Last updated 08/12/00

During next week's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, one of three nominating speeches for vice president Al Gore on Wednesday night will be delivered by actor Tommy Lee Jones, a Harvard classmate of Gore's.
(Aug. 12, 2000 / Source: AP)

The September 20 issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine has a great photo of TLJ on the cover. The related article is primarily about a day spent on his ranch during roundup. Its a lovely view of his Texas life, with some beautiful photos.
(Aug. 7, 2000 / Thanks to Pam Mauk for the information)

On 8/1/2000, Space Cowboys had its official red carpet premiere in Los Angeles, and Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland were guests on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

warnerbros.com has interview footage taken before the premiere from Tommy Lee Jones as well as the rest of the cast on this web page.
(Aug. 1, 2000 / Thanks to Jen O'Neal (Marketing & Promotions Coordinator, Warner Bros. Online)

On 08/01/00, Susan Fox wrote:

I got to see a sneak preview of Space Cowboys last night at a local theater.

Both thumbs up! Our Mr. Jones gets to show a cowboy-macho romantic side by playing a wild-and-crazy guy who's lost the love of his life and finds a new romance at NASA. As I've always thought, that rugged face (with his dark, soulful eyes) can look so wonderful as the secretly vulnerable, haunted-by-love tough-guy.

There's some wickedly funny stuff in this movie as the aging Space Cowboys cheat, bluff and excel their way through all their physical tests. Clint Eastwood has such a terrific technique for helping you identify the young versions of the present day characters, that you absolutely knew which one was Eastwood's character, etc. in the 40-years-ago scenes that start and set up the movie.

Eastwood picked everybody perfectly. The only character negative was that James Garner wasn't quite as prominent as the other 3 main characters, but the first present day scene you see of Garner at his current job is a hoot. The two most prominent characters in this movie were Eastwood's and Jones' , because not only were they the closest of the team of 4, but they were also the two characters who had the oldest conflict, despite their comraderie. They are reunited for this NASA launch after a 12-year estrangement.

Among the scenes you might like (I did): TLJ's character "Hawk" taking a cocky thrill seeker for a birthday flight in his stunt plane; the turn your head and cough scene at NASA; the eye chart scene (keep an eye on Donald Sutherland, who was also a fun womanizer); and my favorite: Mr. Jones' character telling about the only time in his life when he was ever afraid. That scene was funny and sweet and touching. This whole movie was a lot of fun, tense at the end, and poignant.

This is the kind of movie that makes you feel good, and it's quite entertaining to see the wily "old" guys common sense know-how besting the young astronauts and their high tech gizmos. And for Tommy Lee Jones fans like us, Mr. Jones has stolen another movie. Tough to do when he's co-starring with several other competent actors who've been stars far longer than he has.
(Aug. 1, 2000 / Thanks to Susan Fox for this great review!)

Paramount has annouced that Rules of Engagement will be released on DVD and VHS on October 17, 2000. The only place so far that is accepting pre-orders on the DVD is DVD Express. Amazon.com is accepting pre-orders on the VHS version, but the initial offering price is $106.99.
(July 31, 2000 / Thanks to Gina Holub for the information)

On 07/15/00, Susan Fox wrote:

Our Mr. Jones has a short piece in the current PEOPLE magazine (July 17th issue). It's a brief interview about his polo interests and is very good. And, there's a good picture of him in his polo uniform while he's taking a break.
(July 15, 2000 / Thanks to Susan Fox for the information)

In a news story titled "Hollywood Discovers the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad", PRNewswire mentions "the most famous train wreck ever captured on film", referring to the train wreck sequence from The Fugitive which was filmed on Great Smoky Mountain Railroad property. "The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad spent two months creating a special track and set for the crash (...). Over two hundred technicians, directors, producers and actors were on the set during February and March 1993. This phenomenal crash was the first to ever be filmed fullscale; previously, all other train crashes had been done in miniature. (...) Visitors who choose one of the excursions leaving from the Dillsboro depot can see the wrecked prison bus and the shell of the engine which crashed into it."

