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Merlin in NW Ar
11-25-2005 11:10:09
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Hello, Everyone!
This article appeared in the Sunday, November 20th edition of the Fort Smith Times-Record newspaper. "When Hollywod producers need a vintage tractor, they call Richard Walker of Mountain Home. Walker's 1954 Oliver Row Crop 77 model tractor appears in a scene during this weekend's new release "Walk the Line," a biopic of country singer Johnny Cash, who was born in Kingston. But there was a hitch.When the film's producers called Walker asking to use his tractor, they told him they needed two. So Walker went and found a second one, bought it and painted it fresh for last August's shoot. In the sequence, actor Joaquin Phoenix portrays Cash as a young man when he gets drunk and drives his father-in-law's tractor into a lake. "It actually happened," Walker said. One tractor was placed in a lake, on its side, back end first. The second tractor was secured with a cable and rolled down a track toward the water with Phoenix aboard. The engines were removed from both tractors for filming. Even though the machinery worked well afterward, Walker said he did find some minnows trapped inside the framework. "I left them in there," Walker said, peering into a hole in the frame. The Mountain Home man's tractor also was used in the film "A Painted House," a movie based on author John Grisham's childhood in Black Oak. Walker said he's always ready for Hollywood and would like to travel the country with his tractors when he retires, appearing in movies." I guess I will have to go see the movie now! I hope you all enjoyed this article!
Merlin
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