Posts with tag Clint Eastwood
The Geek Beat: A Lament for the Old School
Filed under: Classics », Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », The Geek Beat »

First off, I must confess – I'm dating someone. Clint Eastwood circa 1970, to be exact. Judge our DVD romance all you will, decry that we break the time-space continuum, but we're very happy together. We just spent a delightful weekend via The Beguiled and Two Mules for Sister Sarah. The sun came up and we were still together. What can I say? He treats me like a lady, despite the fact that he only ever sees me sans make-up and in pajamas.
The sad thing is, I'm only half-kidding -- and yes, I will look back on this period of my life (probably via therapy or alcoholism) and wonder why Eastwood was the most dependable man in it. But our affair got me thinking overmuch about today's men, both in and outside of Hollywood. And it didn't help that in the early days of my relationship with Eastwood, we lost the wonderful Paul Newman. I wrote in Cinematical's tribute to him that the world could use more men like Newman – and it is so very true. Where are the men like Newman, Eastwood, Robert Redford, James Garner and Gregory Peck? The men who are rugged, larger than life, and who exude honesty and decency even when acting in so-so films? Who exude it in real life? What the heck happened to the world since these guys arrived on the scene?
Cinematical's Week in Review: Newman, Bond, Depp, Superman ... and Seagal?
Filed under: RumorMonger », Fandom », Newsstand »

- Legendary actor Paul Newman passes away at the age of 83.
- Cinematical sits down with Daniel Craig and Marc Forster to discuss Quantum of Solace. What happened to the line, "Bond, James Bond?" Check out these new images from the film. Oh, and James Bond doesn't think he'll ever seduce a man.
- Could Steven Spielberg direct Superman?
- Exclusives: Images from Steven Seagal's Kill Switch. First poster for Clint Eastwood's Changeling. New poster for Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York. Trailer for The Pleasure of Being Robbed.
- Fan Made: Holy hottie Hellgirl! Cozy up to some nifty Star Wars slippers. What do the economic bailout and The Dark Knight have in common? Look out ... it's Angelina Jolie: The Doll.
- Odd News: From Wanted to ... Moby Dick? American Psycho: The Musical? Awesome! Someone wants a Lethal Weapon 5 ... but who?
- Countdown: Five Fall/Winter Trailers to Watch, Four Casting Choices for Brett Ratner's Batman, Three Awesome Movie-Related T-Shirts to Buy, Two Photos of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland ... and one week in review!
- Cinematical Seven: Top Movies Within Movies Since 2000, and Sex Addicts on the Silver Screen.
- Fan Rant: Leave Keira Knightley's skinniness alone!
- They're Back: Captain Jack, Ghostbusters, I Am Legend prequel, Cars 2 gets an earlier release
- Insert Caption: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
- Interviews: Gary Cole and Spike Lee
- Reviews: Eagle Eye, Nights in Rodanthe, Choke, Miracle at St. Anna
- And finally ... Cinematical hits up Fantastic Fest.
'Changeling' Poster: Exclusive First Look
Filed under: Drama », Universal », Angelina Jolie », Oscar Watch », Images »

