Posted by Julie at the Cleveland Leader, Clint Eastwood will join Barack Obama, Tom Brady, Chris Pine and the three stars of The Hangover (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) for the Men of the Year issue, which will split up covers and hit news stands in December. Eastwood says of his new film Invictus:
“The world needs this kind of story nowadays. It’s just…everybody’s so screwed up. It seems like our country’s in a kind of morbid mood, because of the recession or whatever. We’re becoming juvenile as a nation. The guys who won World War II and that whole generation have disappeared, and now we have a bunch of teenage twits.
48 Responses for "Eastwood is Man of the Year"
“..and now we have a bunch of teenage twits.”
Sadly true.
Tell us how you really feel Clint…but i agree.
I may not agree with Eastwood’s political views, but this man is on a roll career-wise. Million Dollar Baby is one of the best films ever made and I can’t wait for Invictus!
Teenage twits??????????????? Invictus is so winning NOTHING!!!!!!!!!
When you are old, Bambi, you will see the world differently. And it happens a lot faster than you think. What I like about Eastwood is that the man is fearless. He sucks up to no one and he is one of the few in Hollywood who isn’t afraid to say what he thinks. He’s proved himself in all respects twice over. No, he isn’t “pc” and many disagree with his politics and personal beliefs but trust me, when you get up there in years your perspective on life shifts greatly.
I like it that he isn`t PC and doesn`t suck up to anyone but calling teenagers “twits” is out of line. But then, we ain`t the target audience for his movies so he can say whatever he wants.
He also has a tendency to trash something to make himself look better. Like when he said that Mystic River was real drama and not special effects or something along those lines. Very direct dig at ROTK. Now I`m not a ROTK fan but that was uncalled for. No need to put down competition that didn`t say anything to put down you and your movie. They played fair and square, why can`t the Clint?
Plenty of people lob criticisms at both Eastwood and his movies. He gets it back ten times over…..
But Invictus ain`t winnin` shit.
A friend of mine got work as an extra on his movie being shot in London at the moment. The movie is called The Hereafter and the story involves the deaths of three people, and it is possibly some kind of supernatural, sixth-sense kind of thing, but he wasn’t exactly sure, so don’t take that as a given. They needed extras for a funeral scene of a British-Indian man, of the Sikh religion, and it was shot in a crematorium in Camberwell in South London.
A child who my friend got the impression was central to the storyline runs through the funeral past an old Indian woman holding a photograph of the dead man.
He said that Clint was very professional, and even though they had been told not to approach him on set, after the scenes were done, Clint was an absolute gentleman, personally thanked my friend for his help, even though the scene is probably just thirty seconds in the final cut or something and shook hands with all the extras. I was of course very burned up with jealousy for my friend having got to meet the great man, because I love the guy.
His achievment as an actor, as pure mythos beginning with his work for Leone, to his own art as a director, his restless, contemplative intelligence as a director – I am in awe of the man, to be honest.
I like his movies, but he really needs to shut up. LOL. I can’t stand this “boomer” logic that the country was sooooo much better and now it’s horrible. The boomers have to be the most self-absorbed, self-congratulating, obnoxious generations of Americans that I’ve been witness too in my lifetime. Greatest generation my ass. We won WWII because of MANY countries, not just us. Try a world war now, we would all be speaking Chinese within a month. Shut up and make movies Clint.
An American director directs American stars in a movie about South Africa….glad to see Hollywood hasn’t changed much in 75 years.
Because Neil Blokamp has zero interest in Mandela unless it`s proven he`s actually an alien?
But seriously, one can`t blame Hollywood for interest in other countries and those country film-makers disinterest.
I really like that cover. The denim and the background bring out his eyes. Very nice.
However if the “twits” thing is a veiled reference to twitter I gotta say I love twitter. It’s actually the only thing restoring any shred of faith in humanity I have left. Seriously. People are generally good and just want to hang out and joke around. You see that clearly on there. It’s when you get out into real life and everyone is clawing and fighting for every little bit they can get their hands on, be it money or power, that’s scary.
But if he’s really just talking about teenagers, then yeah, they suck.
This man is now a Commander of the Legion of Honour. Congratulations to you Sir, we have always loved you Mr Eastwood.
Here we still remember the old days, when he came to Europe looking for work. And he met with a guy called Sergio Leone…
Pure genious.