For more information on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad or its roundtrip excursions, call 1-800-872-4681, or visit their Web site at www.gsmr.com.
(July 5, 2000 / Source: PRNewswire)

AP has released a report titled "BEEF TRAIL: Meandering across West Texas armed with knife and fork" which mentions among other places the Fort Griffin General Merchandise Co. in Albany, TX, whose "wet-aged, flavored cuts of beef and other entrees have attracted movie stars such as Tommy Lee Jones."
(July 3, 2000 / Source: AP)

LOS ANGELES - Columbia TriStar is announcing a Sept. 5 release of its sci-fi action comedy "Men In Black," starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Columbia's release of the $550 million worldwide moneymaker comes shortly after Universal announced its special DVD releases of Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," and days after Disney's special DVD release of the "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" multi-disc sets. While Columbia was one of the first studios to support the DVD format during its launch in April 1997, the MIB collector's series and limited edition are the studio's most ambitious DVD releases to date.

The most unique feature on the two-disc "Men In Black" limited edition set is the ability to edit the film. Using either a set-top player or a PC equipped with DVD-ROM, viewers can physically alter a scene sequence, rearranging the shot list, then compare their version of the film to the director's and listen to an audio and visual commentary starring director Barry Sonnenfeld describing why he chose the shots he did.
(June 26, 2000 / Source: Columbia TriStar)

HOLLYWOOD - When Jessica Lange received her Crystal Award at the 24th annual Women in Film luncheon Friday she had much more to say than a simple thank you. Tommy Lee Jones was on hand to present the Crystal to Lange, as was Steven Spielberg, who handed the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award to director Mimi Leder.
(June 12, 2000 / Source: Variety)

On 05/26/00, Susan Fox wrote:

In the June issue of Biography magazine, there's a Summer Movie Preview article, and on page 53, there's a teensy piece about SPACE COWBOYS. Featured is a photo of the main cast and a smaller one of our Mr. Jones. The smaller one I've seen before. The cast picture with him is new to me and a nice shot.

A quote from the piece: "The real gem of this tough-guy action film is Tommy Lee Jones, who, thanks to roles in The Fugitive and Double Jeopardy, seems to own the genre." Amen.
(May 26, 2000 / Thanks to Susan Fox for the information)

HOLLYWOOD, March 29 -- "Rules of Engagement," directed by Academy Award(R)-winning director William Friedkin and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel Jackson will open nationwide on Friday, April 7 in over 3,000 theatres.

Col. Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) is a 30-year Marine veteran: a decorated officer with combat experience in Vietnam, Beirut and Desert Storm -- a patriot, a hero. But now, the country he served so well has put him on trial for a rescue mission that went terribly wrong. For his attorney, he has chosen Marine Col. Hays Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones), a comrade-in-arms who owes his life to Childers. Hodges is not the best lawyer in the service, but Childers trusts him as a brother Marine who knows what it's like to risk death under fire. Bound by duty and friendship, Hodges reluctantly takes the case, even as he begins to doubt the man who saved his life in Vietnam three decades ago.

"Rules of Engagement" brings together Academy Award(R)-winning director William Friedkin and a renowned cast. A Paramount Pictures presentation in association with Seven Arts Pictures, the film also stars Guy Pearce, Bruce Greenwood, Blair Underwood, Philip Baker Hall, Anne Archer and Ben Kingsley. The producers are Richard D. Zanuck and Scott Rudin, and the executive producers are Adam Schroeder and James Webb. Arne Schmidt serves as co-producer. Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay based on a story by James Webb, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy.

Paramount Pictures is releasing the film in the U.S. and Canada.
(Source: Paramount Pictures)

On 03/27/00, Sven Rump from the Netherlands wrote:

I read in the Hollywood Reporter that the people at Paramount were so pleased with what they have seen of "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT" that they want to commit director William Friedkin and Tommy Lee for another project entitled "Shooter".......

Rules of Engagement is slated to be released in the United States on April 14, 2000 and Space Cowboys is to be released on August 4, 2000 (moved from its inital release date of May 26).

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, the official Space Cowboys website is up. There's not much on it yet (except for one pic of the 4 cast members -- in which Tommy looks horrible), but it's worth bookmarking:
http://www.movies.warnerbros.com/spacecowboys/index.html

Video News: The DVD version of Double Jeopardy will be released in the States on February 22, 2000. Reel.com and dvdexpress.com are taking preorders for $18. The VHS version will be released the same day but it's $91.
(Dec. 23, 1999 / Thanks to Gina Holub for the information)

