LOCAL VOICES: A couple of Arkansans have music featured in major releases. They include songwriter Shawn James of Fayetteville, who recently saw his song "Through the Valley" go viral on Spotify and YouTube after Sony PlayStation's reveal of the trailer for the video game The Last of Us II. Meanwhile, in theaters, the late Johnny Cash's recording of "Hurt" (originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails) is heard in recent previews for the film Logan featuring the Wolverine character from X-Men.
HOGGING THE TV: In the season opener of ABC's The Bachelor reality show, the season's bachelor, Nick Viall, joined contestant Raven Gates of Hoxie in calling the Hogs. Gates, 25, is the owner of Grey Suede clothing store in Jonesboro.
TUNING IN: Speaking of television, Command & Control, the acclaimed documentary film about the 1980 Titan II missile silo accident in Damascus, is set to air at 8 p.m. Tuesday on PBS. The film features interviews with several Arkansans.
ON PACE FOR AWARDS: Meanwhile, Arkansas Wild Man, the documentary (noted here earlier) on the band Sonny Burgess and the Legendary Pacers, has been entered in film festivals for 2017 in Mississippi, Montana, California and Tennessee. Produced by Nathan Willis of Little Rock, the documentary was shot mostly in the United Kingdom but a portion was filmed at Country Dance in Ward, at South on Main restaurant and performance venue in Little Rock, and in Newport, says the band's drummer, Bobby Crafford.
HER CYCLE OF SUCCESS: What's next for Little Rock resident Leah Thorvilson, previously a winning marathoner who, after numerous injuries, was sidelined from running and switched to biking? Thorvilson recently won an international cycling competition, landing her a professional contract and the opportunity to race for the Canyon-SRAM Corp. team this year.
She tells Paper Trails that in late 2016, she was cleared to run competitively again but she hasn't tried it yet.
"I was kind of waiting to see how all of this was going to play out," she says of the the 11-month cycling competition. "And now, obviously, it's not my top priority," she says of running.
What's next? Right now, Thorvilson is waiting to hear from her new cycling coach and team directors.
"As of right now, it's looking like I could be heading to Australia in mid-January to see a team race and participate in some individual criterium races," she tells Paper Trails. "If not, then I'll probably be at a race in Belgium sometime in March."
MOVIN' ON UP: Tucker Carlson, a former editorial writer at this newspaper, has landed Megyn Kelly's 8 p.m. spot on Fox News. Kelly recently announced that with her contract up for renewal, she'd decided to join NBC News. Carlson, who launched his new 6 p.m. show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, on Fox in November, officially makes the move to the 8 p.m. prime-time slot Monday.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or [email protected]
SundayMonday on 01/08/2017