Wilson Post Blogs

Dear Ken: Can you share some background information on Liam Neeson, star of the movie “Unknown?”

Neeson, 58, was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, where his mother was a cook and his father a caretaker at a Catholic boys’ school. An excellent amateur boxer as a schoolboy (that’s how his nose was broken), he worked as a forklift operator and truck driver before he became a professional actor in Dublin in 1976. His first big movie role came in “Excalibur” in 1981, and he has since starred in such movies as “Darkman,” “Leap of Faith,” “Schindler’s List,” “Nell,” “Rob Roy,” “Michael Collins,” “Les Miserables,” “Gangs of New York,” “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Clash of the Titans.” The 6-foot-4 Neeson provided the voice of the lion, Aslan, in “The Chronicles of Narnia” movies. He also worked on Broadway in “Anna Christie“ and on TV in the series “The Big C.” Neeson’s late wife, actress Natasha Richardson, died from head injuries suffered in a skiing accident in 2009. They have two sons.

By JOHN L. SLOAN
He is back again this morning in his usual place, the big tree out on the point. I have fished several days this week and he has been there every morning. I have never seen a fisherman sit so still. If I didn’t know, better I would think he was statue or maybe a Bill Vandeford picture.

It is foggy this morning and his head is hunched between his shoulders to stay warm and ward off the damp. I feel somewhat the same way but instead make a cast. Soon, the sun will rise behind him and he will become a silhouette. Later when it gets really hot, he will move down the bank and closer to the drop-off where it goes from just a rocky bank to 40 feet of cooler water. He is following the natural movement as am I. Of course, we are both just guessing. I am betting we are right but until one of us catches a fish, we won’t know.

Dear Ken: Tell me what you can about actress Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Ree Dolly in the movie “Winter’s Bone.”

Lawrence, 20, was born in Louisville, Ky., and began her acting career at 14. By 17, she was playing the teenage daughter in the TBS sitcom, “The Bill Engvall Show.” Her other TV credits include “Monk,” “Medium” and “Cold Case.” Her movies include “The Poker House” and “The Burning Plain.” Later this year, she co-stars in “The Beaver” and “X-Men: First Class.” For her role as a poor Ozarks teen searching for her missing, meth-making father in “Winter’s Bone,” she had to learn how to fight, chop wood and skin a squirrel. As for the latter, she said. “You could ask me about anything and compare it to cutting up a squirrel, and I would choose the other. . . . I know squirrels are like rats with bushy tails, but it’s cute! It’s an animal and I was, like, Ohhhhhhhhh.”

By JOHN L. SLOAN
The debate goes on. Should hunting behind a high fence be legal? There are those in favor of it and they see absolutely nothing wrong with it. There are those who are diametrically opposed to hunting behind a high fence and are of the opinion that those who do so should be tarred and feathered.

The question is one mostly of two view points. First, is it ethical to hunt an animal that is, in effect penned and unable to escape? Second, should it be legal to do so? Now also in consideration is the possibility that penned animals give rise to diseases, which may then be spread, to the wild population.

That is another situation. Let me right now state my position. I think that if there is sufficient acreage involved the for the animal to evade the hunter and the baiting or feeding of the animal is not involved, thereby providing fair chase in my opinion, then I have no problem with it.

Dear Ken: What can you tell me about actor Chris Hemsworth who plays Thor in the new movie? I have never heard of him before this.

Hemsworth, 27, hails from the Land Down Under where he starred in the Australian soap opera “Home and Away” for three years. His brothers, Luke and Liam, are actors in Australia (Liam also tested for the role of Thor). He appeared in three movies, “Star Trek,” “A Perfect Getaway” and “Ca$h,” before taking up Thor’s hammer. Sometime this year he stars in a remake of “Red Dawn” and “The Cabin in the Woods.” Next year he reappears as Thor in “The Avengers.” Hemsworth married Spanish actress Elsa Pataky in December. He describes Thor’s character saying, “He’s doing what he’s doing for his family and to protect the kingdom, and he thinks it’s the right way to do it. It just happens to be a very aggressive way of doing it, which probably isn’t the right way.” “Thor” opens at theaters May 20. 

By JOHN L. SLOAN
Before I started hurting in every joint, I loved a tanning bed day for a little fishing on Percy Priest or Center Hill or Dale Hollow. It wasn’t too bad on Old Hickory, either.

