Dedicated to the greatest Actor ever: Clint Eastwood

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Monday 22 February 2010

Every Which Way but Loose

Every Which Way But Loose is a 1978 American film, released by Warner Brothers, produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo. It starred Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role, as Philo Beddoe, a trucker and brawler roaming the American West in search of a lost love while accompanied by his friend/manager Orville and his pet orangutan, Clyde. In the process Philo manages to cross a motley assortment of characters, including a pair of police officers and an entire motorcycle gang (the "Black Widows"), who end up pursuing him for revenge.

Eastwood's appearance in the film, after his string of spaghetti western and Dirty Harry roles, somewhat startled the film industry and he was reportedly advised against making it. Panned by critics, the film went on to become an enormous success and became, along with its 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can, two of the highest grossing Eastwood films.

Philo Beddoe is a truck driver for a pipe supply company and a part-time auto mechanic living in California's San Fernando Valley. He lives in a small house behind that of his best friend Orville Boggs and his mother, Ma. Philo also has a pet orangutan named Clyde. Philo makes money on the side by hustling as a bare-knuckle fighter; he is often compared to another fighter named Tank Murdock (Barnes), of legendary status.

One night Philo becomes smitten with Lynn Halsey-Taylor, an aspiring country music singer he meets at the Palamino, a local honky-tonk. His relationship with her seems to be going well until one day she and her camping trailer disappear from the ramshackle trailer park. Believing that he is falling for her, Philo decides to set off for Lynn's home in Denver, Colorado.

Throughout all of this is a subplot involving a motorcycle gang called "The Black Widows", who incur Philo's wrath after two gang members insult him and Clyde at a traffic light one day. Philo chases them down and takes their bikes (which he repaints, repairs, and resells), and every attempt they have made to get even has resulted in even more disaster, including a showdown with the shotgun-wielding Ma. Philo also unknowingly has incurred the wrath of a local sheriff, whom he is roughed up by at the Palamino after learning that Lynn has left town. Both the sheriff and the Widows learn of Philo's trip to Colorado and head off to find him.

Orville and Clyde accompany Philo to Denver, and on the way, they meet the feisty Echo working at a produce market. She becomes Orville's girlfriend. The trio earn their money for the trip by booking Philo fights with other area bare-knucklers. One fight in a slaughterhouse almost goes awry when a man holding the money for the fight tries to stiff Philo, clearly outnumbered. Two gunshots fired by Echo's .38 pistol, causes the man to quickly hand over the money and they leave without further incident.

Later, it is revealed that Lynn uses men for sex and money in the towns where she plays her gigs. Knowing that Philo has come to look for her, she assists Black Widow gang leader Cholla into luring Philo into a trap. Philo takes the bait and unwittingly engages in a showdown with the Widows. Philo manages to fight most of them until Orville, watching the fight, intervenes. He gets into a parked garbage truck with a dumpster hoist, and dumps every Widow bike into the back of the truck to be crushed. The rest of the Widows chase the garbage truck in a futile attempt to catch it, but it is of no use. Philo, Echo, and Orville reunite and continue their trip.

Philo finally finds Lynn and she reveals her true cold-hearted nature to him. Hurt at her callousness and after she calls him dumb, Philo says that he has been the only one dumb enough wanting to take her further than her bed. Feeling cheap, Lynn erupts in a fit of rage, where she strikes him repeatedly until she collapses in tears of anguish.

Orville learns that Tank Murdock, based in the area, is ready to retire after one more good fight. Orville makes the arrangements, and Philo, up for the challenge, faces his kindly yet pudgy and elderly nemesis. While Murdock hits hard and has considerable endurance for a man his age, Philo is faster, and is able to dodge most of Murdock's strikes. However, during the fight, the crowd, initially pro-Murdock, begins to insult him while he is bloodied and on the ground, with some murmurs that Philo is going to be the next Tank Murdock. Philo, hearing the murmurs, is suddenly saddened by the fickle crowd's loss of respect for Murdock. Liking Murdock, he allows him to save face by taking a dive. As Murdock is swaying and barely able to stand, Philo lets his guard down, giving Murdock a clear shot, which knocks Philo down for the count. Murdock, having regained the crowd's esteem, is allowed to retire undefeated. Both men exchange glances from a distance, and without words acknowledge their respect for one another. Philo, Clyde, Orville and Echo head home the next day.


Saturday 13 February 2010

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

In 1974, Eastwood teamed with Jeff Bridges in the buddy action caper Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.

