More on Ben Jones’ comments
This comment was posted by JP and provides a fascinating insight into his comments on The Dukes of Hazzard.
Ben Jones was predisposed against the film from the beginning.
I met him when he was appearing at an event last winter. The Dukes film was in mid-production at the time.
I asked Jones about the film version and he went on a tirade….one of Jone’s assistants kept ranting about how the film had ’sold out’ as they were too ‘PC’ to keep the confederate flag on the car.
I informed the ASSistant that I had been on the set and not only seen the flag on the car but also seen all 37 General Lee’s used in the film and that every single one of them had the flag. The assistant first called me a liar….and then stuttered and stammered and said ‘well, they’re going to take it off for the final version using computers!’.
Jones is just bitter that he wasn’t invited for the film version. But rarely does a film adaptation of a tv series use any of the orginal cast…except maybe for cameos. Bewitched did not use the original cast, Herbie did not, the Brady bunch did not, and the upcoming Miami Vice did not either.
I doubt many teenagers would have paid to see a bunch of 40-somethings they have never even heard of….and that’s assuming most of the original cast is still alive!
Jones has milked the Dukes franchise his entire life…and I dare to say he’s still stuck in the 70’s and nostalgic for the days when many fans actually knew who he was.
Outside of the hardcore Hazzard fans who attend the re-unions and such, very few have any clue who Ben Jones is.
As far as the film ‘trashing’ the original….well, the original was a pretty BAD show- so campy and over top…but we watched it because there were only 3 channels at the time and yes, now many of us ‘love’ it in a nostalgic way.
But the original show was not exactly high-brow…and nor was it very ‘family’. The Duke boys were playboys- their characters were not married and had no kids…and then we had Daisy romping around in short shorts in a total sexual objectification - granted Bach always tried to be classy and downplay the sexpot thing.
The Dukes series stereotyped southerners as moonshining yahoos, and it mocked law enforcement and made police officers look like bungling keystone cops.
So don’t give me all this about the film version ‘trashing’ the original- for it’s time, the original was trashy in it’s own way. Heck, one of the original series legacy’s is sex-kitten shorts that most fathers were apalled to see their daughters wearing in emulation of the tv show….not to mention the halter tops.
Jones needs to lighten up and go back to milking the Dukes with his restaurants and souvenier shops.
The makers of the film are hoping that Jones will keep making appearences on tv where he tells the potential audience that the film contains sexual situations’, ’sleeze’, and ‘violence’- he’s the best PR the film could have hoped for. He has unwittingly and ignorantly only caused a buzz that will bring the film even more success. ( his character in the series never was too bright….maybe same goes for the actor? ).
In fact, were it not for that run-in with Jones way before he came out in protest publically…I might even have thought that this whole thing is a PR stunt in which Jones was paid to generate controversy that will benefit the film.
Posted by Rachel at 7/24/2005 | 
July 27th, 2005 at 4:45 pm
I Think The Movie Is Going To Suck Personally Because it Really Has Nothing To Do With The Original Version!!! And In The Movie Jessica Portrays Daisy As A COmplete WHORE!! In All Actuality SHE WAS NOTHING OF THE SUCH!!!
ANd Her New Video IS A DIsgrace TO WILLE NELSON and THE GENERAL LEE!!!!
AND EVERYONE IN AMERICA KNOWS THEY LOVE THE DUKES OF HAZZARD!! IT WOULD HAVE NOT STAYED ON SOO LONG AND IT WOULD NOT BE COMING BACK!! ITS A SHAME IT HAD TO COME BACK BEING PORTRAYED LIKE THIS!!!
AND AS FOR THE COMMNET ABOUT KEYSTONE I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT ABOUT KEYSTONE???
I HOPE THE MOVIE GETS BAD RATINGS!!!
IT DESRVES THEM BECUASE ALL IT IS … IS A WHORE PLAYING DAISY AND TWO DUMBASSES PLAYING BO AND LUKE!!! I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU TO COMMENT BACK!!! MEGAN BLANKENSHIP OF WEST VIRGINIA
July 27th, 2005 at 4:48 pm
Thanks for the comments. I guess I was a little young to know much about the original TV show and I’d now like to be able to compare the two.
The thing is, a lot of the kids who are going to see the movie have never seen the original show so won’t feel the same way as you do (and I respect your opinion).
August 10th, 2005 at 4:21 am
I, on the other hand, don’t. Perhaps I would if you remembered to look for the Caps Lock button and didn’t judge people simply by their dress and manner.
Also, are you telling me that no guy who watched Dukes didn’t have sexual fantasies about Daisy?