Clint Eastwood

UNFORGIVEN Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: April 18th, 2012 at 11:00 am

When Clint Eastwood made Unforgiven in 1992, he was in a transitional period of his career. Though he was still making pop junk like Pink Cadillac and The Rookie, he had also directed Bird – which started his career as an art-house/Oscar friendly director (though that film was mostly ignored). Eastwood was getting old, and there was sense that he had to stop playing these sorts of role. Unforgiven was his great Western standoff, and he assembled a great cast that included Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris in a career-defining work. Our review of the Blu-ray of Unforgiven follows after the jump.

Screenwriter Will Fetters Talks Clint Eastwood’s A STAR IS BORN; Says Script Was Inspired by Kurt Cobain

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 1st, 2012 at 1:15 pm

In addition to acting and directing, Clint Eastwood is quite an avid music lover. He’s composed the score to a number of his films and was even awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music. As such, it came as no surprise when it was announced that Eastwood was planning a remake of A Star Is Born with Beyonce Knowles set to star as a burgeoning young artist.   Production was pushed back due to the star’s pregnancy, but now that Blue Ivy is alive and well, Eastwood is working on casting his male lead.

Our correspondent Sheila Roberts got to speak with A Star Is Born screenwriter Will Fetters during a roundtable interview at the press day for the romantic drama The Lucky One, and the scribe took some time to talk about his approach to the remake—including a heavy inspiration from Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain—and the casting of the male lead. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

J. EDGAR Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: March 19th, 2012 at 5:17 am

Clint Eastwood has morphed from being an action director and a man’s man to the leading purveyor of Oscar bait. It seems now that every year Eastwood has a new film that designed to provoke the Academy voters into rewarding him yet again. And for 2011’s J. Edgar, he assembled an Oscar super group. Working with Brian Grazer as his producer, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black as his writer, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer and Judi Dench, you’ve got an all-star team that screams Oscar gold. They assembled to make a bio-pic of J. Edgar Hoover, but created one of Eastwood’s worst films. Our review of the Blu-ray of J. Edgar follows after the jump.

Tom Cruise Courted to Star in Clint Eastwood’s A STAR IS BORN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 9th, 2012 at 1:41 pm

Clint Eastwood is gearing up to dip his toe back into the acting game with the upcoming drama Trouble with the Curve, but the director is still pulling things together for his adaptation of A Star Is Born. Production was pushed back when star Beyoncé Knowles became pregnant, then Leonardo DiCaprio—Eastwood’s first choice for the project—passed. Alternates for the male lead were rumored to be Christian Bale and Will Smith, but Variety now reports that Warner Bros. is courting Tom Cruise to take the part. Hit the jump for more.

Check Out 2012 Super Bowl Ads Directed by Peter Berg, Todd Phillips, David Gordon Green, and More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 1:43 pm

The ratings are in, and Super Bowl XLVI just barely edged out last year’s game to rank as the most watched program in television history. Nearly 111.3 million people tuned in to watch the Giants vs. Patriots match-up and, subsequently, a whole lotta advertising. Last night we brought you a compilation of all the movie-related spots that ran during the game (including an extended version of The Avengers ad, which is fantastic), and today we’d like to bring your attention to the actual commercials. While most of us are looking for the cleverest or most laugh-inducing spot when judging these super-sized budgeted ads, quite a few notable filmmakers were actually behind many of last night’s spots.

After the jump you’ll find a compilation of ads directed by Peter Berg, Todd Phillips, David Gordon Green, Craig Gillespie, Bobby Farrelly, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., Lance Acord, Joe Pytka, Jake Scott, Fredrik Bond, Chris Smith, Miguel Arteta, Wayne McClammy, and Noam Murro.

Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams Baseball Drama TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE Lands September 28th

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: January 30th, 2012 at 7:30 pm

A new feature film team-up for director Robert Lorenz (Million Dollar Baby) and Clint Eastwood now has a theatrical landing date. The baseball drama, also starring Amy Adams, will debut in theaters on September 28^th. Tentatively titled Trouble with the Curve, the Warner Bros. movie follows an ailing talent scout (Eastwood) who takes his daughter (Adams) on one last recruiting trip. Eastwood and Lorenz have teamed up on numerous movies over the years, including Blood Work, Mystic River and J. Edgar, with Lorenz as Eastwood’s producing partner and assistant director. Trouble with the Curve, in a screenplay by Randy Brown, will be Lorenz’s first feature as a director. Hit the jump for more.