Eastwood’s impatience comes not just from the existence of teenage twits, but the fact that they seem to have all the power. As a film producer, he must know it’s easy to raise money for projects like GI Joe, Transformers and Twilight, but damn-near impossible to raise money for intelligent adult dramas.
At #10 re: “I like his movies, but he needs to shut up”. Just what do you think the art of making movies is all about. I think artists should say what they think, even if you and I don’t like it. Unfortunately, most actors and directors say what the PR people advise them to say.
“Badass of the Year” — narrowly beating out Lou Dobbs.
“The guys who won World War II and that whole generation have disappeared, and now we have a bunch of teenage twits.”
Eastwood should watch The Hurt Locker or The Messenger.
Teenagers existed in the 1940s. When WWII was won in 1945, Clint Eastwood was 15 years old. Wiki says, “Eastwood was not interested in academic pursuits and records indicate he attended summer school.”
While the “Greatest Generation” was winning WWII, Clint Eastood was doing as teenagers have done throughout history — he was a twit.
#10 – “the boomers” as you refer to them are the progeny of Greatest Generation – the children born to those who returned from WWII. So, if you’re making a swipe at Mr. Eastwood’s generation, then you’re off the mark.
As for his “twits” comments – it just goes to show that his acting in “Gran Torino” wasn’t that much of a stretch.
Nice. Clint was drafted into the Korean War. So at least we know he has some war experience to go with that comment.
I agree with Eastwood’s view. A large portion of the ME generation (1960s) are spoiled and entitled. They, unfortunately, have been indoctrinated through a liberal higher education, which emphasizes entitlement over merit and hard work.
And through the baby-boomers, their children are just as lost. Self reliance is a foreign term to most. Moral equivicating is the rule of the day. Hence the President we just elected.
The reason why Eastwood can and does speak his mind is because he didn’t come out early in his career with any kind of ignorant, moribund political statement. Plus, as we all know here at Awards Daily, most individuals involved with Hollywood are unbashedly Liberal. That goes without saying; however, you can be blackballed out of the industry if you have a conservative leaning mentality. It’s like the McCarthy Era, but in reverse.
I agree that really old people see the world differently. For one thing, they forget what it was like to be young, and often begin to occify into prudes and cranks.
“We’re becoming juvenile as a nation.”
This from the guy who co-starred with orangutans at the peak of his acting career.
“It’s just…everybody’s so screwed up. It seems like our country’s in a kind of morbid mood, because of the recession or whatever.”
Whoa, that’s deep. I know teenagers who can articulate the country’s malaise better than “kind of morbid” or “because of the recession or whatever.”
JR, you make it sound like Eastwood was point man on the 37th parallel. He never went to Korea.
“He was posted to Fort Ord where his certificate as a lifeguard saw him appointed as a life-saving and swimming instructor.” (wiki) He was on board a transport plane that splashed down in the ocean a few miles outside of San Francisco. He wasn’t injured, and avoided being shipped overseas.
His “war experience” was blowing a silver whistle at soldiers in a swimming pool.
LoL. Well pardon me all over the place.
We should put up a post about Andy Williams and how he thinks Obama is a marxist who wants the country to fail. I mean seriously, the only old man around here to get a pile of shit on is Clint Eastwood. As if we don’t know old people are senile folks that come a different generation.
I am surprised People didn’t put him on their Sexiest Man cover.
@ 9 Joolz, I agree. Because of his professionalism and calmness Eastwood is able to enlighten us with his crap. Does this guy ever loose his cool?
But, I do admire him for not forgetting to make movies about women as central characters.
I certainly feel conflicted about Eastwood as a person, and don’t like his politics or his views towards teenagers, but let’s not forget; when Sean Penn was criticized for his remarks about Iraq, and when the whole BULL DURHAM controversy happened with Tim Robbins, Eastwood came to the defense of both of them. True, a cynic could say that was because both of them were in his movie, but I respect him a lot for doing that. And while I didn’t love GRAN TORINO like many did, and didn’t like CHANGELING at all, I’ve been a fan of his output so far this decade.
