Bob Boze Bell's Blog – January 2011 Archive (21)

January 31, 2011

   Back from a long weekend in Corsicana, Texas. Attended the tenth anniversary of the Western Artists of America Art Show in the Pearce Museum at the Navarro Community College. I was the Master of Ceremonies at the awards banquet on Saturday night and we had a grand time. Met a bunch of great artists and enjoyed some very fine artwork.

   Also, learned some Texican slang. A retired policeman from Houston, Tim Vanya, was telling me…

January 26, 2011

   My OK quote has gone viral and is showing up all over the place in Medialand, including the Daily Kos, Atlantic (Online), LA Times, etc.

   Had a Fox 10 news crew in this morning to film me talking about Arizona Wild, as it's becoming known. I'll let you know when it runs. Going to be part of a show, or series on the local affiliate.

   Went home for lunch and finished a little study I call "Rockabilly Cloud…

January 25, 2011

   Had lunch today with a well known director. Talking about a future project together.

   Here's another one of the studies I completed this weekend called Rain Rider:

I love weather, at least the proof against it, as a…

January 24, 2011

   Went home for lunch and worked on an assignment for the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Started with this study:

Who's The Clown Drummer?

Only one problem: none of the 12 inductees is a…

January 24, 2011

   Nice weekend, although quite windy. I just had new canvases stretched and prepped by Bob Stienhilber. Had five of them stacked in the breezeway, outside my studio door when a strong burst of wind lifted three of them in the air and deposited them fifteen feet away. Big rips in two of them. That hurt. Paid $500 for the stretcher work, now need to have half of it redone.

   It was Thomas Charles' 28th birthday on Sunday and the…

January 22, 2011

  Just got back from the 85th Annual Dude Ranch Association Convention at Tanque Verde Guest Ranch. Lots of great comments. We really are respected by Colleen, Russell True and the board, and many ranch owners came up to me and thanked us for putting out such a great magazine that their guests rave about and one guy from Canada said he especially appreciates us paying for the shipping "all the way over the mountain."



   One ranch owner said…

January 19, 2011

   Heading for Tucson this afternoon. Speaking at the Dude Ranch Association's annual confab at Tanque Verde Guest Ranch tomorrow. Kathy's going with me. I heard the Tucson Train Station has canceled their Wyatt Earp shooting Frank Stilwell re-enactment because everyone is still "too raw" from the shooting two weeks ago.

   Worked all morning on upcoming issue, which will feature the two True Grit movies vs the book vs history. Going…

January 18, 2011

   The "True West Girls" Allison Cabral and Sheri Riley created quite a buzz at the WESA convention in Denver last weekend. Pics to follow.

   Meanwhile, here are two more scenes from the next Graphic Cinema sequence, "When mammoth Jacks Attack":

 …

January 17, 2011

   Finished the "When Mammoth Jacks Attack" episode of Mickey Free for the current issue with a couple hours to spare. Issue is being uploaded, via ether net, to our printer in Kansas City even as you read this. Really hanging out on this one, with Cowboy Christmas, yearly budget meetings and all the Billy pardon, media madness (Wall Street Journal, CNN and Horizon and Channel 3).

   Now it's on to future Graphic…

January 17, 2011

   Spent the weekend working on five scenes for the next installment of Graphic Cinema. The theme of which is, "When Mammoth Jacks Attack."

   Here is one of the scenes, of Mickey on his stud mule, surrounded by banditos mounted on agitated horses (they want nothing to do with Mick's mammoth jack).

 …

January 14, 2011

   Worked at home this morning, wrapping up the next Graphic Cinema. Also trying to nail the title of the featured article by Paul Andrew Hutton on the Alamo defenders, their death and what it means. Wanted something snappy and short like Death Stand, or Dead Something. Never got what we wanted. May go with Last Stand as the head with a clarifying sub-head. Hmmmm.

   Finished a Mickey Free scene of him crossing the border near Naco on…

January 13, 2011

   Working hard with my staff to wrap up a big 20-plus-page package on the 175th Anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. Paul Andrew Hutton, Wade Dillon, John Foreman, David Zucker and Bart Bull are among the writers, reenactors and directors weighing in the many aspects of this amazing historical event.  

Meanwhile, if you missed the Horizon interview last night, here it is:

 …

January 12, 2011

   Went home for lunch and whipped out three studies (I was waiting for the termite guy and he finally showed at about 2:15). Meanwhile, Kathy is hosting bunco tonight (everytime I hear this term I am reminded of Doc Holliday who, I seem to remember, was branded a "bunco steerer" in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1880, which I assume means someone who suckers suckers into playing a crooked game of bunco?).

   Here is one of the studies I…

January 12, 2011

   Great trip to Ajo yesterday. It's a little over two hours south of here. An old copper smelting town, not far from the Mexican border. The mine is long closed and today the old homes are filled with retirees and hippies-artists with names like Lone Wolf. Spoke to a full house the library. Great crowd. Really enjoyed it. Sold a bunch of books and met some great people, including a local judge, now retired, who lives in Russ Shaw Senior's house. Russ…

January 11, 2011

   Got a speech today in Ajo, which is about a two-and-a-half hour run down to the border. Carole Glenn is going along to keep me company and help me sell books.

   Meanwhile, over the weekend I uncovered an old photo I took near Moab in 1984. We were coming back from visiting the Bell family in northern Iowa and came back through Canyonlands, Utah. The kids (age four and two) were asleep so Kathy and I hiked out into the sandstone…

January 10, 2011

   For all you keeping score, here's how True Grit stacks up against the last two Westerns to top $100 million at the box office:

1. Dances With Wolves: $184,208,848 (release date 11/9/90)



2. Wild Wild West: $113,804,681 (release date 6/30/99)



3. True Grit: $110,430,000 (release date 12/22/10)

Meanwhile, here's a couple studies I did this weekend:

 …

January 10, 2011

   Big weekend. Scott O'Connor and I hosted a party in Phoenix last night for Austin folksinger Slaid Cleaves. 106 of our closest friends feasted on roasted pig and great tunes by Mr. Cleaves.

   True Grit continues to ride high, holding down the number one spot last weekend, pulling in another $15 million, putting it at $110.4 million, the first Western to go over $100 mil since Dances With Wolves way back in the…

January 6, 2010

   Long day doing budgets and planning. Hard work, but worth the effort.

   My son called me yesterday and said, "Adrian's is dead to me." I laughed and instinctively knew exactly what he was talking about. One of our favorite Phoenix Mexican food restaurants has always been Adrian's on McDowell Road. Ed Mell turned us on to it and many times after returning to Phoenix and landing at Sky Harbor, we have stopped at Adrian's for a welcome…

January 5, 2011

   Went home for lunch and worked on a study of Mickey Free getting his mammoth jack in gear:

A little rusty from the holidays, but there are some nice little passages worth saving. Need to spread it out a bit, the cloud, and angle the Mickster more…

January 4, 2011

   Just got word that True Grit is at $89,292,295 as of yesterday and has taken the number one position away from The Fockers. At this rate it looks to break the $100 million mark very soon, making it the best opening of any Coen brothers film ever, and the first Western in a long time to break into this territory. This is great news for all of us who love Westerns.

   Got another call from a reporter at the Wall…