The movie that pitted James Earl Jones opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1982 was Conan the Barbarian. The film put Ahnuld on the map, but Jones was reportedly chosen to play the evil Thulsa Doom, at least partly, to serve as a model for the novice actors in the picture. Some were right out of Acting 101, some fresh off a surfboard, and at least one was still sweaty from an eight-hour stint at Gold's Gym. Jones was a seasoned veteran of stage and screen at the time, and it was hoped his work ethic would rub off on the newbs. Jones appears in Conan as a sort of sorcerer who controls his victims hypnotically. The character has been compared to cult leader Jim Jones. It's a great chance to see JEJ with long hair.
Conan drank wine, at least according to a Reddit thread, and isn't that where all the really interesting information is? Most Conaphiles figure he would drink whatever was on hand, which gets dicey if all they have is Budweiser. But let's say he came across a wine made by barbarians. He'd down it by the jug, right? Barbarians is a group of independent family wineries in the area around Mendoza, Argentina. Malbec is the king of grapes in Argentina, and Apogeo makes one of many available there.
In 1992's Sneakers, Jones plays NSA agent Bernard Abbott. The comic thriller stars Robert Redford, who leads a team of hackers to steal a black box for the NSA. However, they end up using their skills to bankrupt the Republican Party and make huge donations to liberal causes. Of course, nowadays, the Republican Party has found a new way to bankrupt itself.
For my money, and some of yours if you'll let me, this is the kind of role Jones was born to play. All business. Government business, mind you. Stern, authoritative, over a barrel and knows it, writing US Government blank checks to a bunch of nerds. If only he could have come through on that request for peace and goodwill. Oh yeah, the government doesn't do that sort of thing.
Cline Cellars has a red blend they call The Sneak. It's from Carneros, features Merlot, Syrah and Grenache, with a dab of Cab, a dash of Sangiovese and a splash of who knows what. Yes, this wine is a rule breaker. $55.
Bingo Long and the Traveling All Stars came along in 1976, a pretty good year for baseball. Not only did the Reds blank the Yankees in the World Series, but Oscar Charleston made it into the MLB Hall of Fame. Charleston, in case you didn’t know, played and managed in the Negro leagues for more than four decades. He died in 1954 and was honored with admission to the HoF 22 years later. It's a shame he wasn't allowed to play on the big stage. A true shame.
The story of Bingo Long centers on the stars of the 1930s Negro League who form their own barnstorming baseball team. They're rather like the Harlem Globetrotters on a baseball diamond, traveling from town to town, picking up games wherever they could. The movie was rather loosely based on reality, a reality where a 45-year-old man still had the knees to play catcher.
Jones plays Leon Carter, the team's power hitter and moral compass. I must admit, sitting here today it just doesn’t sound right to hear Jones doing a rural Southern black dialect. But he does it so well. And it's hard to resist his smile from behind a short stogie sticking from the corner of his mouth.
For the Bingo Long barnstormers, let's choose a wine from Barnstormer Winery, located right next to Seneca Lake in New York's Finger Lakes region. Yes, I know the barnstormers referenced in the logo are the airborne-in-a-biplane variety, but thanks for the fact check. The winery has only been there for a little more than ten years. However, the old barn that houses it dates back before the Civil War. Maybe that's where they keep their biplanes. True to their upstate heritage, they’re partial to grapes that grow well in the cold, like Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Blaufränkisch. Most of their wines are in the $20 to $30 range.
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