Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

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beamish14
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#26 Post by beamish14 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 3:12 pm

hearthesilence wrote:
Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:11 pm
Totally missed this, but Warner's new CEO (and former the head of Discovery, blech) David Zaslav blasted Warner execs for allowing Eastwood to make Cry Macho. When he asked why, they said he had delivered the studio a lot of hits over many years, and that he always delivers on-time, never goes over budget, never spends that much, etc. and he basically shot back with "We don't owe anyone any favors. It's not 'show friends,' it's 'show business'" which feels like a really shitty sign of things to come. It's pretty much the opposite of Mo Ostin's artist-friendly philosophy - the long-time head of Warner's music label recently passed away, and it was noted that not only was he able to draw a lot of talent with that reputation, but he managed to guide WB past CBS/Columbia as the most successful label in the business.
People like Ostin understood that it was worth investing in acts that didn’t deliver on their initial albums, and that it’s more important to nurture talent than focus solely on instant mega-sellers. Sadly, the industry’s refusal to heed his advice is why major American labels have had such lackluster releases in recent decades. I remember a story about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who had finished their contract with EMI and were in search of a new label. I think they decided to go with Capitol, but Ostin called them up and sincerely wished them luck with it. This gesture led to a relationship between the band and WB that’s withstood for more than 30 years.

Regarding Eastwood, he jumped to WB because he belt that Universal had not properly marketed The Eiger Sanction and Beezy, and that union is unrivaled in Hollywood history. It’s so fortuitous that he found a place to finance films like Thelonious: Straight, No Chaser and have no questions about green lighting Unforgiven despite the massive commercial failure of White Hunter, Black Heart

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swo17
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#27 Post by swo17 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:51 pm

hearthesilence wrote:
Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:11 pm
Warner's new CEO (and former the head of Discovery, blech) David Zaslav blasted Warner execs for allowing Eastwood to make Cry Macho. When he asked why, they said he had delivered the studio a lot of hits over many years, and that he always delivers on-time, never goes over budget, never spends that much, etc. and he basically shot back with "We don't owe anyone any favors. It's not 'show friends,' it's 'show business'"
1. I dunno, "a lot of hits over many years, always delivers on-time, and never goes over budget" all sound like pretty businessy things to me.
2. That show Friends is worth a lot of money actually.
3. Maybe this guy was simply angry because he had just watched Cry Macho.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#28 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:27 pm

Man, that would've been awesome if someone replied with #2.

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diamonds
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#29 Post by diamonds » Tue Aug 09, 2022 6:24 pm

If such a sweet and wistful film like Cry Macho left Zaslav in the state he's in, it'd be proof he really is a ghoul! To say this news is dispiriting is an understatement, and I sincerely hope all of this blows up in their faces. The complete disregard for loyalty is disgusting.

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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#30 Post by pistolwink » Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:15 am

This Zaslav guy is giving me strong James T. Aubrey vibes.

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Maltic
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#31 Post by Maltic » Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:59 am

Zaslav also sounds like a character in a Clint Eastwood movie

I am a little surprised Cry Macho cost 33m, although it's very far from being the money most poorly spent by a Hollywood studio in recent years.

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MichaelB
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Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#32 Post by MichaelB » Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:08 am

Maltic wrote:I am a little surprised Cry Macho cost 33m, although it's very far from being the money most poorly spent by a Hollywood studio in recent years.
You could have specifically said “Warner Bros” instead of a generic “Hollywood studio”, and you’d be just as accurate.

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Maltic
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#33 Post by Maltic » Thu Aug 11, 2022 12:11 pm

^Good point

Zaslavian characters in the Clint franchise:

The woman from the mayor's office who wants to "winnow out the neanderthals from the police department" (The Enforcer)
Sondra Locke - until, spoiler alert, she succumbs to Clint's irresistible charm (Bronco Billy)
Chris Penn (Pale Rider)
Everett McGill (Heartbreak Ridge)
The hotel manager (White Hunter, Black Heart)
The kids (The Bridges of Madison County)
The son (Gran Torino)
The airline (Sully)

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Quote Perf Unquote
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#34 Post by Quote Perf Unquote » Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:39 pm

Maltic wrote:
Thu Aug 11, 2022 12:11 pm
^Good point

Zaslavian characters in the Clint franchise:

The woman from the mayor's office who wants to "winnow out the neanderthals from the police department" (The Enforcer)
Sondra Locke - until, spoiler alert, she succumbs to Clint's irresistible charm (Bronco Billy)
Chris Penn (Pale Rider)
Everett McGill (Heartbreak Ridge)
The hotel manager (White Hunter, Black Heart)
The kids (The Bridges of Madison County)
The son (Gran Torino)
The airline (Sully)
The Empty Chair (RNC)

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Maltic
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#35 Post by Maltic » Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:14 pm

:)

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colinr0380
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#36 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:48 pm

I was surprised to read the recent factoid in Sight & Sound that Cry Macho - a 1975 book - had apparently been one of those extremely long in gestation projects, with Eastwood turning down the role way back in 1988(! when he might have been a little more age appropriate for the romantic stuff and the film could have turned out similar to Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer), with other actors considered before it went into the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger(!!) just as he became Governor of California in the 2000s. After Schwarzenegger dropped out apparently due to that affair with his housekeeper it eventually wound its way back to Eastwood.

(Which is a long winded way of suggesting that you could perhaps spin it that Eastwood may have been doing Warner Bros a favour by finally doing that film!)

beamish14
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#37 Post by beamish14 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:05 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:48 pm
I was surprised to read the recent factoid in Sight & Sound that Cry Macho - a 1975 book - had apparently been one of those extremely long in gestation projects, with Eastwood turning down the role way back in 1988(! when he might have been a little more age appropriate for the romantic stuff and the film could have turned out similar to Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer), with other actors considered before it went into the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger(!!) just as he became Governor of California in the 2000s. After Schwarzenegger dropped out apparently due to that affair with his housekeeper it eventually wound its way back to Eastwood.

(Which is a long winded way of suggesting that you could perhaps spin it that Eastwood may have been doing Warner Bros a favour by finally doing that film!)

The development of Cry Macho is not dissimilar to what happened with Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, which also began as a screenplay that became a novel when it landed in development hell and was subsequently re-adapted

Tuco
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#38 Post by Tuco » Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:54 pm

Re: Something Wicked This Way Comes, at one point there were serious discussions between Bradbury and...Sam Peckinpah! Wonder how Warren Oates would have fit in...

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#39 Post by yoloswegmaster » Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:10 am

According to someone associated with Clint Eastwood and his studio, the Dirty Harry films have received 4K restorations but WB hasn't agreed to release them on 4K yet. They also revealed that Where Eagles Dare, Kelly’s Heroes, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Pale Rider have received 4K restorations (with the first 2 films being planned for a 4K release).

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#40 Post by yoloswegmaster » Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:55 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote:
Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:10 am
According to someone associated with Clint Eastwood and his studio, the Dirty Harry films have received 4K restorations but WB hasn't agreed to release them on 4K yet. They also revealed that Where Eagles Dare, Kelly’s Heroes, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Pale Rider have received 4K restorations (with the first 2 films being planned for a 4K release).
The official Clint Eastwood Twitter account has revealed that the Dirty Harry films won't be coming out in 4K until next year, and that the 4K scan for Where Eagles Dare was just only recently approved. They also revealed that Heartbreak Ridge has been restored as well.

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Ribs
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#41 Post by Ribs » Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:38 pm

Uh, that’s not a real account- it’s verified by subscribing to Twitter Blue and it’s promoted entirely by some random loser posting links to it to random other people. All the documentation they produce shows no verifiable information. It’s frankly mind boggling to imagine looking at the account page and imagining they are real posts but most people on Blu-ray.com are severely deluded so I guess that makes facts.

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#42 Post by yoloswegmaster » Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:50 pm

If true, then it's absolutely bizarre and very creepy to see someone create an account pretending to be an official spokesperson and post a whole lot of personal photos.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#43 Post by hearthesilence » Fri Jan 27, 2023 11:21 am

yoloswegmaster wrote:
Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:50 pm
If true, then it's absolutely bizarre and very creepy to see someone create an account pretending to be an official spokesperson and post a whole lot of personal photos.
This has been around since probably the beginning of social media. I remember my first encounter with this was someone who opened up a Twitter account pretending to be Ken Jennings around the time he became a household name due to Jeopardy! (I think he was still on his record-breaking run.) I guess it wasn't malicious - I think the user may have just wanted the compliments and adulation thrown his way even though they were for someone else. Then there are some who are just pranking people - I remember one guy pretending to be Jim Jarmusch and reaching out to John Lurie, saying "let's make another movie!" Lurie didn't buy it. But yeah, it can be bizarre and creepy.


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knives
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Re: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros

#45 Post by knives » Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:07 pm

I doubt it’s his final film, but given recent issues merely his last with WB.

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