Clint works fast and cheap again
Clint Eastwood may be digging a grave for some of his more free-spending fellow Hollywood directors.
He has a reputation for making his movies in record time and coming in under-budget. What is more, his films are becoming regular staples at the Oscar awards season.
With the cost of making films going through the roof, Eastwood’s old-style movie-making is going against the grain while producing box office gold.
His latest film, Million Dollar Baby, in which he co-stars with Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, took just 38 days to make and cost about €28.9m to put together.
Amazingly, Warner Bros, the studio Eastwood has worked with for three decades, initially balked at backing his latest effort, which focuses on the father-daughter relationship between an ageing boxing trainer and the actress he reluctantly agrees to train for a career as a pro-fighter.
The film’s dramatic twist is creating Oscar buzz for both Eastwood and Swank, while Swank has raved about working with her “absolute hero”.
The screen legend’s last film, Mystic River, won widespread acclaim and an Academy Award for Sean Penn.
Eastwood is renowned as an actor’s director, allowing his stars the freedom to perform with minimum interference. He also works regular hours and ensures he has plenty of time at home with his wife and eight-year-old daughter.