First off as one of the late boomers (one year older than our POTUS) I tend to agree with Jackaroo’s comments, and of course Clint’s. I hope Invictus wins lots of awards so bambi goes back into the forest (J/K but you started with the hate). Clint is a gentleman and a proven professional who doesn’t need to apologize for his unfiltered comments. Most teens I know are twits, cute but twits, they’ll grow out of it. Thanks for the cover, the man is an inspiration to a youngster like me and he reminds me of my late dad esp. his face, so there’s part of my respect, plus his films are among my favs. Read the whole article on GQ, great interview!
From the GQ article:
“…I think our politicians could learn a lot from Mandela.”
What do you think they could learn?
“About racial relationships and such. It just seems like we’re making a lot of mistakes on this whole calling everybody racist. Everybody’s calling everybody morons and nuts. We’re becoming more juvenile as a nation. The guys who won World War II and that whole generation have disappeared, and now we have a bunch of teenage twits. People 50 years old acting like that. In Gran Torino, I play a guy who’s racially offensive. But he learned. It shows that you’re never too old to learn and embrace people that you don’t understand to begin with. It seems like nobody else got that message, I guess.”
As usual in context his comments are not so UN-PC.
http://www.gq.com/entertainment/men-of-the-year/2009/badass/clint-eastwood-legend-invictus-director
#25 “I hope Invictus wins lots of awards so bambi goes back into the forest.”
Bambi doesn`t need Invictus win to appreciate nature so I go to the forrests and parks very often. And Invictus ain`t winning anything because other movies will. I said that before the Clint`s “teenager twits” comment and I stand by it.
@ripley: there’s about a hundred different things wrong with that paragraph that i don’t even know where to start.
“In Gran Torino, I play a guy who’s racially offensive. But he learned. It shows that you’re never too old to learn and embrace people that you don’t understand to begin with.”
this is true, but it’s 2009 and as an African-American woman, I do not have the time nor patience to teach every ignorant person about the virtues of giving every person, despite their sex, creed, and or race, a fair shake. if you can’t understand deep down that the color of your skin does not determine the content of character, then i don’t know what to tell you.
I think it is interesting that Clint is a tough republican, yet his movies are so soulful, sensitive, and wise.
I don’t think he’s a Republican.
@sasha: i believe he is. he ran as one as mayor of carmel no?
“Everybody’s calling everybody morons and nuts.” and “teenage twits”
Yeah, lead by example, Clint.
Clint Eastwood is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! And good for him for having the courage to say the truth.
I am 28 so I am not old but I agree totally with Clint.
We are living in a society where Kim Kardashian, the Gosselins, Spencer and Heidi Pratt, Levi Johnston, and Paris Hilton are house hold names and talked about longer than any of this years Oscar hopefuls are and for accomplishing nothing!
We have the most GOD AWFUL movies being made by studios because its the crap that todays youth shell out their money to see.
We have the most GOD AWFUL music being played on the radio because thats the type of music todays youth shell out their money to hear.
These people spend all their time on facebook and texting and than wonder why they cant find a job. I have a friend who lost a job because he had tons of drunk photos on his facebook.
Clint is on to something here and those that dismiss him are fooling themselves. Just to prove his point- How many of this years Oscar hopefuls have opened near you? I’ve had about 2, Julie and Julia and Inglorious Basterds. Nobody can even see todays good movies unless you live in a major city or you can afford to spend money to see them all in Dec/Jan when they are all thrown at us all at once.
@adam: tabloids, useless celebrities, GOD AWFUL movies have been around a lot longer than you think. they didn’t just materialize or expand this decade. it was always there. thanks to the internet, it’s just more pervasive.
there is no such thing as “the good old days” people. stop trying to make it happen, it’s not going to happen.
Not to mention that it`s adults who push Paris, Jon&Kate and God-awful movies on everyone. Not teens. It`s just an excuse that teens want to see crap but the fact is that people who grew up on Transformers and brought their kids to the movies are no more teenagers. Same goes for the worst movies in history -Star Wars prequels.
“I play a guy who’s racially offensive. But he learned. It shows that you’re never too old to learn and embrace people that you don’t understand to begin with.”
That might be what Gran Torino shows us if it had been a biopic about a real-life Walt Kowalski. What it shows us instead is how easy it is for a screenwriter to make any fictional character attain enlightenment with the most preposterous and flimsy character arc.
One minute Walt’s grimacing at the zipperheads. Next minute he’s enjoying a delightful backyard barbecue with the zipperheads. What’s the lesson? Feed a racist to mollify him?