Tommy Lee Jones has written an introduction to TEXAS CATTLE BARONS: THEIR FAMILIES, LAND, AND LEGACIES, a hardcover from Ten Speed Press which was published in August 1999. It retails for $49.95, but can be ordered online from Barnes & Noble or Amazon for less than $35. The book also contains some essays by Elmer Kelton, author of "The Good Old Boys".
(Dec. 20, 1999 / Thanks to Susan Fox for the information)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--The board of directors of the Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF) has announced that its fifth annual edition will be held February 4-13, 2000 with its Lifetime Achievement Awards celebration scheduled for February 6, 2000 at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. The PBIFF's first Lifetime Achievement Awards of the new millennium will be presented to Actor Tommy Lee Jones and Director William Friedkin ("Rules Of Engagement") in a star-studded salute to Hollywood featuring a special concert performance by Ben Vereen. Lynn University's Harid Conservatory 75-piece orchestra -- recently proclaimed the official orchestra of the PBIFF -- will perform award-winning selections from film classics throughout the evening program.
For more information, visit www.pbifilmfest.org
(Nov. 30, 1999 / Source: ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)

According to the Nov.20-Dec.3 issue of German TV mag TV Spielfilm, Tommy Lee Jones is supposed to have the starring role of a "master jewel thief" in director David Mamet's latest movie project, The Heist, with Danny DeVito playing his partner and Gene Hackman playing his rival. Sounds great, but is it true?
(Nov. 28, 1999 / Lutz Koch)

NEW YORK -- Jay Leno says his greatest achievement was getting his driver's license. For boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, it was defeating Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1987. And Jude Walter's biggest triumph? Standing up in his crib. Jude, who was born this year; Leonard, born in 1956; and Leno, born in 1950, are among 100 men and boys who came into the world each year of the past century and who were photographed by Matthew Welch for a feature in the December issue of Esquire. They were also asked about their greatest achievement. Actor Tommy Lee Jones, 1946, said it was his peace of mind. Don Knotts, 1924, offered his portrayal of Barney Fife, the stumbling deputy sheriff on "The Andy Griffith Show." And fourth-grader Eric Wong, 1990, said it was beating his cousin in basketball. Karl K. Kintner, 1901, a retired airplane mechanic, said it was "living as long as I have."
(Nov. 10, 1999 / Source: AP)

SAN ANTONIO -- Lyle Lovett didn't sing a single note on stage at the Empire Theater. He read instead. Lovett read for 30 minutes from the short stories of the late Texas writer William Goyen at a benefit attended by 500 people. Actor Tommy Lee Jones, who recommended Lovett for the event, introduced him and told the audience, "The key to understanding Lyle Lovett is that he still lives in a house that his grandparents built in Klein, Texas." He added: "Lyle is an original, although he's thoroughly a Texan. And aren't those the same things?" The soft-spoken Lovett said he was happy to help a good cause -- the San Antonio Public Library Foundation. "Well, they asked. And everybody was real nice about it," he said.
(Nov. 4, 1999 / Source: AP)

Special alert for TLJ fans in the southern part of Germany:
There's still no word on Double Jeopardy's German premiere date (at least as far as we know), but the BROADWAY multiplex theatre in Landstuhl (near Kaiserslautern, just minutes from Ramstein U.S. Air Base) is showing the movie now, in the original U.S. version. For exact showtimes, call (06371) 937 037. This may well be the only chance for months to see the movie in Germany. [Note: As of 11/25/99, the movie is no longer playing at the BROADWAY.]
(Oct. 17, 1999 / Lutz Koch)

BURBANK - Not really a news item, but we'd like to mention it anyway: During a recent visit to the Warner Bros. Studio Museum in Burbank, CA, we found out that the original costumes of Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford from "The Fugitive" are on display there. They are the costumes from the opening train wreck/escape sequence. Picture taking is not allowed, so we can't show them to you here. To visit the Studio Museum, you have to take the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
(August 8, 1999 / Lutz Koch)

HOLLYWOOD - According to the "Hollywood Reporter", Warners have scheduled "Space Cowboys" for a Memorial Day 2000 release. Other films for that date include (at this time): "Mission Impossible 2" and Disney´s "Dinosaurs".
(August 5, 1999 / Thanks to Sven Rump for the information)

Another message from the Netherlands:

"Hello again,
Well, the folks at UIP are not making their minds up about "Double Jeopardy", it has been pushed back to February in The Netherlands. I am not sure when it opens in Germany or other European territories.
Kind regards, Sven Rump"
(July 25, 1999)

HOLLYWOOD - Clint Eastwood has signed James Garner to play the third space shuttle astronaut in "Space Cowboys". Others recently signed for the picture include James Cromwell, Donald Sutherland, William Devane and Marcia Gaye Harden.
(July 2, 1999, Source: Reuters/Variety)

We received this message from the Netherlands. Thanks!

