Talking With David Frost: Clint Eastwood

"A little swimming, a little hiking" is the way veteran actor/director Clint Eastwood describes a plane crash in the ocean that nearly cost him his life. It's typical laconic, understated Eastwood. In this interview conducted prior to Eastwood's Oscar nabs for Unforgiven (Best Picture, Best Director), the soft-spoken mayor of Carmel, CA talks about his childhood during the Great Depression, his film career, violence in the movies, and political bureaucracy, with British interviewer David Frost. Down-to-earth, almost shy in some respects, Eastwood says little about his personal life beyond the fact that he never mistakes his image for himself and has no political ambitions beyond mayor (unlike another famous actor from California). He does, however, talk about his evolution as an actor and director, and how his feelings toward violence in films has changed somewhat over the years (although he also feels that "violence in media" is a recurring scapegoat for politicians looking for hot issues). Although I must confess I've never been a big Eastwood fan (and I thought that Unforgiven was quite overrated), Eastwood comes across here as more than his Hollywood persona of Clint the squint. In fact, he seems like the kind of guy you wouldn't mind shooting the breeze with during half-time on a Sunday afternoon. You can't say that about a lot of folk from Tinseltown. Sure to be a popular addition. Recommended. (R. Pitman)