Moore is in the line of Clint's ire

New York Daily News ^ | 1/13/2005 | Lloyd Grove

[pikecountyrepublican]

Clint Eastwood squinted like Dirty Harry Tuesday night as he took aim at Michael Moore.

"Michael Moore and I actually have a lot in common - we both appreciate living in a country where there's free expression," Eastwood told the star-dotted crowd attending the National Board of Review awards dinner at Tavern on the Green, where Eastwood picked up a Special Filmmaking Achievement prize for "Million Dollar Baby."

Then, the Republican-leaning actor/director advised the lefty filmmaker: "But, Michael, if you ever show up at my front door with a camera - I'll kill you."

The audience erupted in laughter, and Eastwood grinned dangerously.

"I mean it," he added, provoking more guffaws.

Sitting well out of range at a table in back, Moore - who received a special "Freedom of Expression" award for his anti-Bush polemic "Fahrenheit 9/11" - chuckled.

What a difference from last summer, when Moore's supporters complained that death threats were arriving almost daily and the director showed up at the Democratic Convention with a security detail.

Back then, Moore was outraged when CNN anchor Bill Hemmer suggested during an interview that some folks might want to see him dead.

"Can you think of any other interview in the history of television where a politician or a movie director was asked about people wanting to see him dead?" Moore seethed to me at the time.

But, in this case, Moore's rep told me yesterday: "Michael laughed along with everyone else, and took Mr. Eastwood's comments in the lighthearted spirit in which they were given."

[af_vet_rr]

I've always thought Unforgiven was a lot closer to Leone's westerns than almost all of the westerns that came after the late '60s.

Of course, just my opinion, but nothing can touch 'Once Upon a Time in the West'. I'm not saying that because of Claudia Cardinale either (I've been trying for almost thirty years to convince my wife that my love of OUATITW has nothing to do with Claudia Cardinale). Regardless, I got the feeling that Eastwood put a helluva lot that he learned from the Dollar trilogy into Unforgiven.

[Mad Mammoth]

"Why, I could hit Mikey's fat azz from 100 yards, with a strong breeze, and bent barrels on these damn guns"

[macamadamia]

I haven't seen Once a Upon a Time in the West in many years. Is it true many of the lines were taken from various American westerns...as a kind of homage? So I've heard. Leone and his writers (supposedly Bertolucci among them) were dovotees of the American western.

[af_vet_rr]

Sergio Leone's One Upon a Time in the old West had the same problem, it had lots of minor character that I recall from plenty of other Hollywood movies.

If your talking about the opening scene, originally it was supposed to be Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach confronting Bronson, with the result being some kind of symbolic 'break' from the past, so Leone could go on and do other stuff. Eastwood was unavailable so he picked a different trio (that was just as good). That's been hard to verify since Leone died, but some of the documentaries, the actors/film crew were sure of it.

[CAluvdubya]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give an old lady a break! I'm gonna have a hundred ppl tell me this now. Now I know how hubby feels when I "gently correct" his memory! Hahaha. Thanks any way, though I'll probably forget by tomorrow. Dang age thing!

[af_vet_rr]

I haven't seen Once a Upon a Time in the West in many years. Is it true many of the lines were taken from various American westerns...as a kind of homage? So I've heard. Leone and his writers (supposedly Bertolucci among them) were dovotees of the American western.

Leone and a couple of them spent weeks watching anywhere from a few dozen up through a 100 westerns before they sat down to write OUATITW (depending on which writer/film crew you ask the number varied). Leone was already a huge fan of John Ford, but going through all of these other films, they basically wrote down all of the things they didn't like (the bad cliches, etc.), and tried to stay away from those. He also did try to use some things that he really liked in other movies, but OUATITW wandered away from what they were originally writing about.

From what was said by the writers/crew that are still living, Leone was treating this as his last western, and wanted to insure that he didn't make any mistakes or have any of the bad cliches that most westerns seemed to be full of.

The opening to OUATITW is an homage to High Noon, one of Leone's favorite movies, by the way.

[r-q-tek86]

I love the old spaghetti westerns... but the great thing about Unforgiven is that it is the natural continuation of the Man With No Name theme. It's as if you were to check in on Josey Wales 25 years later.

Liking Unforgiven doesn't preclude liking the Sergio Leone movies.

[af_vet_rr]

I see your in Texas...keep an eye on the Alamo Drafthouse. They have Spaghetti Western Wednesdays where they serve spaghetti while showing some of the movies (it's great to see classics on the big screen with a group of like-minded fans). Alamo Drafthouse is a chain that shows movies in a theater while serving food. They rotate these events, right now the Spaghetti Western Wednesday or whatever is in Houston. It was in Austin for a long time.

[macamadamia]

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[Squantos]

I always though these were too cool ! Perfect for a horse soldier.... two on the belt and two in pommels with a saber and a spencer carbine equaled well armed during the civil war era.

[F16Fighter]

HANG 'EM HIGH! (and make sure it's steel cable)

[wardaddy]

LeMat..with the 20 bore....(69 caliber?) underbarrel.

awesome...but butter up...prone to chainfire....9 shot 44 wheel I think

carried by Stuart or Forrest or some reknown CSA horseman.

i know Beaureguard had one too.

I've shot the remakes...takes a strong wrist...like the Walker...heavy.

[F16Fighter]

"Aaah-ah-ah-ah....Waah waah waah..."

I'm sure you all recognize those sounds from the song, 'The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly' (Everybody sing along :-D)

[Squantos]

Yeah .... I think the technology was there. Tradition lost the war IMHO.

I still haven't picked up that R&D cylinder for my Ruger 5 incher.

Doom on me for slacking the matter.......Hope yer well WD !

Stay safe !

[Illuminatas]

Please, Clint, if they ever get around to making the "Preacher" movie, you have to play the Saint of Killers. Please (/begging)

[dandi]

"Michael laughed along with everyone else, and took Mr. Eastwood's comments in the lighthearted spirit in which they were given."

Yeah, but you can bet at that moment a mental note was seared, SEARED into Mikey's mind:

"...and never go to Mr. Eastwood's house."

[griswold3]

The PC police didn't want anyone getting any ideas that Harry's methods WORKED!!

[Borges]

Yes, but a working title was OUAT:TR.

[Illuminatas]

Please, Clint, when they get around to making the "Preacher" movie you have to play the Saint of Killers.

Only the best comic ever written, period. (/begging)

[Real Cynic No More]

It's not often that an old man gets one up on an old lady, so I cherish those small victories!