Dateline: September 1974 The Eiger Sanction 50 Years ago…

Dateline: September 1974 The Eiger Sanction 50 Years ago…

It’s hard to believe that principal filming on The Eiger Sanction wrapped up 50 years ago this month.

Principal photography began on August 12, 1974, in Grindelwald, Switzerland, with a team of climbing experts and advisers from the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. After 5 weeks at the Eiger, the production unit travelled to Zürich to film the opening scenes of the film around the area of the Grossmünster cathedral and the Limmat River, the Münsterbrücke bridge, the Café Bauschänzli, the Kirchgasse, the Napfgasse, and the Restaurant Karl der Grosse. Aside from the location filming on the Eiger mountain and Zürich other locations included Monument Valley and Zion National Park in the American Southwest, and in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey in California. Filming was pretty much finished by late September 1974. 

Below: Clint on location in Zürich, Switzerland with his producer Robert Daley, September 1974

Clint Eastwood to receive award from Morgan Freeman

Clint Eastwood to receive award from Morgan Freeman 

Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman starred in the beloved western Unforgiven (1992), earning Eastwood the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director.

Cowboys and Indians Magazine, September 27th, 2024

Clint Eastwood, a multi-time Cowboys & Indians cover star, will be presented with the inaugural Cultural Leadership Award this Sunday, September 29, at the 67th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, California.

The western star has sat on the board of the Monterey Jazz Festival for many years, and will be presented with the honour by long-time friend Morgan Freeman, who graced C&I's January 2010 issue. Eastwood and Freeman’s first collaboration was 1992’s Unforgiven, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood.

The pair would co-star again in 2004’s Million Dollar Baby, which earned Eastwood the Best Picture and Best Director awards as well as a Best Supporting Actor honour for Freeman. Their final collaboration was 2009’s Invictus, for which Freeman was nominated for Best Actor.

(Below: Long-time friends Morgan and Clint)

Following the award presentation, a musical project title, “Eastwood Symphonic,” will be led by Eastwood’s son and jazz musician and composer, Kyle Eastwood.

The project will feature Kyle Eastwood’s quartet alongside an orchestral ensemble performing themes from Clint Eastwood’s popular films like Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Gran Torino, and Bridges of Madison County.

Eastwood’s Central Coast ties run deep — he moved there when he was drafted into the Korean War and trained at nearby Fort Ord, where he was discovered by crewmembers from Universal Studios, according to movie lore. Despite receiving a screen test shortly after (which reportedly went poorly), Eastwood took drama lessons until his first minor on-screen role in 1955. The actor earned his breakthrough role in 1958’s Rawhide series as cowpuncher Rowdy Yates.

Eastwood eventually purchased a home on the Central Coast, later being sworn in as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1986. 

My kind thanks to Dave Turner

Composer Mark Mancina scores Juror #2

Composer Mark Mancina scores Juror #2 

Mark Mancina (Twister, Speed, Moana, Tarzan, Bad Boys, Brother Bear, The Sea Beast) has this month completed scoring the upcoming thriller Juror No. 2. The film is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Gabriel Basso, Chris Messina, Zoey Deutch, Leslie Bibb, Cedric Yarbrough, Kiefer Sutherland, Francesca Eastwood, Adrienne C. Moore and Amy Aquino. The movie follows a family man who, while serving as a juror in a murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma, one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict or free the accused killer. Jonathan Abrams wrote the screenplay. Eastwood is also producing the project with Tim Moore (Sully, In the Land of Blood and Honey), Jessica Meier (The Mule, Richard Jewell), Adam Goodman and Matt Skiena, Mancina has previously scored Eastwood’s last feature, Cry Macho. Juror No. 2 will premiere next month as the closing night film of the 2024 AFI Fest and will be released in select theatres on November 1 by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Below: Mancina’s last collaboration with Clint was Cry Macho, a score that failed to connect with fans.

Christina Sandera Cause of death announced

Christina Sandera Cause of death announced 

Always a painful subject, but I’m posting this piece which I read from The New York Post which was published last week.

Clint Eastwood and his family had a rough time after the death of his longtime partner, Christina Sandera. Sandera died at age 61 on July 18. The Post exclusively confirmed her cause of death was a heart attack.

Clint’s daughter, Kimber Lynn Eastwood, spoke about the tragedy in an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“We were all in shock, and it was all kind of a struggle in the beginning, but I think now the shock value is wearing off,” said Kimber, 60. “When somebody passes away that’s so close to you, you just, there’s just kind of a different vibe,” the “Wheel of Fortune” makeup artist added. “You just learn to live with it.”

Clint, 94, and Sandera were together since 2014. They met when Sandera worked as a hostess at Clint’s Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

The “Million Dollar Baby” actor mourned his longtime love in a statement when news of her death broke over the summer.

“Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much,” Clint said.

Kimber, who is the second-oldest of Clint’s eight kids, said that she’s continuing to live by her dad’s famous words, “Just be yourself,” following Sandera’s death. She also talked about what the Oscar winner is like as a grandfather of five. “My dad is great with all the grandkids,” Kimber said. “He’s older, he’s more settled in his life. He loves being a grandpa. He loves all of us.”