You know the kind of day I mean; a day that makes you want to spend a half-hour at Sun Tan Village soaking up some serotonin and easing the ache in your aging joints. You want drizzle and a temperature that is several degrees below comfortable. It is the kind of day when the clouds hang just feet over the bow of the boat. You have to keep wiping your glasses to get the fog or drizzle off. You are often tempted to pull up the hood on your rain suit but that bothers your vision. Intermittently the sun comes out and cooks you just enough to tease you.

Dear Ken: Tell us something about Elizabeth Mitchell, who played Juliet Burke on “Lost” but is now Erica Evans on “V.”
Mitchell, who turns 41 March 27, was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Dallas with two younger sisters. She began her career acting in theater, and got her big break in the TV movie “Gia.” Among her other TV credits are “ER” and “The Lyons Den” and the TV movies “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story“ and “The Linda McCartney Story.” Mitchell made the movies “Frequency,“ “Nurse Betty,” “Santa Clause 2” and “Santa Clause 3.” Married, she has a 5-year-old son. 

Dear Ken: Tell us a bit about Colin Firth, who was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his role as King George VI in “The King’s Speech.”
Firth, 50, was born in Grayshott, England, but lived from the age of two weeks to 4 years old in Nigeria (three of his grandparents were missionaries). His father taught history at Winchester University College, and his mother taught comparative religions at the Open University. Married, he has three children. The actor is a strong supporter of Survival International, an organization that defends the rights of tribal peoples. Among his other acting credits are “Valmont,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “The English Patient,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Nanny McPhee,” “Mamma Mia!” and “Dorian Gray.” He has completed the film “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” a thriller which will be released at the end of the year.

Dear Ken: In your opinion, what are the 10 best movies shot in the state of Tennessee?

Well, first of all, everybody has different tastes. Mine favor older movies over contemporary. Here goes: 1: “Wild River” (1960) with Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick; 2: “All the Way Home” (1963) with Robert Preston and Jean Simmons; 3: “W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings” (1975) with Burt Reynolds and Art Carney; 4: “I Walk the Line” (1970) with Gregory Peck and Ralph Meeker; 5: “Walking Tall” (1973) with Joe Don Baker; 6: “The River” (1984) with Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek; 7: “The Liberation of L.B. Jones” (1970) with Lee J. Cobb and Roscoe Lee Browne; 8: “The Firm” (1993) with Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman; 9: “A Walk in the Spring Rain” (1970) with Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman; 10: “Marie” (1985) with Sissy Spacek and Jeff Daniels. 

Dear Ken: How many children did Michael Landon have? What TV series did he star in beside “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie”? Did he make any movies?
Born Eugene Maurice Orowitz, Landon had nine children. The eight who survive range in age from 51 to 24. The man who was known on TV as Little Joe and Charles Ingalls also starred in the series “Highway to Heaven.” His feature film credits include “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” “High School Confidential,” “God’s Little Acre” and “The Legend of Tom Dooley.” He appeared in several TV movies, most of which he produced or created, such as “Sam’s Son,” “The Loneliest Runner,” “Love Is Forever” and “Where Pigeons Go To Die.” The actor died in 1991 at age 54 of pancreatic cancer.

Dear Ken: I just saw the great song and dance man Gene Kelly in the movie “Singin’ in the Rain.” Did he have any children? How many movies did he make?
The Pittsburgh native was married three times and had two daughters and a son. He made about 35 films. Among his best were “The Pirate,” “On the Town,” “An American in Paris,” “Brigadoon” and “Inherit the Wind.” His last musical film was “Xanadu” in 1980. Said Kelly, “I never wanted to be a dancer. It’s true! I wanted to be a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.” He died in 1996 at age 83 from the complications of two strokes.

Dear Ken: My family and I are big fans of the movie “My Dog Skip.” We were wondering what other good boy-and-his-dog movies are out there.

There are several classic films on this theme, and “My Dog Skip” is near the top of the list. I’m most partial to “Good-bye, My Lady,” a 1956 release starring Walter Brennan, Phil Harris, Sidney Poitier and Brandon de Wilde. De Wilde, who co-starred as the boy in the western “Shane,” portrays an orphan coming of age who lives in a Georgia swamp with his uncle. He finds a strange breed of dog who laughs, a Basenji, that becomes his pride and joy. Just know that when a boy becomes a man, it’s a sad, glad thing. Warner Home Video has recently released “Good-bye, My Lady” on DVD. Other excellent movies about boys and dogs include: “Old Yeller” (1957), “The Biscuit Eater” (1940),  “Lassie Come Home” (1943), “Skippy” (1931), “Where the Red Fern Grows” (1974) and “Dog of Flanders” (1960).