Clint Eastwood can look back on a successful career. The director has not always been considered an easy colleague. Kevin Costner also had to experience this when he worked with him on the set of A Perfect World.
What was the problem? Eastwood expects the actors and crew to be prepared and act exactly when he wants it. He dislikes wasting time and wants to finish film productions as quickly as possible.
Costner also felt Eastwood’s impatience. When the actor was just taking a break in his trailer, Eastwood wanted to shoot a scene. Costner replied that he was not ready yet and the director would have to wait.
That did not suit Eastwood at all, which is why he called Costner’s counterpart, another extra, to him. He put on the shirt from Costner’s role and shot the scene. To make it less noticeable that it was not Costner, the camera was directed so closely at him that he became blurry.
An excellent film for which Eastwood was responsible is Unforgiven:
Costner and Eastwood had a dispute
How did the situation end? Costner found out about the exchange and there was a verbal fight between the actor and the director. When Eastwood replied that he was being paid to make movies, the conversation was over.
After A Perfect World, by the way, there was no film where the two stars and multiple Oscar winners worked together again. Whether this has to do with their exchange of words is unclear.
What other quirks does Eastwood have? Eastwood is an impatient director. He is also known for his first takes. The director tries to get the best out of the first take and often settles for that one take, as he revealed in an interview with Esquire:
I try to do whatever is necessary. If a take is great, great. If it’s ten takes, then it must be. But from an artistic point of view, I want to see the person when the situation goes through their brain for the first time, when it goes through their eyes for the first time, and when the words come out of their mouth for the first time. I have seen great actors do amazing things in the first take.
He lets the camera run for as long as the actor is out of character and not until the take is finished. Instead, he lives by the philosophy of just keeping going.
Before his career as a director, Eastwood worked as an actor. Even then, he was picky and turned down some roles: Legendary actor refused to appear in a masterpiece, which proved to be the right decision
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