Paul Newman to star in The Eiger Sanction

Paul Newman to star in The Eiger Sanction

Well here’s an interesting little snippet spotted by our good friend Richard DuVal. Richard spotted this recently in an old trade paper and indicated that Paul Newman was at some point very interested in playing the role of Dr. Jonathan Hemlock in The Eiger Sanction. I’m not sure why Newman didn’t follow this through or why he changed his plans? However, I’m certainly glad that Clint picked it up. I still think it remains a great movie from his 70’s body of work.  

The Clint Eastwood Youth Program

The Clint Eastwood Youth Program

Our U.S. correspondent Kevin Walsh very kindly sent me this rare postcard. The card was sent out to encourage year-end (tax deductible) gift donating at the end of 1986. So, the best I can date this is circa 1985-86? Unfortunately, I found very little in regards to the Youth Program on the internet. 

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula ’s Clint Eastwood Youth Program provides a structured program to treat drug and alcohol abuse as well as mental health problems for adolescents, 12 to 18 years old.

Help for Teenagers

The staff of the Clint Eastwood Youth Program is dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to meet the individual needs of teenagers.

Our multidisciplinary treatment team consists of adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and chemical dependency counselors. Our approach allows us to address the complexities of teenage problems and give families the support and care needed during times of difficulty.

Our goal is to provide a balance of structure, guidance, and responsibility along with understanding and warmth.

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #29

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #29

I’ll be attempting to add a new Photo Opportunity post on a more regular basis from here on, at least one a month. There are so many great photos on file - and they really should be seen. Here’s a great shot of Clint relaxing, and believed to have been taken circa 1976 during The Outlaw Josey Wales. A nice and seldom seen photo, that came from a 35mm transparency slide. 

Why On Earth Documentary

Clint Eastwood Endorses Plant-Based Diets In New Wildlife Documentary. Celebrated director Clint Eastwood appears in new documentary Why On Earth

Clint Eastwood has discussed the benefits of plant-based diets, saying that they “effect positive changes for the wellbeing of animals and people.”

The actor and director, who is known for his work on a number of popular Westerns, also spoke about his love of animals in the new wildlife documentary Why On Earth.

He said: “I’m an animal person, I appreciate the beauty of them. I just like to see everything live.”

Why On Earth explores the connection between humans, animals, and the planet. It covers topics like palm oil-related deforestation, trophy hunting, poaching, and the animal agriculture industry.

The film comes from conservationist filmmaker Katie Cleary, who recently said that viewers will see the “compassionate side” of Eastwood.

“He takes us through the whole process. He’s incredible. He’s a huge animal lover,” she told Fox News. “So, this film really just brings out an amazing side to him that maybe a lot of people haven’t seen, which is that compassionate side, especially for animals.”

Clint Eastwood’s animal advocacy 

Cleary met Eastwood through his daughter Alison Eastwood, who co-founded the animal welfare and rescue organization Eastwood Ranch.

Eastwood states on the website that her love of animals was “instilled in her by her family.”

As well as rescuing animals from shelters, the ranch aims to help reduce pet overpopulation and increase adoptions through campaigns, events, education, spay/neuter programs, and rescue partnerships.

Clint Eastwood filmed scenes from Why On Earth on the ranch, which Cleary described as “amazing.”

She added: “Just seeing his stomping grounds and, you know, just he’s surrounded in nature, and he’s just an amazing person. He just has such a big heart.”

Why On Earth is available to stream on platforms like Amazon and iTunes.

My thanks to Dave Turner 

The Fate of the Dirty Harry Trestle

The Fate of the Dirty Harry Trestle

Fans of the original Dirty Harry (1971) have always had a certain ‘fascination’ with the trestle or the ‘Dirty Harry Bridge’ as it has widely come to be known.  It was featured of course during the climax of the film when Harry makes the jump from the trestle onto the school bus.

A few months ago, our U.S. correspondent Kevin Walsh sent me a couple of pieces which centred on the dismantling of the trestle and a picture illustrating one of the many protests that took place in an attempt to stop the removal of this historic and iconic landmark. The issue of the trestle removal was brought to a head in June 2003 when the bridge was damaged by a tractor trailer carrying a mounted crane. The crane was a load too high to pass under the structure. It struck and damaged the main beam on a section of the wooden trestle. The City of Larkspur declared the damaged bridge a hazard to public safety, determined it could not be repaired, and ordered it removed. 

Above: Removal of 100 feet of the trestle was completed in August 2003 despite significant protests by bicyclists and others.

The replacement for the trestle (below) is an upscale bicycle and pedestrian bridge that cost $13 million. The contemporary, unadorned steel bridge is notable for its long unsupported centre span as well as a lack of any reference to the site’s railroad heritage.