SPOILER And he conveniently dies just when he sees the light, instead of spreading the word of what he`s learned. Ugh.
“It does not matter whether the cat is black or white; as long as it catches the mouse, it is a good cat”
Deng XiaoPing
“…and now we have a bunch of teenage twits. People 50 years old acting like that”
This makes it seem like he’s not really calling teenagers twits (though still doing so indirectly), but calling out all the older people who are acting like teenagers. And while I may not agree 100%, I can definitely understand where he’s coming from. People just expect too much to be handed to them today rather than work for it, in practically every aspect of life. I like Eastwood for saying what he believes. I tend to like but not love his recent films, but I’m really hoping Invictus lives up to its potential.
I gotta agree with Bambi here…..Invictus isn’t winning a darn thing and I’d be damned forever if it does. I don’t have anything against Eastwood, in fact I love his films most of them, but Invictus looks like your steotypical Oscar bait bullshit with some African song played in the background of the damn trailer. Morgan Freeman is becoming pigeoned holed into the role of the intellectual paternal black man. I am kinda getting tired of Eastwood, somewhat. I want him to break out of the usual Oscar bait bio topic of the year.
What I got from the GQ article was that Eastwood was trying to draw a distinction between the politics of racial inclusion and the politics of racial division. The story of Invictus is the story about a President who used an almost exclusively white man’s sport to unite the nation. But the discourse of American politics seems to be so divisive, not just racially, but also religiously.
I lean to the right, and like Eastwood I have some libertarian ideas, but I get sick of the name calling and racial innuedo aimed at Obama. The latest thing seems to be whether Obama bows appropriately, or puts his hand over his heart during the national anthem. It is kind of juvenile.
“I gotta agree with Bambi here…..Invictus isn’t winning a darn thing and I’d be damned forever if it does.”
As if either of you have any say? This is the Academy’s vote, not a fan vote. If Eastwood’s film deserves it it should win. If you’re truly going to bar any film that looks like “Oscar bait” from the race, well, you might as well start reading a site for the Spirit Awards.
Hmm, Clint Eastwood seems like he’s in kind of a morbid mood, eh? Probably because of the recession or whatever.
I really want to like his new movie though. I feel like he’s losing his touch recently. I liked Gran Torino but didn’t love it, and I completely avoided Changeling on the hunch that it was something I wouldn’t be into. That’s never a good sign with a director. That’s what happened to Soderbergh for me. There was a period of about 5 or 6 years where that dude could literally do no wrong. Now I get excited about MAYBE 1 of the 15 movies he releases every year. And that right there is probably what the problem is. Anyways, point is I really was feeling the Clint love for a while there and I hope we’re not on the downward spiral right now.
Disclaimer: this is only referring to his directing career. I pretty much dig the fuck out of Clint Eastwood as an actor in pretty much everything, including the orangutan movie. Also, I’m pretty sure the dude is retired as an actor at this point so it’s cool to refer to him solely as a director.
Clint is one hot and manly senior citizen! That’s a pretty good cover photo. Damn.
I love the old dude. I don’t love all of his movies, but he’s never lost his spark, and I will always respect and admire him. I hope he lives to be a hundred and keeps making movies ’til the end.
He just sounds like another old coot rambling about the good ol’ days. There were none.
“…Invictus isn’t winning a darn thing and I’d be damned forever if it does.”
Wow, I bet you haven’t even seen the movie. People just see the name Eastwood and immediately are against the man’s work. Get over his politics already. Ivictus looks quite good and if it turns out to be great, why not reward it. He has delivered some great work and it’s a shame some individuals don’t agree with the love AMPAS has given him over the years but don’t hate the player, hate the game.
I don’t get this whole the Academy loves Clint thing. Now they do, for sure, but he didn’t get his second director nomination until 2003. That doesn’t equate love exactly. And you really can’t knock Letters, Mystic River, or M$B, even though Baby shouldn’t have won the Oscars. Eastwood is good, and Unforgiven is one of the greatest films of the last 20 years. Eastwood is the man, regardless of politics or age.
I hope I’ll be 1/2 as badass as Eastwood is when I’m in my senior years.
Glad to see the stars of the Hangover nominated. Can anybody confirm if this is Ed Helms in the claymation commercials? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cSRix0TL-Y
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