The idea to the film was originally devised by Stan Kamen of the William Morris Agency, but was written by Michael Cimino who had previously written for Magnum Force, the previous year and he would also direct the picture.

The film is a road movie about an ex Korean War veteran turned bank robber Thunderbolt (Eastwood) who teams with a young con man drifter, Lightfoot (Bridges) who try to stay ahead of the vengeful ex-members of his gang (George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis) in the search for a cash deposit abandoned from an old heist.


Monday 8 February 2010

Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

In 1970, Eastwood starred in the western, Two Mules for Sister Sara with Shirley MacLaine. The film, directed by Siegel, is a story about an American mercenary who gets mixed up with a whore disguised as a nun and aid a group of Juarista rebels during the puppet reign of Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. The script was written by Budd Boetticher but was challenged by the writer-producer Martin Rackin and experienced many disagreements over the script and filming. Rackin, who was disliked by both Eastwood and Siegel attempted to cut costs of the picture and pushed to shoot in Mexico and employ a Mexican cast of relative unknowns. Rackin hired Albert Malz, a onetime member of the Hollywood Ten to rewrite the script and pay homage to Leone's westerns. The film saw Eastwood embody the tall mysterious stranger once more, although the film was considerably less crude and more sardonic than those of Leone. The role of Sister Sara was initially offered to Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of Where Eagles Dare (Taylor then being the wife of Richard Burton) but had to turn down the role because she wanted to shoot in Spain where Burton was filming his latest movie. Although Sister Sara was supposed to be Mexican, they eventually cast Shirley Maclaine although they were initially unconvinced with her pale complexion. Both Siegel and Eastwood felt intimidated by her onset, and Siegel described Clint's co-star as, "It's hard to feel any great warmth to her. She's too unfeminine and has too much balls. She's very, very hard." Two Mules for Sister Sara also marked the last time that Eastwood would receive second billing for a film and it would be 25 years until he risked being overshadowed by a leading lady again in The Bridges of Madison County (1995). The film, which took four months to shoot and cost around $4 million to make, received mixed reviews, and Roger Greenspun of the New York Times reported, I'm not sure it is a great movie, but it is very good and it stays and grows on the mind the way only movies of exceptional narrative intelligence do".

Budd Boetticher, a long term resident of Mexico renowned for his series of Randolph Scott westerns, wrote the original 1967 screenplay that was bought with the provision that Boetticher would direct. Boetticher had planned the film for Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr who had played a man of action and a nun in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. Kerr's character was a member of the Mexican aristocracy escaping the vengeance of the Mexican Revolution with Mitchum's cowboy protecting her as he led her to safety to the United States. Carrol Case sold the screenplay to Martin Rackin who had Albert Maltz, also living in Mexico, rewrite the story. Maltz's version had Clint Eastwood playing a soldier of fortune for the Juaristas and Shirley MacLaine playing a revolutionary prostitute. Boetticher expressed disgust with MacLaine's bawdy character obviously not looking like a nun as opposed to his idea of a genteel lady whose final revelation would have been more of a surprise to the audience.

Though Boetticher was friends with both Eastwood and director Don Siegel, Siegel understood Boetticher's dislike of the final film. Boetticher asked Siegel how he could make an awful film like that with Siegel replying that it was a great feeling to wake up in the morning and know there was a cheque in the mail whilst Boettcher replied it was a better feeling to wake up in the morning and be able to look at yourself in the mirror.

Eastwood had been shown the script by Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of Where Eagles Dare with the view of Taylor playing the female role. The role eventually went to MacLaine after Taylor did not wish to do the film, with Eastwood believing that the studio was keen on MacLaine as they had high hopes for her film Sweet Charity where she played a taxi dancer.

Bruce Surtees was a camera operator on the film and acted as a go-between between Siegel and Gabriel Figueroa that led him to work on Siegel's next film The Beguiled. Figueroa used many photographic filters for effects in the film.


Cast

Pop Culture Influences

Shock rocker Alice Cooper released a song on his 2001 album Dragontown entitled "Sister Sara", which is about a woman posing as a nun while living a life of sin.


Friday 5 February 2010

Play Misty for Me

Play Misty for Me is a 1971 psychological thriller film, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, in his directorial debut. The original music score was composed by Dee Barton.

