With the passing of the most iconic actor of our era, James Earl Jones. I've been going through a mourning stage, meaning James Earl Jones really has without a doubt been a huge part of my childhood like this was Darth Vader, Terrance Mann, the Blind man from the Sandlot. And to hear that this voice of God, this legendary actor has passed the gates of Saint Peter, is so sad to hear and to be honest I knew I need to pay tribute to this masterful actor though the question is how and what way you should pay tribute to this iconic actor? Well thankfully after talking to my brother about this, he recommended a movie that I had no clue was a movie more importantly we also talked about that if you are going to pay tribute to James Earl Jones you have to start at before he was cast as the voice of Darth Vader, and the Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings upon which is a mouth full of words if you plan to say that title ten times, hell almost long as the Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Top baseball pitcher Bingo Long (Billy Dee Williams) is fed up with how his Negro League team owner treats him, so he forms his own lineup, recruiting big-hitting Leon Carter (James Earl Jones) and Charlie Snow (Richard Pryor), who dreams of playing in the majors. Boycotted by black teams, Long's outfit plays minor league white teams, earning more attention as entertainers than as players. However, their success wins them a chance to play again in the Negro League, this time as equals.
The movie itself is a fictional story furthermore was based on the book of the same name by William Brashler, and he incorporates a lot of the characters with real life ballplayers like legendary ballplayers like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson and if you're not a big baseball fan like me in terms of playing baseball video games you'd probably played a lot of the Negro League levels on the latest MLB the Show games, they've been telling stories of these great players like Paige and Gibson and some of the stuff of Paige's career I was reminded by in this movie. The film itself I imaged was filmed in where the Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama because that's where we had the latest Negro League tribute as well as the passing of Willie Mays but really was filmed in Macon, Georgia as well as the historic field Luther Williams Field for which was also used for films like 42 and Trouble with the Curve as well as the television show from Hank Azaria, Brockmire. And interesting fact, some ballplayers were played by actual former athletes, including former members of the Indianapolis Clowns, who performed various stunts shown in the film. Now we reach to the focus of the film, and that's James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams. This was 1976 when this film came out furthermore was a year before Star Wars dominated the box office and when you’re in actor you have to take any gig in order to pay the bills and take care of your family and really James Earl Jones was an Academy Award nominee actor so deep down he had the respect so flood gates are open for a guy like Jones, even Williams who came out of the success of Brian Song portraying the real life Bears legend Gale Sayers and really when you are co-starring with a great presence as well as veteran actor in James Earl Jones, man you talk about a great balance of acting talent. It is strange and ironic that both actors appear in this movie and then four years later both appear, though not on opposite sides of the screen but in Empire Strikes Back so, real fate usually reaches out to extend its hand. What I like most about the movie honestly is that it hold a ton of themes especially when it comes to players and owners in baseball and that discussion of more money and having this incorporated to the Negro Leagues I especially like mainly because it adds more layers of the debate discussion, the other thing I liked and found fascinating is that watching Williams and Jones new team almost reminds me of the Harlem Globetrotters where they would set up a game and develop their team as an entertainment group circa the Globetrotters and interestingly enough the Globetrotters were founded in the mid-twenties so there is kind of that great inspiration between a film like this and the book. In a world that's thrown into chaos and only the good people are taken from us, I'd say it's always a good and refreshing way to express mourning and tribute to legendary actors like James Earl Jones, and to be truth full I don't know how I'll feel when Morgan Freeman is gone or Denzel Washington or even Samuel L. Jackson. So, if you’re like me who’s still reeling on the fact that an iconic actor like James Earl Jones being gone from this world, then I would highly recommend watching this surprising great film upon which is worthy of a monthly recommendation in my eyes. Furthermore, I would highly recommend everyone a fan of movies to just sit down and watch any film that includes your favorite James Earl Jones role from Star Wars trilogy to Field of Dreams and even the Lion King because deep down there will never be a voice so memorable and iconic voice, as James Earl Jones.
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