his singing. He was featured in radio, television, and films for over 30 years, starting in the early 1930s. The actor starred in over 90 movies and earned the nickname “The Singing Cowboy.”

Similar to Wayne, Autry had his own image of heroism that he exuded on the silver screen. He stood for honesty and bravery, but it was his status as one of the most influential voices in the history of country music that truly carries his name. He’s also remembered for his Christmas songs, including “Frosty the Snowman” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Autry even went on to earn an Oscar nomination in 1942 for Best Music, Original Song for Ridin’ on a Rainbow.
James Bawden and Ron Miller’s book, Conversations with Classic Film Stars, interviewed Autry, who enjoyed making Westerns for many years. He explained that he enjoyed being “out in the fresh air all day.” He enjoyed the schedule on the set, including the lunches and interacting with the crew. There was even a code that they followed and taught newcomers.
However, Autry knew that Westerns were done for after seeing a couple of movies that went down as classics. He didn’t quite see the worth that they had.
“I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and there’s one scene where the antihero kicked the other antihero in the nuts,” Autry said. “Then there was True Grit, where fat old John Wayne with a patch on one eye kept falling off his horse. And that’s when I finally realized the Western was dead.”
The Western genre continues to live on, but not quite in the way that it once did in the times of Autry, Wayne, and Clint Eastwood.
Despite Autry turning a blind eye to the later Westerns coming from Wayne, he finally started to earn praise thanks to the role. He considered Red River to be the first time that he was a “real actor.” Nevertheless, he still received criticism for essentially playing the same character. He expected to earn more praise for his performances in Red River and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but he still didn’t pick up the awards buzz.
Wayne earned attention for his performance in Sands of Iwo Jima, earning his first Oscar nomination. However, he wouldn’t win an Academy Award until 1970 for True Grit, which would also mark his final nomination.
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JEFF BRIDGES: I was kind of surrendering to the idea that I might die,” Bridges said of his illnesses


JEFF BRIDGES REFLECTS ON CANCER DIAGNOSIS: ‘CAME PRETTY CLOSE TO DYING’

Over three years after his lymphoma diagnosis, Jeff Bridges reflected on a harrowing set of circumstances that left him on death’s door.

“It’s amazing the way the mind can forget all that stuff,” the 74-year-old actor told Page Six. “I don’t think too much about the past.”

Bridges revealed that during one of his bouts of chemo, he ended up contracting COVID, leaving him hospitalized for five months with extreme pain and very little hope.
“I was pretty close to dying. The doctors kept telling me, ‘Jeff, you’ve got to fight. You’re not fighting,’” he told People in May 2022. “I was in surrender mode. I was ready to go. I was dancing with my mortality.”
“I had no defenses,” he added. “That’s what chemo does—it strips you of all your immune system. I had nothing to fight it. COVID made my cancer look like nothing.”
Thankfully, the chemo session before contracting COVID was his last one, and he was able to go into remission while beginning this new fight. This allowed his body to fully focus on recovering, and with help from a procedure that used blood from other patients who had already beaten the disease, Bridges was finally able to make progress.
Over three years later, the actor is now “feeling” great and fully back into the swing of things, returning to film his upcoming show THE OLD MAN. It was while he was filming this show originally that he discovered he had lymphoma.
“I was doing those fight scenes for the first episode of THE OLD MAN and didn’t know that I had a 9-by-12-inch tumor in my body,” he told AARP Magazine. “You’d think that would have hurt or something, when they were punching me and stuff. It didn’t.”
Jeff Bridges recently walked the red carpet for the premier of his FX show THE OLD MAN, and fans were overjoyed to see the actor back after a series of health struggles.
While filming the show, doctors diagnosed Bridges with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The actor underwent chemotherapy, and during treatment, contracted COVID-19.
“I was kind of surrendering to the idea that I might die,” Bridges said of his illnesses. “That this might be the end of the race kind of thing, because that’s what’s going to happen to all of us at some point and maybe this was my time to go through that and I didn’t know.”
However, Bridges began to recover. The TRUE GRIT actor said that he realized that he still wanted to fight to stay alive.

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Alba will star in the lead role of Parker, who is the Special Forces commando


Netflix, Jessica Alba Team Up For Her First Movie In Five Years

Jessica Alba is coming to Netflix five years after her last feature film.

The streamer announced in a post on X this week that Alba will star in the Netflix original film Trigger Warning, which will debut on June 21.

The official description of Trigger Warning is as follows: “When a skilled Special Forces commando returns home to take over her family’s bar, she soon finds herself at odds with a violent gang running rampant in her hometown.”
Alba will star in the lead role of Parker, who is the Special Forces commando. Netflix also announced that Mark Webber, Tone Bell, Jake Weary, Gabriel Basso and Anthony Michael Hall are also starring in the film.
Trigger Warning is directed by Mouly Surya.
Alba’s last film appearance came in the 2019 crime mystery Killers Anonymous, which also starred Tommy Flanagan, Gary Oldman and Suki Waterhouse.
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Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly may have won herself a global fanbase as Beth Dutton but not everyone may realise this isn’t actually her real name


Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly may have won herself a global fanbase as Beth Dutton but not everyone may realise this isn’t actually her real name.

Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly, unlike her counterpart Beth Dutton, shies away from the spotlight, keeping details about her personal life under wraps, including her name.

Beth Dutton is the violent, foul-mouthed, feisty only sister of the Dutton family in the Western Paramount Network drama who certainly is one to fear.

Nevertheless, she has shown her soft side with her desire to protect her dad John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner) at all costs, as well as express her love for Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser).
Fans have loved watching Beth’s development since the show launched in 2018, although Reilly did have a number of other starring roles before its existence.
Some of which included True Detective, Flight, Sherlock Holmes and various appearances in theatrical productions, one of which she received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for.
Despite all of this fame and success, some fans may be surprised to learn that Kelly Reilly isn’t actually the actress’ real name.
Yellowstone actress Kelly Reilly is actually called Jessica Kelly Siobhan Reilly but chooses to go by one of her middle names, rather than her first.
It isn’t known why she was named Jessica but with Irish grandparents, her other middle name Siobhan is thought to have been passed down to her.
The star’s mum was a hospital receptionist, her dad Jack Reilly a police officer and her older brother Neil works as a professional golfer.
It’s quite common practice for celebrities to use their middle names for their stage name.
Other famous faces who have done this are Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, Rihanna, Dakota Fanning and Ashton Kutcher.
But she is believed to be the only member of the Yellowstone cast to do this.
Unfortunately for fans of the award-winning drama, the number of Beth scenes to come is few and far between.
Yellowstone was cancelled last year with the network announcing that season five would be its last.PROC. BY MOVIES

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