Clint Eastwood tells PopWatch he may act again after all
Aug 31, 2007, 06:31 PM | by Gregory Kirschling
Categories: An EW Exclusive!, Film
A month ago, PopWatch asked "Has Clint Eastwood retired from acting?" I'd just talked to Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis, who said he offered Clint the lead role in his upcoming movie, In the Valley of Elah. According to Haggis, Eastwood turned down the part, explaining that he was in retirement when he agreed to get back in front of the camera for Million Dollar Baby (pictured), and, after that film's Oscar-winning success, he was leery of trying to top himself again. Said Eastwood to Haggis: "I don't think I can go out better, do you?"
Well, this afternoon, I had Eastwood on the phone, so I asked the man directly: Are we going to see him onscreen ever again? "I don't know if we are," replied Eastwood, who, by the way, is a friendly and engaged phone presence. "You never say never, but right now, I've moved to the back of the camera, and I've sort of been enjoying it there. So we'll have to wait and see on that. If I don't do it again, it won't break my heart, because I've had a good, long run, but if something good comes along down the line..." His voice trailed off for a second. "If something like Million Dollar Baby comes along again, maybe I will. It was tough to pass on [In the Valley of Elah]. I liked where Paul was headed with it, but at the same time I was doing a lot of other stuff then — Flags [of Our Fathers], Letters from Iwo Jima. It was a tough one to pass up, but by the same token, Tommy Lee Jones [who took the lead role in Elah] is terrific."
We asked him if there are a lot of scripts floating around with meaty parts for old guys. Eastwood laughed and said, "It's not a question of that. I'm sure there are some out there. I've read a couple. But not enough to bring me back in front. I like the back of the camera."
After the jump, Eastwood answers a couple of questions about his next gig, directing Angelina Jolie.
You're at work on The Changeling?
Yes. I'm preparing that right now, and we're starting that — let's see, we're almost in September. When we get to September, it'd be the next month, in October.
What's the movie about?
It's all based around a woman — her kid is missing, and when they bring the kid back, it's not HER kid. (laughs) And they sort of do a Gaslight-type thing on it. You remember Gaslight?
Ingrid Bergman. Great movie.
Ingrid Bergman at her loveliest. George Cukor, I believe, directed it. And it was Angela Lansbury at 18. And Charles Boyer. I remember liking it too. I always like those things where somebody screws with somebody's brain. And that's kind of what they do here. [It's about] how she works her way out of it. It's a very good script, and it's a terrific role for a woman. Angelina Jolie is gonna play her. She's actually been interested in the project for a long time, and then she came aboard. The rest of the casting is in process. I'm starting on it now and probably gonna cast it in the next week or two.
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