It was some 19 years ago that we (a group of Eastwood fans) became aware that the famous Dirty Harry Trestle was going to be demolished for good. A good few of us felt that this was a great tragedy as it really remained an important landmark. So some of us worked with a local friend in order to save the section of the rail from which Clint jumped onto the school bus. It was all worked out perfectly (geographically) - it was studied and researched as to which lane the bus was travelling and from there worked out exactly which portion of the rail track Clint was standing on to leap onto the bus. Working with the construction company that was dismantling the trestle the piece was measured and a form of 'laser cutting' process was used to cleanly cut it into sections. What we were left with was a nice, unusual piece of nostalgia. Yes, essentially, it’s just a heavy piece of steel, but something I have never regretted owning. In fact, I look at it on my window seal every day and still love it, knowing the history and relevance behind it. If anything, it certainly makes for a perfect conversation piece.  

In February 1976, a fan and a group of his friends made the pilgrimage to the famous location, but not before making their own Dirty Harry cut-out! Like a lot of fans, they also worked out a position and proceeded to climb the trestle and nail their own Dirty Harry tribute to the famous landmark.

 

In the Line of Fire Director Wolfgang Peterson dies aged 81

In the Line of Fire Director Wolfgang Peterson dies aged 81

Director Wolfgang Petersen, whose German-language film “Das Boot” launched a successful Hollywood filmmaking career that included star-studded films like “Air Force One”, “The Perfect Storm” and the excellent Eastwood thriller “In the Line of Fire” has died. He was 81.

Petersen died on Friday with his wife Maria Antoinette by his side after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Petersen’s film “Das Boot” or “The Boat” (1981) launched his career in Hollywood after the close-quarters WWII submarine drama received six Academy Award nominations. The film starred Jürgen Prochnow as the German U-boat Captain, and was made into an English language miniseries by the BBC.

Peterson quickly became one of the most in-demand directors of technically complex star-driven studio action films — a run that included The Perfect Storm (2000), Air Force One (1997), Outbreak (1995), Shattered (1991) — which he also wrote — Troy (2004) and Poseidon (2006).

In 1993, Peterson directed Clint in the excellent thriller, In the Line of Fire (1993). In the Line of Fire arrived as Eastwood decided to take a short break from directing following completion of Unforgiven and A Perfect World. Hiring Peterson as director alleviated additional stress and allowed Clint to fully immerse himself into the role of actor. It turned out to be a very wise move, and resulted in a superb performance from Clint - and a finished film that many fans regard as one of their very favourites.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "It's movie making of the high, smooth, commercial order that Hollywood prides itself on but achieves with singular infrequency."

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four, writing: "Most thrillers these days are about stunts and action. In the Line of Fire has a mind."  

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film "crisply entertaining". He praised the casting, "Malkovich’s insinuating, carefully thought out delivery is in the same way an ideal foil for Eastwood’s bluntly straightforward habits", and Eastwood "every part of this film trades so heavily on Eastwood’s presence that it is impossible to imagine it with anyone else in the starring role."

He was well-liked amongst his peers and admired by the talent he worked with including Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Rene Russo, Glenn Close, Mark Wahlberg, Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Diane Lane.

“Being directed by Wolfgang on Air Force One remains a special memory,” Glenn Close said in a statement Tuesday. “Even though the script was thrilling and incredibly intense, I remember a lot of laughs, especially in the scenes around the huge table in the War Room. Wolfgang set a remotely controlled camera that could rotate in place, seamlessly covering all of us, one after another. You knew the camera would pause on you by his hilarious direction while setting up the shot.”

Born on March 14, 1941, in Emden, Germany, Petersen began his directing career with short films and TV movies in the 1960s and ’70s. His first theatrical pic was One or the Other (1974), and he followed that with The Consequence in 1977, for which he also penned the adapted screenplay.

In addition to his wife, Petersen is survived by his son, Daniel, and two grandchildren. 

Funeral services will be private.

RIP Sir.

NATO’s Male Star of the Year 1971 Rare Warner Bros One Day Advertisement

NATO’s Male Star of the Year 1971 Rare Warner Bros One Day Advertisement

Here’s a nice and very rare One Day only, full page advertisement published by Warner Bros. and congratulating Clint on his receiving of NATO’s Male Star of the Year award in 1971. The winning female that year was Actress Ali MacGraw who was enjoying a wave of success after the film Love Story. This full page Ad, appeared in the trade paper Variety on October 28th 1971, and was perfect timing as Dirty Harry was scheduled to be released just a couple of months later in December 1971. 

I’ve been meaning to post this ad for a long time now, but the original source image I had (whist a good resolution) was rather badly yellowed and photographed slightly off angle. So it needed to be fully digitally restored including its tone and lighting re-balanced and some text realigning.  It’s been quite a job but now looks more true to how it would have looked when it first appeared over 50 years ago. 

For people who may not know, we have quite an extensive couple of posts in regards to this event, with a great deal of superb colour and b/w photos. I contacted NATO many years back, and they were instrumental in providing a wealth of material for use here on the Archive - for which I am still so very grateful. They were absolutely excellent.

The original post can be found (HERE) and the follow up post (HERE) they are well worth revisiting.