It’s safe to say that when venturing into the history of some of Hollywood’s brightest stars, you may find some roles that are a bit, let’s say, antiquated. Take, for instance, five-time Academy Award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood. While Clint’s name has been synonymous with box-office and award ceremony success, much has changed about what's accepted in the world, let alone the movies, since Clint first started acting in 1955.
From taking his artistic liberty to far as a director, to playing a character that even his fellow cast members felt promoted anti-Asian sentiments, let’s take a look at some of Clint Eastwood’s films that if made today would get left on the cutting room floor.
6 Clint Eastwood Ruffled Feathers With His Interpretation of Richard Jewell
The Ballad Of Richard Jewel wouldn’t stand a chance in 2022, as the writing made the movie a lawsuit waiting to happen. In the film, Olivia Wilde plays the late journalist Kathy Scruggs. Scruggs works closely with FBI agent Tom Shaw, played by actor John Hamm, to investigate the media frenzy that followed the 1996 Olympic bombings in Atlanta. Olivia’s character trades s*x in return for information about a suspect in the case, something the real Scruggs would never do.
The Atlanta newspaper Scruggs worked at until her passing in 2001 threatened to sue Clint and Warner Brother Studios over the misrepresentation of their reporter and her ethics. Given the valid case, they have against the inaccurate portal of events, making the movie in 2022 wouldn’t be worth the risk.
5 Clint's Character In The Dirty Harry Franchise Exemplifies Police Brutality In America
Inspector Callahan may be one of the most hated characters in movie history. Clint's notorious role in the Dirty Harry franchise has stuck to him like glue, with critics and fans associating his character's racist tendencies and lunatic ways with the actor himself. Considering how tight-fisted the actor is with his family, maybe he too embraced some of his characters' wicked ways.
A role like inspector Callahan wouldn’t fly today, considering how far America has come and continues to go to fight the battle to end police brutality. Studios would see a role like this and know it’s too controversial to put out.
4 Clint Eastwood's Role In Gran Torino Shined A Light On Anti-Asian Sentiments In America
13 years after co-starring in Gran Torino with Clint, Bee Vhang spoke out about his feelings about the film. He felt that the film helped fuel anti-Asian sentiments in America, placing the blame firmly on Clint. He noted that while the role brought awareness to the struggles of Asian Americans, it exacerbated the problem more than it helped.
Looking back at the movie, Clint’s character is pretty brutal to watch. He uses multiple racial slurs and constantly has a gun out to protect his property from his neighbors. Chances are Gran Torino would just be too much trouble for a production company to get involved within 2022.
3 American Sniper Probably Wouldn't Get Made In 2022
American Sniper is heavily considered Clint Eastwood's most controversial movie to date. Critics agree that Clint’s interpretation of why America went to war with Iraq is false, giving the viewers a faulty idea of what happened during that time in American history.
There's also the accusations that Chris Kyle (who the main character is based off of and the source material was written) was a pathological liar. Since the movie's release, numerous people have claimed that Chris lied about his heroic acts. If Clint were to try releasing American Sniper in 2022, chances are there would be a lot more red tape for the director to get through.
2 The FBI Had Problems With Clint’s Depiction of Their Former Director
Chances are that Clint’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic would have gotten shot down in 2022 before hitting the big screens. It wouldn’t be just producers protesting the director’s work either. FBI members reportedly scolded Clint because he depicted the former director of the FBI as a repressed homosexual.
The FBI claims that this depiction is categorically false, with there being no indication or insight into Hoover being gay or confused about his sexuality. Considering the liability, this movie wouldn’t stand a chance of being made in 2022. Even with Clint being the namesake that he is in Hollywood, production companies don’t want trouble with the FBI.
1 Every Which Way But Loose Would Drive PETA Crazy In 2022
Clint is open about Every Which Way But Loose is a problem film for him at the time of production. His team hated the writing, the plot, and the movie seemed too far gone for the actor to save. But it ended up being the second-highest-grossing movie at the box office that year. Chances are this movie wouldn’t pass with PETA in 2022 as they used a real orangutan the entire film. They're gotten rather strict with their entertainment laws for animals, despite approving that crazy live octopus scene in Amazon's The Boys.
To make matters worse, it’s reported that Clyde, the orangutan from the movie, was handled pretty poorly when offset. An animal being ab*sed on set in 2022 wouldn't just be problematic for the film, it's cause mayhem for the entire production company.
