I love Clint Eastwood as actor and director….but also for how he doesn’t have to play nice when he doesn’t feel like it. Read a great interview with him here. Eastwood talks about controversy surrounding his movies as well as politics.
Spike Lee, director and professional whiner, ripped Eastwood for not having enough black soldiers in Eastwood’s movie, “Flags of Our Fathers.” Of course, the armed forces were far more segregated in WWII and there weren’t any black soldiers in the group that actually raised the flag at Iwo Jima
Eastwood has no time for Lee’s gripes. “He was complaining when I did Bird [the 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker]. Why would a white guy be doing that? I was the only guy who made it, that’s why. He could have gone ahead and made it. Instead he was making something else.” As for Flags of Our Fathers, he says, yes, there was a small detachment of black troops on Iwo Jima as a part of a munitions company, “but they didn’t raise the flag. The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn’t do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people’d go, ‘This guy’s lost his mind.’ I mean, it’s not accurate.”
And on politics…
But though he has been associated in the public mind with Republican viewpoints, he’s something of an individualist. “I don’t pay attention to either side,” he claims. “I mean, I’ve always been a libertarian. Leave everybody alone. Let everybody else do what they want. Just stay out of everybody else’s hair. So I believe in that value of smaller government. Give politicians power and all of a sudden they’ll misuse it on ya.”
Tags: Cannes, capital punishment, Clint Eastwood, Democrat, euthanasia, Films, Flags of our Fathers, Iwo Jima, libertarian, Movies, Politicians, race, Republican, Spike Lee
Your Daily Chum 
June 9, 2008 at 10:21 am |
I love this guy! His attitude is the same in the movies AND real life. No method acting here. Just for that, I’m gonna have to do an Eastwood marathon soon.
Fist Full of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
High Plains Drifter
etc
etc
etc
March 22, 2009 at 5:17 pm |
Clint Eastwood is my role model for several reasons. He is very funny, acts everything he does perfectly, and can do almost anything! He is very inspirational and proves that, no matter who you are, you can do whatever you put your head to! He is one of my favorite actors in a movie and he has made many, many of them!!! My favorite one that he starred in was Gran’ Torino.
June 24, 2009 at 9:30 pm |
I think that Mr. Eastwood is one of the best actors of any time, much less one of the best writer, director, producer, etc… I have enjoyed all of his films and only wish that we had more like him. As for the “Flags of Our Fathers” issue. I feel that Mr. Eastwood’s perfectionism would not allow him to change anything about that movie. I know from fact that there where no African Americans on the mound at the time the flag was raised because my Uncle, “Whitney Meaux” was the officer assigned to take the photos there. He was a photographer for the Army. I have seen several photos of his from all over the Island and including the original of the flag raising. It was unfortunate that there were no African Americans present at the time, but that does not tarnish or lay shadow to the honor that they carried out there. I respect Mr. Eastwood’s decision to keep the film authentic and commend him for his respect.