The 95-year-old actor and director has long earned a place among the most successful artists in his field with his five Oscars. Clint Eastwood now talks about a reason for his success.
What is this about? Short and sweet: money! Nearly 20 years ago, Clint Eastwood explained in an interview that the commercial success of his films was not the priority. The successful actor and director, who has been in the industry for seven decades, always focuses on a different goal: to tell good stories.
If someone came and said, “I have this script and we could make a fortune with it,” I would say, “Don’t tell me that.” I don’t want to know.
I just want to learn about the story and the characters. Is there a way to make them interesting?Clint Eastwood in an interview with Entertainment Weekly
Eastwood gives two examples from his life that show he had to deal with resistance:
“I wasn’t there, but I’m sure the people behind the scenes of Mystic River said: ‘Holy shit! This is a dark story!’ And we took Million Dollar Baby to another studio because they here [Clint Eastwood has worked with Warner Bros. for years] said: ‘Feel free to pitch it.'”
The executives at Warner Bros. feared that the drama surrounding a female boxer might not be successful enough. In the end, Eastwood was right and was able to celebrate 4 Oscars plus many other awards, positive reviews, and strong earnings (over 210 million US dollars worldwide, source: boxofficemojo.com) for his film.
“If I can’t deliver, they shouldn’t pay me”
How was it at the beginning? Clint Eastwood had this connection to money from the very start of his directing career. In his first film Sadistico from 1971 (original title: Play Misty for Me), the artist negotiated with the executives at Universal, who didn’t really want to pay him anything for the job. Eastwood describes his reaction as follows:
Okay. They shouldn’t pay me right away. I should first show them what I can do. And if I can’t deliver, they shouldn’t pay me.
Clint Eastwood in an interview with Entertainment Weekly
Throughout his long career, Clint Eastwood has repeatedly worked for the minimum to be able to make his desired films – sometimes supplemented by 1 percent profit participation. This can pay off financially. However, a film also has to be very successful for that.
An artist for the Hall of Fame of Hollywood: Success proves Clint Eastwood right. Since 1955 he has been an actor, since 1971 a director, and since 1982 a producer. He has even made a name for himself as a composer. 5 Oscars are displayed in his showcases, 2 each for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. Additionally, a Memorial Award from 1995.
His filmography includes countless other classics of film history, such as Escape from Alcatraz, Dirty Harry, For a Few Dollars More (and countless other Italian westerns), Gran Torino, Mystic River, The Bridges of Madison County, or the anti-war film double feature Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Speaking of which: A war film by Clint Eastwood is praised by historians for taking a step that is unusual in Hollywood