J. EDGAR Behind-the-Scenes Footage and Q&A with Cast and Crew

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: December 22nd, 2011 at 6:07 pm

Fans of Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar will want to go ahead and skip to the jump, as will admirers of the work of three-time Oscar-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black and Armie Hammer. Oh, and history buffs of the Hoover-era of American government will likely want to hit the jump to, as there you’ll find almost eight minutes worth of behind-the-scenes footage, a Q&A with the above-mentioned gentlemen and further insight into the man that was J. Edgar Hoover. With a little more than a month to go until the 84^th annual Oscar nominations are announced, it’s a safe bet that J. Edgar’s cast and crew will be in the running for some hardware on February 26^th at the Kodak Theatre. Hit the jump to check out the video.

Amy Adams Offered Lead in TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE Opposite Clint Eastwood

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 16th, 2011 at 2:19 pm

While Clint Eastwood’s next directorial project, a remake of A Star is Born, is on hold for Beyonce’s pregnancy, the 81-year-old is plotting a return to acting to fill the gap. He’s set to star in the drama Trouble with the Curve for director Robert Lorenz (who also happens to be Eastwood’s longtime assistant director), and now it looks like they’ve found their female lead. While Sandra Bullock was initially eyed for the role, her schedule is too packed to fit the movie in so now Amy Adams has been offered the part. The story centers on “an aging baseball scout who’s losing his sight and decides to take a road trip to Atlanta with his daughter to eye a hot prospect.”

Variety reports that Bullock and Adams were eyed from the get-go, and now it’s Adams’ turn to see if she can move her schedule around to take the part. Adams is currently filming Man of Steel and will next be seen in The Muppets.

J. EDGAR Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 8th, 2011 at 2:21 pm

Clint Eastwood paints a broad, meticulous, and shallow portrait of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in the new biopic J. Edgar.  As seen by Eastwood’s past output from at least the past several years (and arguably even further), the Hollywood veteran seems content to glide along the surface of his subject rather than probe deeper and ask tough questions.  The result for J. Edgar is a movie where at the end of two hours and nineteen minutes you shrug and go, “Yep.  That’s a Napoleon Complex.”  Despite Leonardo DiCaprio acting his heart out as Hoover, and a fine supporting performance from Armie Hammer, J. Edgar is fascinated with its title character but the fascination runs skin-deep.

72 Images for J. EDGAR Starring Leonardo DiCaprio

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 26th, 2011 at 11:31 pm

You are intrigued by J. Edgar.  Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial founding director of the FBI.  The supporting cast—Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Josh Lucas, Ken Howard—is more than solid.  And director Clint Eastwood is a reliable octogenarian.  Barring unexpected critical disappointment, J. Edgar is a lock for a Best Picture nomination come Oscar season.

To satisfy that intrigue, Warner Bros. has released 72 (count ‘em, 72) new images from the film.  The collection includes quite a few of DiCaprio in old age makeup (a sight that fascinates me), and several behind-the-scenes shots of Eastwood working out a scene. J. Edgar opens in limited release on November 9, and expands nationwide on November 11.  Bask in the period detail of 72 photos after the jump.

Sandra Bullock Possibly in Talks to Co-Star with Clint Eastwood in TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 11th, 2011 at 11:40 am

Last week, we reported that Clint Eastwood was planning to return to acting by signing on to star in Trouble with the Curve.  Eastwood had previously claimed that Gran Torino would be his last performance, but it looks like he’ll return to help out his longtime assistant director Robert Lorenz on his directorial debut, especially since Eastwood’s next directing gig, A Star Is Born, has been delayed due to Beyonce’s pregnancy.  Curve would have Eastwood playing aging baseball scout who’s losing his eyesight and takes his daughter on a road trip to help evaluate a young prospect.