Eastwood plays David "Dave" Garver, a KRML radio disc jockey who nightly broadcasts from his studio in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and who becomes the target of Evelyn Draper, an obsessed female fan, played by Jessica Walter. Donna Mills plays his re-acquainted girlfriend, Tobie Williams. The title comes from Draper's habit of phoning in to Garver's radio show and asking him to play the classic Erroll Garner ballad "Misty".
The film paved the way for many later stalker films (such as Fatal Attraction ), particularly those with a psychotic female antagonist, and also those where the villain appeared to have died prematurely. It is also notable for its use of location shooting, mostly in the area of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where Eastwood has long made his home, and where he was elected Mayor in 1986. Additional scenes were shot at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 1970, featuring jazz greats Johnny Otis, Cannonball Adderley, and future Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul (the commentator mentions :"that was the "Cannonball Adderley Group. They are playing at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Joe Williams and many others. Now we are gonna hear from "The Gator Creek Organisation" and "Feeling Fine"...").
The film features a romantic montage (views of Garver and Tobie peacefully roaming on the sea-side and lying down in the woods), backed by Roberta Flack's recording of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", a Ewan MacColl torch-song. Roberta Flack's version of the song (after staying first for 5 weeks during 1972 spring) became the 1972 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single of the year .

Tuesday 2 February 2010

The Outlaw Josey Wales

The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western set at the end of the American Civil War directed by and starring Clint Eastwood (as the eponymous Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.

The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman from the novel The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales (republished in 1975 under the title Gone to Texas) by Forrest Carter. In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Clint Eastwood portrays Josey Wales, a peaceful Missouri farmer, who is driven to revenge by the brutal rape and murder of his wife and family by a band of pro-Union JayhawkersSenator James H. Lane's Redlegs from Kansas.




Sunday 31 January 2010

Dirty Harry (film series)

Dirty Harry is the name of a series of films and novels starring fictional San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, portrayed by Clint Eastwood. Eastwood's character also helped popularize the .44 Magnum, as Harry Callahan is famously shown wielding his Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver.

Dirty Harry (1971)

This movie became iconic, mirrored by other movies, especially the rest of the Dirty Harry films, because it was a portrayal of social protests, pointing out that it was easier for the justice system to protect potential suspects ahead of enforcing the rights of victims while ignoring citizens who were in danger or who had been murdered. It was the sixth-highest grossing film of 1971 after Fiddler on the Roof, Billy Jack, French Connection, Summer of '42, and Diamonds Are Forever.

Magnum Force (1973)

The Enforcer (1976)

By the time this film was released, the Dirty Harry series had gained attention and critical admiration, such that the makers of The Enforcer knew they had a bankable movie on their hands. With the depiction of a female inspector as Harry's partner and its realistic portrayal of the dangers of police work, this movie was a huge hit, appealing to both men and women, and it holds up today as one of the best in the series.

Sudden Impact (1983)

The Dead Pool (1988)


Saturday 30 January 2010

A new challenge...

I've just agreed to 'ghost write' the David Wilson blog for my old school mate, Dave 'Snooks' Wilson. The URL is http://thedavidwilson.blogspot.com/ and although I have a free hand in what I report, I have been given strict boundaries including a must inclusion of Aston Villa at least once a week. As we, along with Phil Finney and Richard (1099) Phillips were the only Villa fans in our year at school, then that shouldn't be too hard.

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

Oscar Success

Clint Eastwood has won FIVE Academy Awards and been nominated for a further six. His successes have been for best picture (2), best director (2) and The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Of the 11 nominations, only two were for his acting ability, of which neither gained success.

Won

  • 1992 Best Director – Unforgiven
  • 1992 Best Picture – Unforgiven
  • 1994 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
  • 2004 Best Director – Million Dollar Baby
  • 2004 Best Picture – Million Dollar Baby

Nominated

Thursday 28 January 2010

Was it my multi-blogged moan?

Was it my multi-blogged moan that un-locked my new blog http://sequels-and-trilogies.blogspot.com/ ?
I know that blogger took the full 20 days to un-lock a blog of a friend of mine. Now his block WAS highly political but there should be no difference.
Perhaps it was my genuine threat to move to wordpress?

Who knows?

Thank You blogger for acting quickly

Bob de Bilde

in reference to: Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies (view on Google Sidewiki)

Spaghetti Westerns: The Dollars Trilogy

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

In late 1963, an offer was made to Eastwood's co-star Eric Fleming on Rawhide to star in an Italian made western, originally to be named The Magnificent Stranger (A Fistful of Dollars) to be directed in a remote region of Spain by a relative unknown at the time, Sergio Leone.

