Coming soon to a video store near you

Several Academy Award hopefuls will be released on DVD during the next few weeks, to take advantage of all the pre-Oscarcast hoopla. But 3:10 to Yuma -- which hits video stores next week -- is the only one set for a January debut.

Episode 4

Here I am talking about Resident Evil: Extinction and 3:10 to Yuma. Not bad.

Westerns rope Emmys

Maybe Westerns really are back in fashion. On the same weekend that 3:10 to Yuma managed to sustain its opening weekend momentum at the theatrical box-office, Broken Trail lassoed a passel of prizes, including the award for Best Miniseries, during the Emmy Awards extravaganza. Robert Duvall was honored as Best Actor in a miniseries, and Thomas Haden Church received the Best Supporting Actor prize. But wait, there's more: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee -- the HBO adaptation of the Dee Brown best-seller -- was honored as Best Made-for-Television Movie.

Radio active

I'll be interviewed by New Orleans radio host David DuBos tomorrow -- Labor Day -- during the 5 pm hour on N.O. station WGSO (which is streamed on-line here). DuBos -- who usually hosts the station's Movie Talk show on Saturdays -- wants to chat about the renaissance of the Western, so you can expect we'll be focusing on 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Westerns ride again

USA Today sees a renaissance for the Western on the horizon as 3:10 to Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (with Brad Pitt, above) and No Country for Old Men prepare to gallop into megaplexes. Also in USA Today: A DVD guide to Westerns (including the original 1957 3:10 to Yuma) starring the late Glenn Ford.

Will 3:10 arrive even earlier?

First, Lionsgate announced that 3:10 to Yuma, originally set for an Oct. 5 release, would get pushed up for a Sept. 7 opening. Now there's word that the hard-edged Western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale will get a national sneak preview in theaters throughout North America on Sept. 2. Gee, do you think this means Lionsgate is bullish on the movie's box-office prospects?

Viva Yuma

From the Associated Press: "[A]n Arizona desert town near the borders with California and Mexico is Cuba's most talked-about American locale." And it's all because of the original 3:10 to Yuma.

First rave for 3:10 to Yuma

Todd McCarthy of Variety has weighed in with the first rave review for 3:10 to Yuma.

The verdict: "3:10 to Yuma is a tense, rugged redo of a film that was pretty good the first time around. Reinforced by a strong central premise, alert performances, a realistic view of the developing Old West and a satisfying dimensionality in its shadings of good and evil, James Mangold's remake walks a fine line in retaining many of the original's qualities while smartly shaking things up a bit." McCarthy waxes enthusiastic about the lead performances by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale -- and singles out for special praise "a wonderfully leathery characterization by Peter Fonda as a supremely tough old bounty hunter."

3:10 to Yuma opens Sept. 7 at theatres and drive-ins everywhere. You can read all about it in the October issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine, which hits newsstands Sept. 4 with a cover story by.... by.... well, by me, actually.

Poster posting

The marketing gurus at Lionsgate are taking a fairly nervy approach to their poster art for 3:10 to Yuma: No attempt to hide or even soft-pedal the fact that it's a Western, but no close-ups of top-billed Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Instead, a dramatic rear-view of a supporting player -- Ben Foster as Charlie Prince, second-in-command to Crowe's outlaw chief -- in a sepia-toned illustration with a vaguely Sergio Leone-ish look. It's attention-grabbing, to be sure. But will it be audience-attracting?

Trailer alert: '3:10 to Yuma'

If you're a Western fan, this should be very encouraging: An exciting trailer for 3:10 to Yuma, with Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Peter Fonda riding hard and shooting straight for director James Mangold. Hey, I'm ready to saddle up and gallop over to the megaplex for this one.