Clint Eastwood Says Viral Interview with Austrian Newspaper Is ‘Entirely Phony'
Go ahead and make our day, Clint Eastwood. The now 95-year-old actor and director said a viral interview that ran of him in an Austrian publication calling out sequels and franchises is completely fake, as are any quotes attributed to him.
The interview was picked up widely, including by IndieWire, despite the Austrian newspaper's circulation reaching only 100,000 people. Eastwood purportedly said that he misses the days when screenwriters would pen original ideas like 'Casablanca' and that we live in an era of franchises and remakes. He even added that he has no plans to retire and that he was prepping a new movie at the age of 95. While we don't doubt that he wants to keep working forever and always appears to be prepping some kind of film, that quote appears to be fabricated as well.
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But he now claims the interview simply never happened.
'A couple of items about me have recently shown up in the news,' Eastwood told Deadline in a statement. 'I thought I would set the record straight. I can confirm I've turned 95. I can also confirm that I never gave an interview to an Austrian publication called Kurier, or any other writer in recent weeks, and that the interview is entirely phony.'
If the interview is in fact phony, the newspaper picked a fight with the wrong person. In 2021 and 2022, Eastwood won millions in two separate lawsuits against CBD companies that falsely used his name and likeness to sell products. The ads suggested he had given an interview to the 'Today' show about the cannabis sativa plants, but he never gave any such interview and won the lawsuit handily.
Eastwood did turn 95, and the four-time Oscar winner's most recent film, the stellar 'Juror #2,' had an unfortunately limited run in theaters last year. He last acted in a film in 2021's 'Cry Macho.'
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