Since Sandera’s passing, several of Clint’s children have spoken out about the family tragedy.

His daughter Morgan, 27, posted a tribute on Instagram in July. She shared a photo of herself and her husband, Tanner Koopmans, with Clint and Sandera at their wedding, which took place one month before Sandera’s death.

“A devastating loss for our whole family,” Morgan wrote in the tribute, adding, “Thank you Christina for being a good partner to my dad you will be greatly missed.”

Clint’s son Scott, 38, gave an update on the family in an interview with E! News last month. “Everyone is great,” he said. He added about his dad, “He is doing OK. Thank you for asking.”

Clint and Sandera had a low-profile relationship, though she did go with the famous actor to various Hollywood events over the years, including the red-carpet premieres for “Sully” in 2016, “The Mule” and “The 15:17 to Paris” in 2018 and “Richard Jewell” in 2019.

Their final red carpet together was in November 2019 at AFI Fest. 

Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’ Lands Limited November Release Date After Closing AFI Fest

Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’ Lands Limited November Release Date After Closing AFI Fest

I suppose I should post this, if only out of loyalty towards the fan community - although I have to admit, my enthusiasm in regards to Clint’s latest film has probably never been so low. I know I’m not alone here, I’m hearing the same general thing from many fans. The seemingly lacklustre build up to Juror #2 has been incredibly disappointing, with advance publicity being virtually zero, it can only be described as poor. We can only surmise this is down to Warner Bros who seem increasingly reluctant to push and celebrate Clint’s latest project. There seems to be a feeling that if a film doesn’t feature some stereotypical comic book hero or is a special effects laden piece of crap - that it simply isn't worth the time of day. God forbid, if we are asked to sit through a human story or a drama that requires an ounce of thought? The times have certainly changed - and arguably for the worse. Diversity seems to have become a thing of the past, and I find that incredibly depressing. Anyway, for what it’s worth, here’s the latest on Juror #2 and it’s ‘limited’ release according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Warner Bros. is behind the 94-year-old filmmaker's film, which stars Nicholas Hoult.

Prolific filmmaker Clint Eastwood‘s thriller Juror #2 will open in select theaters on Nov. 1, days after making its world premiere as the closing-night film of the 38th AFI Fest.

The 94-year-old director’s new film stars Nicholas Hoult as a family man who, while serving as a juror on a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma he could use to influence the verdict and potentially convict, or free, the wrong killer. Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb and Kiefer Sutherland also star.

There’s been speculation as to whether Juror #2 will be a part of this year’s awards race, and that chatter will only increase now that it is opening during the heart of awards season and playing at AFI, just like his Oscar contenders American Sniper and Richard Jewell.

In this instance, however, the AFI Fest event is first and foremost intended to honor Eastwood’s long and iconic career, and it’s unclear if there will be an awards push for the film, according to sources.

(Below: Another picture of Clint on set - with a beard - which seemed to be the main focus of media attention during the production of Juror #2)

“There is only one Clint Eastwood — and AFI is proud to present the world premiere of this next chapter in his historic canon,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We are honored to bring the community together once again — artists and audiences — to celebrate an American icon.”

Generally, Warners makes Eastwood’s films available nationwide. So far, there are no plans beyond a limited run.

In 1996, Eastwood received the 24th AFI Life Achievement Award, and in 2009, he received an AFI honorary degree for his contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image.

The AFI Fest is presented by Canva, and runs Oct. 23-27. Juror #2 will screen at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Oct. 27.

Eastwood — who hasn’t said whether Juror # 2 might be his last film — directed from a script by Jonathan Abrams, and produced alongside Tim Moore, Jessica Meier, Adam Goodman and Matt Skiena. David M. Bernstein, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell exec produced.

A UK cinema date is scheduled for November 1st. 

Photo Opportunity #53

Photo Opportunity #53

For our September Photo Opportunity, I’ve delved again into my personal collection of 35mm transparencies (more commonly known as slides). This particular shot is from a collection of extremely rare photos which I still believe remain unpublished – I certainly haven’t seen them in any publication. A few photos from this session have appeared, usually with Clint wearing a yellow polo style shirt, often with a cigar and in the grounds of a hotel or villa. It’s believed that these were taken around the summer of 1967 when Clint was in Europe on a promotional trip for A Fistful of Dollars. 

The card slide mounts carry the stamp of photographer Herbert Fried (born 21/06/1926 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf) (died 1980). There is not much known about the man, except for his legacy of taking star photos from the 50’s and 60’s and often with his trusted Rolleiflex. Of late, his work has started to stir a great deal of interest. 

Among the collection I obtained (probably some 30 years ago), are photos from this session that saw Clint outside on a Patio area surrounded by exotic looking plants and some less formal shots of him relaxed inside the hotel or villa in a setting that could be either Italy of Spain? The couple of photos I have previously seen published appear to have no details whatsoever – making it extremely hard to confirm the facts. Some of these photos can be seen on the A Fistful of Dollars page. For this Photo Opportunity I’ve chosen a photo that captures Clint in very relaxed mood in the bathroom area – probably preparing for the photo session. Please excuse the watermark, this is simply to protect the photo’s integrity.