James Earl Jones’ character in Field of Dreams, Terence Mann, is based on a real person

Even in death, departed, great James Earl Jones remains a “Star Wars” legend.a Broadway icon, one of the most gifted orators in modern history, and a true giant of Hollywood. But if you’re a fan of baseball, specifically baseball film A fan – he will always be Terrence Mann from Field of Dreams. Jones’ performance as the reclusive author-turned-ghost baseball observer is a key anchor of the classic film, riding on sublime emotional beats. The film might have felt more grounded if the character had not been changed from the version of the character in the novel “Shoeless Joe” on which “Field of Dreams” is based.

In W. P. Kinsella’s 1982 book, the writer sought by protagonist Ray Kinsella is not a fake, but J. D. Salinger, best known as the author of “The Catcher in the Rye.” Although Salinger had already withdrawn from public life when Kinsella’s novel was published, he was still alive, living as of 2010. However, while Kinsella got away with using the actual writer in his book, the 1989 film adaptation chose to play things differently. Little security for fear of legal repercussions.

“We didn’t even think about keeping Salinger as a character in the movie,” writer-director Phil Alden Robinson told Joe Lydon. Show animation In 1989. “Field of Dreams” retained the real baseball players used in the novel, including Shoeless Joe Jackson himself, of course, but it might have been better for Robinson to have created a completely distinct character to replace Salinger.

The decision to exclude J.D. Salinger from Field of Dreams was not made based on pure speculation that the author might be upset. According to W.P. Kinsella, he was nearly taken to court over the depiction of Salinger’s original novel, and was sternly warned about any subsequent adaptations.

“His lawyers wrote to my publisher’s lawyers saying that they felt angry and insulted by his portrayal in the novel, and that they would not be very happy if it was transferred to other media,” Kinsella said in an interview with the British newspaper The Sun. McLean. Which was legally, “We don’t really have the wherewithal to sue you, but we’ll try to piss on your parade if you try to take it to TV or the movies.” Phil Alden Robinson and Universal Pictures clearly took the threat seriously, although Kinsella seemed to hate the fact that the character was being changed. “The people in the movie were so chicken,” the author told Maclean’s. “So they created Terrence Mann.”

It makes sense that Kinsella would prefer his own version, especially since he was a big fan of Salinger’s work. However, the legal ramifications could have robbed us of a ghostly baseball classic, as well as an iconic movie character in Terence Mann, so it appears all things worked out for the best.

Had Phil Alden Robinson stuck with J.D. Salinger’s idea of ​​”Shoeless Joe,” Salinger might have taken legal action, but audiences would also have missed out on James Earl Jones’ all-time great performance. As a black man, Jones would never have been cast in the role if the studio was looking for an actor who could play Salinger.

Jones makes Man’s disappearance into the cornfield in The end of “Field of Dreams” A very poignant moment, and without Mann’s witty and soothing commentary, the film wouldn’t be the same. Fortunately, Attempts to remake “Field of Dreams” failed. In recent years, which has saved us from watching some new actors struggle to fill Jones’ huge shoes. When it comes to rebooting such a classic film, the sentiment of “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t really apply in the same way. Ultimately, a film’s success depends more on emotion than how it anchors itself in the world.

As Jones said Joe Lydon In 1989, “The film insists that you engage with your heart more than your head, more than your critical accompaniment.”