Click poster to enlarge
The last time Angelina Jolie received an Oscar nod was for playing a mental patient in 1999's Girl, Interrupted, for which she took home the statue for Best Supporting Actress. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, consider this: Winona Ryder -- and not Jolie -- was a box-office draw back then.
Now, after years of strong and sometimes overlooked performances (ahem, A Mighty Heart), Jolie is once again receiving battalions of Oscar buzz, this time for her role in Clint Eastwood's Changeling (get your exclusive first look at the poster above).
Based on real events that transpired in 1920s Los Angeles, Changeling is the tale of a mother (Jolie) whose abducted son is seemingly returned to her by the LAPD. Turns out the boy is not her flesh and blood, however -- or so she adamantly claims -- and thus Mama Jolie sets out to wring the truth from a corrupt police department unwilling to listen to her.
Changeling opens in limited release Oct. 24 and expands wide on Oct. 31.
Angelina Jolie Wants Her Kid in 'Changeling' Trailer
Filed under: Drama », Awards », Cannes », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », Angelina Jolie », New York », Oscar Watch », Trailers and Clips »
As we've started to get our fair share of trailers for the coming prestige projects -- Frost/Nixon, The Soloist, Zack and Miri Make a Porno -- I was curious as to why we'd yet to get one for Clint Eastwood's period drama, Changeling, if it were set to open by the end of next month. Particularly after Kim's Cannes review, I wanted to get a proper glimpse beyond a brief clip...
Perhaps hearing my prayers or just tiring of my complaints, Yahoo! Movies saw fit to post the trailer (watch it after the jump as well), in which a young mother (Angelina Jolie) in 1928 Los Angeles finds herself standing up against a corrupt police department when her missing son is returned, or rather replaced by a different child altogether.
Even if the same piece of score hadn't been used in both of their trailers, I'd still have felt a need to draw a correlation between this and last October's missing-kids-and-corrupt-cops powerhouse, Gone Baby Gone (of course, it doesn't hurt that Amy Ryan shows up in both of them). From Eastwood's end comes a particular tinge of Mystic River, and so far as I'm concerned, all of those signs point to something substantial waiting for us when Changeling opens in limited release on October 31.
Eastwood's 'Changeling' Changes Release Date
Filed under: Drama », Universal », Distribution », Angelina Jolie », Oscar Watch »
Oh look, a Clint Eastwood movie with an Oscar-friendly release date. That's new. Actually, it is relatively new, if you look over the man's directorial career. Sure, he's had a number of films come out in the fall time, but not with the same consistency we've seen since 2003, when Mystic River arrived in a few theaters on October 8 then went on to receive six Academy Award nominations the following winter.
Then in 2004, his Million Dollar Baby opened in limited release December 15 and went on to win four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Finally, in 2006, two of his films were released in the fall, Flags of Our Fathers in October and Letters from Iwo Jima in December. Both went on to receive Oscar recognition, the latter garnering major noms, such as Best Picture and Best Director.
Spike Lee Responds to the Whole Eastwood Kerfuffle
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », War »
First, let's recap: On May 21, Eugene posted about Spike Lee's continued criticism of Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima for not including African Americans. Lee was asked why Eastwood did it as he did, and I have to say, I don't blame him for responding: "If you reporters had any balls you'd ask him why. There's no way I know why he did that -- that was his vision, not mine..." Today, we got word that Eastwood has responded, with the eloquent "A guy like him should shut his face." He then went on to talk about revisionism.So, MTV went back to Lee, who is taking, and I quote: "the Obama high road." (New political slang alert! What's next?) He continued: "I've said my statement. I have no ill will towards Mr. Eastwood. What I said to him was not a personal attack, it was an observation. So that's really the end of it."
Think what you will of Lee, but this whole thing is a little ridiculous. If you head back to Erik's 2007 post about Miracle at St. Anna, Lee discussed how he'd met a black veteran who fought at Iwo Jima and was disappointed in Eastwood's portrayal, and how this inspired him to make the film and pay tribute to African American soldiers. Now he's getting crap thrown at him about revisionist history, and all of this is stemming from people asking him to talk about it, and him saying he couldn't answer for Eastwood. Lee might say some controversial things sometimes, but he was really backed into a corner this time around.
Clint Eastwood Thinks Spike Lee Should Shut His Face
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy »
A little bit ago I posted regarding Spike Lee's comments at Cannes, accusing Clint Eastwood of tacit racism because no black actors appeared on screen in Flags of Our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima. "If you reporters had any balls you'd ask him why," he told reporters. "There's no way I know why he did that -- that was his vision, not mine. But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It's not like he didn't know."
That post touched a nerve and elicited a barrage of comments from you folks, some of them nasty, but many interesting and thoughtful. So I figured I'd be remiss not to report Eastwood's recent response in a Guardian article to Lee's remarks.
Cannes 2008 Winners: 'The Class' Takes Palme d'Or
Filed under: Awards », Cannes », Festival Reports », Fandom », Newsstand »

Earlier today, Laurent Cantent's The Class became the first French film in 20 years to win the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the 2008 Festival de Cannes. Coincidentally, we have James' review of The Class scheduled to run in just a little while; in it, he says of the film: "The Class may very well wind up taking home a nod or two from the jury here in Cannes; rest assured, if that happens, it'll represent more than just sympathy votes for a local favorite."
The grand prize went to Gomorra, which James called "a sweeping, stirring drama that has the shoot-and-loot tension of the best crime cinema but also has the scope and serious intent of great drama." Special Prize went to Catherine Deneuve (A Christmas Tale) and Clint Eastwood (Changeling); the latter of which was a favorite heading into the awards (as was Waltz with Bashir, which, surprisingly, did not take home one of the top awards). Jury Prize went to Il Divo, while Nuri Bilge Ceylan took Best Director for Three Monkeys. Additionally, Benicio del Toro won Best Actor for his performance in Soderbergh's Che, Sandra Corveloni took Best Actress for Linha de passe, and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne won Best Screenplay for Lorna's Silence.
For reviews of most of these films, head on over to Cinematical's official Festival de Cannes hub. We'll be rounding out this year's coverage over the next few days.
Cannes 2008: 'Changeling' Press Conference
Filed under: Cannes », Festival Reports », Angelina Jolie », Movie Marketing », Interviews », Oscar Watch », Cinematical Indie »

The Changeling press conference the other day was, not surprisingly, a packed affair, with throngs of journalists crowding in to get a look at Clint Eastwood, Angelina Jolie, and the Jolie baby bump. Honestly, I've never seen so many people so fascinated with the silhouette of a pregnant woman -- the Jolie frenzy here has been interesting to watch. She looked, also not surprisingly, glowingly fantastic. Also on hand to field questions were producer Brian Grazer and his famously spiky hair, and screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski.
Spike Lee Throws Punches at Coens, Clint Eastwood
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », War »
At a Cannes press conference for his WWII drama The Miracle at St. Anna, controversy hog Spike Lee took some swipes at Hollywood darlings Clint Eastwood and the Coen Brothers. Talking about the way he treated death in his first war film, Lee said: "I always treat life and death with respect, but most people don't... Look, I love the Coen brothers; we all studied at NYU. But they treat life like a joke. Ha ha ha. A joke. It's like, 'Look how they killed that guy! Look how blood squirts out the side of his head!' I see things different than that." And he targeted Eastwood for failing to put any black soldiers on screen in Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima: "If you reporters had any balls you'd ask him why. There's no way I know why he did that -- that was his vision, not mine. But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It's not like he didn't know."







