Entertainment legend Pat Boone, the descendant of pioneer Daniel Boone and singer who, during the classic rock-‘n’-roll era of the 1950s, sold more records than any artist except Elvis Presley, has a new movie out.
And he says working on the project, called “The Mulligan,” was a dream because it has moral values.
Which, he says, largely are missing from today’s film industry.
“I liked the idea of the old pro helping a young man not only with his golf but also his personal life – marriage and family,” Boone said in an interview with Fox News.
“That attracted me … And golf is certainly an attraction to me. I got to wear my own wardrobe. Golf teaches honor, truthfulness and fair play. No other sport does that in my opinion. It’s an uplifting film that was beautifully made. Families can watch it together.”
He said he doesn’t impress easily these days, as his age moves up through the 80s.
It’s because “moral values” mostly are gone.
“The film industry was a great export for America for so many years,” he said in the interview. “We were showing America in its best light. Even though crime was dealt with – because bad things do happen in life – but almost all American movies ended with good triumphing and good people doing righteous things. Criminals were always apprehended and punished.
“But now, the whole thing is upside down. Some of the biggest films now show people getting away with the worst things. Lawbreakers are even celebrated. The criminals are becoming bigger. Heroes are doing worse things than criminals and being rewarded for it,” he said.
Boone’s plays the “old pro” character Will Dunn in the movie, a faith-based project that focuses on forgiveness, according to Fox.
“It tells the story of Paul McAllister (Eric Close) who seemingly had it all until his life falls apart. With the help of a golf pro (Boone), he learns important lessons on how to play a good game both on and off the course,” the report explained.
The trailer:
Boone, besides being a top-selling recording artist, was the star of his own hit TV series, a movie star, a Broadway headliner and more.
Included in Boone’s career is a long string of successful movies, including “State Fair,” “Journey To The Center Of The Earth,” “April Love,” “The Cross And The Switchblade” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” At one time, he was a Top-10 box-office draw.
On television he’s highlighted “7th Heaven,” “Hollywood Squares” and “The Other Side.”
In addition to the more than a dozen books he’s written, he’s also been a featured columnist on WND starting in 2005.
There he’s commented on subjects including COVID, global warming, Adam Schiff, the Supreme Court, Colin Kaepernick, progressivism, the swamp, Hillary Clinton’s “deceit,” police, black lives, Planned Parenthood, Israel and hundreds more hot-button topics.
Also, he’s served over the years as a spokesman for the March of Dimes, the National Association of the Blind and other worthy charities.
In his newest interview, he warned that, “The movies being made now are immoral. They’ve lost their meaning.”
And he said some projects on television are just as bad, citing “Big Mouth,” what Fox described as “an animated puberty comedy series.”
He said, “Here’s a nerdish young kid – and he and his friends are learning about masturbation, oral sex – all kinds of things. And this is on Netflix. I don’t even know how they can even defend it, but it’s there. It’s all out there. Parents will just see it’s an animated show and think it’s OK for their kids to watch it … I mean, how bad can we get?”
The film industry, he said, “is committing suicide. It’s killing itself as far as I’m concerned. America’s image is being destroyed. High ratings have become more important these days. We used to try to put our best foot forward. Sure, people can criticize those films today and call them unrealistic, but we were being altruistic. We wanted to present people in the best light. Now, we’re just taking pleasure in profit, presenting people in the worst light and celebrating it.”
He recalled the time back in the day when he – and Marilyn Monroe – both were under contract to 20th Century Fox. The company wanted to do a movie about an over-the-hill cabaret performer and a college kid.
“But the story just didn’t sit right with me,” Boone told Fox. “I remember Buddy Adler, the head of 20th Century Fox, said to me, ‘You’re under a seven-year contract. We could suspend you. And if we suspend you, the musician’s union may cooperate with us. You’ll be through from recording. You won’t be able to record for movies. You won’t be on television either.'”
He said there were some “tense meetings” before he told Adler to do what he had to.
“But I’ve got to follow my own conscious. I’ve got millions of teenage fans. I’d love to make a movie with Marilyn Monroe, but I can’t make this immoral story. Teenage fans will undoubtedly get the wrong message and think it’s OK to have an illicit affair. … I just can’t do it,” he recalled saying.
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