However, the money was not much, and Fleming always set his sights high on Hollywood stardom, and rejected the offer immediately.

A variety of actors, including Charles Bronson, Steve Reeves, Richard Harrison, Frank Wolfe, Henry Fonda, James Coburn and Ty Hardin were considered for the main part in the film, and the producers established a list of lesser-known American actors, and asked the aforementioned Richard Harrison for advice.

Harrison had suggested Clint Eastwood, whom he knew could play a cowboy convincingly. Harrison later said: "Maybe my greatest contribution to cinema was not doing Fistful of Dollars, and recommending Clint for the part".

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Bob de Bilde gets his 15 minutes of fame...

on IS A C*NT...

http://isacunt.blogspot.com/2010/01/bob-de-bilde.html

Thanks to GOT & the crew

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

The Bridges of Madison County

"Go on Punk, Make me cry!!!"

The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros.. The film was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with Kathleen Kennedy as co-producer and the screenplay was adapted by Richard LaGravenese. The film ranked 90 in the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions and tied with Goodbye South, Goodbye and Carlito's Way to be dubbed the best film of the 1990s in a poll by Cahiers du cinéma[1].

The film stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1995 for her performance.

Plot

The film is set in the summer of 1965. It tells the story of Francesca (Meryl Streep), a lonely, insightful Italian housewife in Iowa. While her husband and children are away at the Illinois State Fair, she meets and falls in love with a photographer (Clint Eastwood) who has come to Madison County, Iowa to create a photographic essay for National Geographic on the covered bridges in the area. The four days they spend together are a turning point in her life and she writes of her experience in a diary which is discovered by her children after her death.

Cast

Bob says:

Well not many Clint films can bring a tear to Bob's eye like this one did. Meryl Streep recieved an Academy Award nomination for her role here. She and Eastwood both gave full on tear-jerking performances and both should have won Oscars!

My Disgust at Blogger

Blogger has marked one of my blogs (Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies) as spam...

It will be deleted within 20 days if I do not lodge a review

WTF Blogger... I am seriously considering moving all my blogs to the more versatile Wordpress !

I am reposting this on ALL my other open blogs using the sidewikibar thingy!!!

in reference to: My Sony Ericsson Sucks: My Disgust at Blogger (view on Google Sidewiki)

Monday 25 January 2010

Rawhide (1959–1964)

Eastwood as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide

Eastwood learned from Bill Shiffrin that CBS were casting an hour-long Western series and arranged for a screen test. With screenwriter Charles Marquis Warren overlooking, Eastwood had to recite one of Henry Fonda's monologues from the William Wellman western, The Ox-Bow Incident in his audition. A week later, Shiffrin rang Eastwood and informed him he had won the part of Rowdy Yates in Rawhide. He had successfully beaten competition such as Bing Russell and had got the break he had been looking for.

Filming began in Arizona in the summer of 1958. His rivalry onscreen with Eric Fleming's character, Gil Favor, was reportedly initially echoed offscreen between the two actors. However, Eastwood has denied that the two ever had a scuffle and especially after Fleming's death by drowning in Peru some years later, has revealed he had much respect for his co-star. Although Eastwood was finally pleased with the direction of his career, he was not especially happy with the nature of his Rowdy Yates character. At this time, Eastwood was 30, and Rowdy was too young and too cloddish for Clint to feel comfortable with the part. Although boyishness was a key element in his casting, Eastwood disliked the juvenile overtones of the character and privately described Yates as "the idiot of the plains" According to co-star Paul Brinegar, who played Wishbone, Eastwood was, "very unhappy about playing a teenager type".

It took just three weeks for Rawhide to reach the top 20 in the TV ratings and soon rescheduled the timeslot half an hour earlier from 7.30 -8.30 pm every Friday, guaranteeing more of a family audience. For several years it was a major success, and reached its peak as number 6 in the ratings between October 1960 and April 1961. However, success was not without its price. The Rawhide years were undoubtedly the most gruelling of his life, and at first, from July until April, they filmed six days a week for an average of twelve hours a day. Although it never won Emmy stature, Rawhide earned critical acclaim and won the American Heritage Award as the best Western series on TV and it was nominated several times for best episode by the Writer's and Director's Guilds. Eastwood received some criticism during this period and was considered too laidback and lazy by some directors who believed he relied on his looks and just didn't work hard enough.