"Hello,
At this year´s Cinema Expo Intl. in Amsterdam they showed a trailer for "Double Jeopardy", and it is a very high profile release for UIP/Paramount, since it is still stuck on a Christmas releasedate here in The Netherlands.
It looked really great. A very exciting thriller!
Sven Rump Spijkenisse, The Netherlands"
(June 27, 1999)

U.S. TV station TV Land aired the "Baretta" episode "Dead Man Out" (guest starring Tommy Lee Jones) on June 19. If you are interested in getting a tape copy, please read this ad.
(June 27, 1999 / Thanks to Susan Billingsley for the information)

On TNT's Roughcut website, the release date of "Double Jeopardy" is now listed as September 24. Also, "Entertainment Tonight" had a "First Look" at the movie.
(June 27, 1999 / Thanks to 'Lynnepooh3' and Mary E. Hubert for the information)

NEW YORK - Andrew Davis, director of "The Fugitive," is interested in a movie project called "Remember the Titans". The film, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer is trying to get off the ground, is a fact-based story about the integration of a high school football team in 1971. Denzel Washington wants to play the black coach, and Bruckheimer is trying to get an actor "on the order of a Robert Duvall or Tommy Lee Jones" to play the white coach. They hope to shoot this fall.
(April 8, 1999, Source: Reuters/Variety)

HOLLYWOOD - In an article titled "L.A. film shooting plummets", Variety reports that there is cause for hope, mentioning "Space Cowboys," starring Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones, which seems to have a shooting schedule in Los Angeles.
(April 7, 1999 / Source: Reuters/Variety)

HOLLYWOOD - Variety reports that Blair Underwood and Kim Delaney have joined the cast of William Friedkin's "Rules of Engagement,'' which stars Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson, and is currently shooting in Morocco.
Underwood will play a Marine captain who gives an order resulting in the deaths of innocent bystanders, and who is subsequently court-marshaled.
(April 6 & 9, 1999 / Source: Reuters/Variety)

NEW YORK - According to the April issue of GQ, personal charm is fading fast from the American scene. Before it evaporates completely, the magazine tips its hat to the remaining charmers and exposes the charmless. ("Charmed, I'm So Sure," page 206).
Under the heading, "Roguish Charm," Tommy Lee Jones is mentioned.
(April 6, 1999, Source: PRNewswire)

Apr. 4, 1999 -- A few days ago, we received this very nice and interesting letter:

"Hi! My name is Sgt. Chris Young, USMC. I'm stationed at Parris Island SC. I was cast to be one of Tommy Lee Jones squad leaders in the Vietnam scenes for Rules of Engagement. Just wanted to let you know the crew is done and now off to Morocco. The Vietnam stuff went great and from what I saw on the monitor it promises to be some sensational stuff (despite me getting killed, ha ha). Enjoyed your page and will check back from time to time because now that I've met and had the opportunity to work with Mr. Jones I'm even more of a fan! Take care!
Sgt. Young"

Thanks a lot, Sgt. Young, and we sincerely hope that you'll find the time to tell us a little bit more about this fascinating experience!

BEAUFORT, S.C., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Mark Fincannon of Fincannon and Associates, a Carolinas' based casting company, announced today that there will be an open casting call for featured extras for a major motion picture entitled, "Rules of Engagement," which will shoot in the Beaufort, SC area in March. The film is being directed by William Friedkin ("The French Connection") and stars Tommy Lee Jones ("Men in Black") and Samuel L. Jackson ("Pulp Fiction").
"I am looking very specifically to find men to participate in a Vietnam war sequence," said Fincannon. "I need physically fit American men between the ages of 19 and 26 years old, preferably with military experience and Southeast Asian men between the ages of 20 and 35 years old. The American men would need to be available to work for 6-8 weeks starting at the first of March. The Southeast Asian men would work for approximately 2 weeks," he added. "This is going to be one of those unique film experiences for a few good men. Dale Dye ('Saving Private Ryan') and Mike Stokey ('The Thin Red Line'), the world renowned military technical advisors, will be coordinating all of the military sequences and rest assured that they will be top of the line," concluded Fincannon.
If interested, you are asked to come to an OPEN CASTING CALL which will be held on Friday, February 5, 1999 from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. and on Saturday, February 6, 1999 from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Boundary Street in Beaufort, South Carolina.
(SOURCE Fincannon & Associates, Inc. / 02/01/99)

