USA: Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix and Sheryl Crow pay tribute to Johnny Cash ahead of the new biopic "Walk the Line"

Sheryl Crow, Dwight Yoakam and Allison Krauss were among the luminaries who performed at "I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash." The CBS special will air two days before the theatrical release of the Cash biopic "Walk the Line," starring Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary musician. The film's producer, James Keach, said he believes Cash's life story can be inspiring for audiences. "I hope, more than anything, that people will not only be entertained with this guy and his amazing music and this incredible love story between these two people," he said, "but that also there's forgiveness and there is redemption and we have to learn to forgive ourselves and move on with life." Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (who portrays June Carter Cash in the film) were on hand to introduce the performances, and the actor paid tribute to Cash's approach to his life and his art. "Nobody ever walked the line like Johnny Cash," said Phoenix. "He walked the line between rock and country, patriot and punk, sin and salvation, between what had been and what was to be. He sang his songs for convicts and kings, and saw the nobility and humanity in both." Walk the Line opens in the United States November 16. ENDS.

ITN Source | October 26, 2005

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