'Cooter': Don't Go to 'Dukes of Hazzard' Movie 'Unless It's Cleaned Up'

[aaron11]

Wednesday July 13, 11:44 am ET



WASHINGTON, Va., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Georgia Congressman Ben Jones, who played "Cooter" on the hit TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard," has blasted the new film version to be released in August as a "profanity-laced script with blatant sexual situations that mocks the good clean family values of our series."

In an open letter to the fans of the show on his Web site, Jones says that "rather than honoring our legendary show, they have chosen to degrade it." He closes by saying that fans should send the producers a message that says, "If you don't clean it up, we're not going to see it." He adds, "Maybe a kick in their pocketbook will get their attention."

Jones, who was defeated by Newt Gingrich in 1994, now operates two "Dukes of Hazzard" museums, in Nashville and Gatlinburg, Tenn.

The series is now having a very successful cable run on CMT based in Nashville, Tenn. Below is the letter as it appears on Jones' Web site http://www.cootersplace.com:

Source: Cooter's Place

[Longhorn_Platinum]

:unsmile: The actors in the movie don't even look like the TV series characters. When Bo & Luke were replaced in the series, the producers at least found a pair of actors that bore some resemblance to the originals. The producers of the movie apparently didn't even try.

[DeclinetoState]

Is Ben saying Burt Reynolds (http://www.burtreynolds.com/)is no Sorrell Booke (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0095368/)?

Actually, they should have cast Jones as Boss Hogg. (http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/daytona/528/hogg.htm) He's about the right age and build. Perhaps casting one of the original Duke boys as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane (http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/daytona/528/pcol.htm) and the other as Cooter would have been good, too. But maybe that would have been too confusing.

Ben Jones, as noted in the article, served in Congress for a couple of terms. (Redistricting put him in the same district as Newt Gingrich, ending his political career.) Although a southern Democrat like Bill Clinton, he had very little use for Willie and supported his impeachment.

[Trevelyan]

I am seriously confused as to why Ashton Kutcher is not in this movie.