HOLLYWOOD - "Rules of Engagement's" producer Richard Zanuck and director William Friedkin have reported that the king of Morocco is giving them full military cooperation to shoot scenes of the movie there. Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson co-star in the film. Other locations will include Virginia and Mexico.
(Jan. 27, 1999 / Source: Reuters/Variety)

NEW YORK - Tommy Lee Jones will co-star with Clint Eastwood in the sci-fi action film "Space Cowboys," which Clint will direct this summer for Warner Bros. It's about four characters (two more actors have yet to be cast) drafted by NASA to fly an important shuttle mission. Shooting is scheduled to begin in June. Warner Bros. would like to release the film towards the end of 1999, but a summer 2000 release is also possible.
Tommy Lee will start working on this film right after he finishes Paramount's "Rules of Engagement". He hopes to shoot his next directorial effort, "Blood Meridian," next year.
(Jan. 26, 1999 / Source: Reuters/Variety)

BOSTON - Tommy Lee Jones and Stockard Channing will perform in a benefit for the Poets' Theatre at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge on Feb. 22. The benefit, "... love, Chekhov," will be a staged reading of love letters exchanged between Russian playwright Anton Chekhov and actress Olga Knipper, who later became his wife.
Tommy Lee graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1969 and Stockard Channing is a 1965 graduate of Radcliffe College.
(Jan. 20, 1999 / Thanks to Karen Schlosberg)

Tommy Lee is scheduled to be playing polo during a tournament at the Royal Palm Polo Club, March 21-28, 1999.
(Dec. 24, 1998 / Thanks Robin & Gina!)

WASHINGTON - The 21st annual Kennedy Center Honors was held Dec. 6 and airs Dec. 30 on CBS.
The show honors six performing legends for career contributions: Willie Nelson, Bill Cosby, Shirley Temple, Andre Previn and John Kander & Fred Ebb, with narration by Tommy Lee Jones, Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin, Felicia Rashad and George Stevens Jr.
(Dec. 21, 1998)

HOUSTON - On Monday, Dec. 14, Tommy Lee Jones and other celebrities will welcome Polo Magazine to Houston, Tx. This event will start at 6 p.m. at the Hogg Grill, 711 Prairie at Louisiana.
(Dec. 12, 1998)

WASHINGTON - Tommy Lee Jones was among the guests attending the annual Kennedy Center honors for artistic achievement. Honorees included comedian Bill Cosby, country singer Willie Nelson and former child star Shirley Temple Black.
Tommy Lee Jones said he turned to Nelson's songs whenever he was out of the country and feeling homesick. "I just go to the nearest music store and buy a bunch of Willie tapes and I'm fine," he said.
CBS will broadcast the awards ceremony later this month.
(Dec. 7, 1998)

NEW YORK - Samuel L. Jackson is negotiating to star alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the courtroom drama "Rules of Engagement." The story is about a soldier whose career aspirations are dashed when he's wounded in Vietnam combat. He then becomes a disillusioned lawyer, who goes up against the service to defend a soldier accused of inciting a riot that leaves many demonstrators dead. The lawyer is in no position to decline, since the potential client had heroically saved the lawyer's life in Vietnam. Jones will play the attorney, and Jackson would play the career soldier who is being court-martialed for violating the accepted rules of engagement.
(Dec. 4,1998)

Sonic Images has released a new edition of composer Basil Poledouris' original soundtrack to LONESOME DOVE. This re-mastered version of the 1988 Emmy(R) Award-winning score, supervised by Poledouris himself, contains previously unreleased music from the miniseries. The LONESOME DOVE miniseries, based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, premiered a decade ago with a cast including Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. It has enjoyed lasting success with continuing video rentals and sales as well as re-runs, the latest of which is set to air from January 18 through 21 on cable's Family Channel.
(Nov. 22, 1998)

HARLINGEN, Texas - Tommy Lee Jones' recent horseback spill during a polo match didn't hurt as much as the press coverage he got. Before the extent of his injuries -- which proved to be only bumps and bruises -- were known, some reports made the Oct. 30 accident sound more frightening than it proved to be. "The only thing that's scary is the way the media sensationalized and exaggerated and flat lied about it in order to increase their ratings," Jones said in Harlingen's Valley Morning Star. "I feel insulted by having been exploited by the media." Jones, who was thrown from his horse and stepped on, was taken by helicopter to Houston, where doctors determined his injuries weren't serious. The Oscar-winning actor said that type of accident "happens to polo players all the time."
(Nov. 9, 1998)