By the third season of Rawhide, the Hollywood press began to speculate on Eastwood tiring of the series and that he was anxious to move on. Eastwood made several guest appearances in the meantime on TV, including a cameo in Mr Ed poking fun at himself as a neighbor of Mr. Ed in an episode directed by his old mentor Arthur Lubin and the western comedy series Maverick, in which he fought James Garner in the "Duel at Sundown" episode. Although Rawhide continued to attract notable actors such as Lon Chaney Jr, Mary Astor , Ralph Bellamy, Burgess Meredith, Dean Martin and Barbara Stanwyck, by late 1963 Rawhide was beginning to decline in popularity and lacked freshness in the script. In regards to the character of Rowdy Yates, he had evolved to upstage that of Gil Favor and became increasingly tough like him, not a trait in which his character had began. Rawhide would last until 1966, but a change of direction in Eastwood's career would occur in late 1963.

Saturday 23 January 2010

Clint Eastwood in popular culture

American film actor and film director Clint Eastwood has had a lasting influence on popular culture, and either his name, characters or acting mannerisms have been emulated or parodied.

In film and television

Clint Eastwood is the name used by Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part III (1990), which parodies a western, though the other characters do not find it intimidating ("What kind of stupid name is that???"). Marty also used a piece of metal as a bulletproof vest in a duel with Buford Tannen (as foreshadowed in Part II when Biff is watching A Fistful of Dollars in his hot tub). When McFly returns to the future, it is thought that he died in the process, and as such a ravine is named "Eastwood Ravine" after him.

Two Japanese people in the film Crocodile Dundee II mistook the main character, Mick Dundee, for Clint Eastwood.

In the 1994 parody film Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, Eastwood's iconic squint is emulated by Leslie Nielsen as he walks into Alcatraz prison, in the way that Eastwood does in Escape from Alcatraz (1979).

In Casper Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) is being harassed by ghosts. At one point his image in the mirror changes into Clint Eastwood saying "I'm gonna kill you... your momma... and all her bridge-playing friends" before the image changes again, this time to Rodney Dangerfield .

Actor Jeremy Bulloch has stated that he based his portrayal of the Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett on Eastwood. As he put it:

"I think the secret to playing Boba Fett -- if you can say I played (him) -- is the less you do, the better. There is no point in Boba Fett waving his gun around and saying, 'Look at me.' He was very cool, and he didn't move much. I always thought of Boba Fett as Clint Eastwood in a suit of armor."

Something Awful featured a four part article titled "Four Days in Winter", focused on a mercenary hired to protect teenagers on an MTV series. There are overt references to Eastwood, such as the main character carrying a .44 Magnum and yelling "Do you feel lucky?". An MTV cast member also says to him "We hear you have a famous grandfather". At the conclusion he reveals his identity saying "My name is Eastwood" before being gunned down.

In the simpsons, the tough police character, McGarnicle, is an obvious parody of Eastwood.

Eastwood's portrayal of the Man With No Name is also credited as an inspiration for the character Master Chief in the popular Halo series.

Professional wrestler The Undertaker portrayed Clint Eastwood in his "Dirty Harry" persona in advertisements leading up to the WrestleMania 21 Pay Per View event.

In the 2007 Transformers film, the Autobot Ironhide makes a Clint Eastwood impression, pointing his firearms at Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes, saying "You feelin' lucky, punk?"

In the movie Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey's character's personality briefly changes into that of Eastwood's and says one of Eastwood's well known lines "be careful what you wish for. Punk".

In literature

Stephen King stated in interviews, as well as in forewords and afterwords for the respective books, that one of the inspirations for Roland Deschain, a.k.a. Roland of Gilead, the Gunslinger in his popular The Dark Tower opus, is Clint Eastwood. He said that Roland is meant to embody a gritty, melancholy persona, like that of Eastwood's "The Man With No Name" in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett features a scene in which Vimes threatens a mob with a swamp dragon in a parody of the famous "do you feel lucky" scene. Fan art often depicts Vimes as resembling Eastwood, even though Pratchett has stated that he himself does not imagine Vimes that way.

In music

Reggae/dub musician Lee Perry recorded a song entitled "Clint Eastwood" in 1969 Virtual band. There is a reggae deejay called Clint Eastwood who made an album with General Saint called Two Bad DJ in 1981. Gorillaz recorded songs called "Clint Eastwood" and "Dirty Harry". Gorillaz' frontman Damon Albarn released an album called The Good, the Bad and the Queen with the help of Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, Tony Allen, and Dangermouse. Rock band "The Transplants" make reference to Hang 'Em High and A Few Dollars More in some of their songs. The theme song to the television show The Fall Guy, "The Unknown Stuntman", references Eastwood with the line "I'm the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine."