Twitch is now reporting that Sandra Bullock is in talks to play the daughter.  If Bullock takes the role, expect this flick to hit the pipeline fast.  The Oscar-winning actress will next be seen in Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and next year she stars in Alfonso Cuaron’s long-awaited sci-fi film Gravity.

Clint Eastwood May Star in TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 5th, 2011 at 6:58 pm

Clint Eastwood’s next film may not be as a director. The legendary actor/director is in talks to star in the drama Trouble with the Curve for Warner Bros. Deadline reports that Robert Lorenz is making his directorial debut with the project that centers on an aging baseball scout who heads on a last road trip to Atlanta with his daughter as he’s losing his sight. Eastwood was set to make his next directorial project the remake of A Star Is Born, but star Beyonce’s unexpected pregnancy has pushed the production date back. Eastwood had previously professed that his starring turn in Gran Torino would likely serve as his last as he had no plans to act again, but the Randy Brown-scripted baseball drama must have caught his eye. The fact that Lorenz has been a longtime business partner of Eastwood’s, and even served as an assistant director on a number of his films, probably had something to do with changing his mind as well.

Clint Eastwood’s J. EDGAR to Premiere at AFI Fest

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 7th, 2011 at 8:09 am

It looked like Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar was going to bypass the festival circuit entirely before opening on November 9th, but now it will hit up one fest along the way.  Deadline reports that the J. Edgar Hoover biopic will open this year’s AFI Fest on November 3rd. Warner Bros. insiders say that it’s Eastwood’s best shot at an Oscar since Million Dollar Baby, and it’s really surprising that people who work for the studio distributing J. Edgar would be talking up J. Edgar‘s Oscar chances.  You’ll forgive my skepticism since Eastwood hasn’t directed a great film since Unforgiven (his output since then has ranged from good to unwatchable).  His new M.O. is to take weighty subject matter and let that power the film without actually providing any insight or ambiguity.

However, I’ll end up seeing it since I always turn out for Eastwood.  Hoover is a fascinating and influential figure and I want the film to be good especially since it’s got a great cast in Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, and Judi Dench.  It’s worth noting that opening AFI Fest doesn’t always get the Oscar ball rolling.  Last year’s opener was Love & Other Drugs.

Beyoncé Pregnancy Delays A STAR IS BORN; Leonardo DiCaprio Passes on Project

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 29th, 2011 at 7:41 am

Last night at the VMAs, Beyoncé Knowles announced that she was pregnant because a trashy farce of an awards ceremony is the proper forum for announcing such personal news (I guess it’s better than a tabloid).  Knowles was set to star in Clint Eastwood’s remake of A Star Is Born and her pregnancy is a double-edged sword for the production.  Deadline reports that Warner Bros. will likely push back the February 2012 start date, and I’m not sure how that will sit with Eastwood considering the grizzled legend has been bent on delivering a new movie every year.  However, the delay also gives the studio more time to find a new leading man since Leonardo DiCaprio, Eastwood’s top choice for the male lead, has passed on the project.  Other names being floated for the role include Christian Bale, Will Smith, and I’m sure other high-profile actors are being considered.

For those unfamiliar with A Star Is Born, the story concerns a movie star whose career is on the decline.  He helps a young showgirl ascend to stardom but tensions grow between them as her star rises while he descends further into obscurity.  The 1954 version starring Judy Garland and James Mason picked up six Oscar nominations.

More Images From Clint Eastwood’s J. EDGAR, Plus Eastwood Talks Film’s Take on Hoover’s Sexuality

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: August 12th, 2011 at 4:01 pm

The fall movie season is about to begin, and character-driven dramas should be just the thing to remedy me from a bad case of blockbuster fatigue. We’ve had our share of popcorn movies this summer, some great (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and some painful (Green Lantern), but I’m very much ready for the promising flicks slated for the second half of this year, including Clint Eastwood’s biopic J. Edgar.

Just yesterday we got our first official look at Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character in the film, and now a few more images have been released, giving us our first look at Armie Hammer as Hoover’s confidant/purported lover Clyde Tolson. Additionally, Eastwood revealed that the film leaves much of Edgar’s sexuality up for debate. Hit the jump for the images and quotes from Eastwood.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design