Adam and the Ants chant Clint Eastwood's name as part of the chorus of "Los Rancheros", which appeared on their 1980 album titled "Kings of the Wild Frontier". He also dressed up as Eastwood's character from "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" in the music video for his song "Prince Charming". There is also a demo version of a song by them called "Dirty Harry" that appears on the remastered version of Strip.

Van Halen's song, "Hang 'Em High", from their 1982 release Diver Down, is inspired by Eastwood and Def Leppard used the famous speech from Dirty Harry, as an introduction to their concerts on several tours. Beastie Boys released the High Plains Drifter in 1989.

A Swedish metal band from the 1980s was named after him: The Clint Eastwood Experience. The band featured members of Dismember and Entombed. In the computer game Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, one of the characters in the second allied mission (which is set in Hollywood) is named Flint Westwood. The character is also named for the game's produced, Westwood Studios. The song "Coca-Cola Cowboy" by Mel Tillis refers to Eastwood with the line, "you're just a coca-cola cowboy, you gotta Eastwood smile and Robert Redford hair"

In Lil Wayne's song "LaLa" the lyrics includes the line "Yeah we stay clean, but we get dirty like Harry."

In video games or animation

Eastwood appears as an audio-animatronic in the Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World on one of the park's most iconic attractions, The Great Movie Ride, along with other classic actors. In the computer game Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, there is a mention of the "East Clintwood Institute, named after the famous movie star". The final boss in the computer game Fallout 2 is called Frank Horrigan, a reference to Clint Eastwood's character in the movie In the Line of Fire. Also in Fallout 2, a .44 Magnum Revolver weapon that, when observed, bears the description, "Being that this is the most powerful handgun in the world, and can blow your head clean-off, you've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?". A reference to the famous line from Dirty Harry. There are several references to Eastwood the Polish post-apocalyptic role-playing game Neuroshima. Eastwood, in cybernetic form, is the main character/driver in the game Nitro for the Commodore Amiga and Atari-ST computers, by Psygnosis (1990). In Fallout 3 DLC Broken Steel it is possible to obtain "Callahan's magnum", which is an obvious reference to Eastwood's character, Dirty Harry's Magnum .44. In DotA Allstars, a custom map of Warcraft III TFT, a hero is named Clinkz Eastwood. The protagonist from Rockstar Games' Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption, Red Harlow and John Marston respectively both bear an uncanny resemblance to Clint Eastwood's portrayal of The Man Without a Name. The second song on Anthrax's album, Spreading the Disease is called Lone Justice, referring to Clint Eastwood's many movies in which he portrays a nameless law bringer. In Red alert 2 there is a character named "Clint Westwood", an obvious referenece to the star.

Other

Eastwood's image for appearing in Old Western films was met with hilarity when it was discovered that an anagram of Clint Eastwood is Old West Action.

Eastwood's Dirty Harry films and the .44 Magnum revolver portrayed in the films were the inspiration for U.S. Patent 5,333,531 issued to Roger C. Field for minimizing the cylinder gap of a revolver in an economical way, long a problem in revolver design.

Saturday 9 January 2010

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor, film director, film producer and composer.

He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and five People's Choice Awards—including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.

Eastwood is primarily known for his alienated, morally ambiguous, anti-hero acting roles in violent action and western films, particularly in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Following his role on the long-running television series Rawhide, he went on to star as the Man With No Name in the Dollars trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns and as Inspector Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry film series.

These roles have made him an enduring icon of masculinity.

Eastwood is also known for his comedic efforts in Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and Any Which Way You Can (1980), his two highest-grossing films after adjustment for inflation.

For his work in the films Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director, producer of the Best Picture and received nominations for Best Actor.

He also received Oscar nominations as Best Director for Mystic River (2003) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2007), along with a Golden Globe for his direction of Bird (1988).

These films in particular, as well as others such as Play Misty for Me (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), In the Line of Fire (1993), The Bridges of Madison County (1995) and Gran Torino (2008) have all received great critical acclaim and commercial success.

He has directed most of his movies since the early 1970s and produced and directed all of his films dating back to 1993's A Perfect World.

He also served as the non-partisan mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California from 1986–1988, tending to support small business interests on the one hand and environmental protection on the other.