Clint Eastwood Wants To Follow The Oldest Active Filmmaker Of All Time
Clint Eastwood’s impressive work ethic and productivity aren’t in question, but he’s stated on more than one occasion he wants to be the world’s oldest working director. In 2010, he cited Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira as an inspiration, stating to Pilot, “There is a director in Portugal who is over 100 and still directing. I plan to top his record.” Five years later, Eastwood – who passed on Superman – referenced Oliveira once more while in discussion with Darren Aronofsky at an event (via Fox), revealing “It would be great to be 105 and still making films.”
Oliveira made his first film Aniki-Bóbó in 1942 and helmed his last movie Gebo And The Shadow in 2012. The filmmaker was 103 when he completed work on the latter project, and he passed away three years later. While E astwood chuckled that his director hopes were “the ultimate optimism,” if there’s any filmmaker who could pull it off, it’s him. While some filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino feels like a director’s filmography only get worse as they age – which is why he plans to retire after ten movies – Eastwood’s movies are only getting more adventurous, as Jersey Boys or Cry Macho show.
Will Clint Eastwood Direct Another Movie?
Eastwood has been partnered with Warner Bros since the ’70s, but there are signs his time there may have come to an end. Cry Macho – which is on HBO Max – underperformed financially, and in a WSJ article, Warner Bros.Discovery CEO David Zaslav complained to executives about the movie having been greenlit at all. When told the film has been funded because Eastwood had a long history with the studio and had delivered them many hits in the past, Zaslav reportedly responded with “We don’t owe anyone any favors” and “It’s not show friends, it’s show business.”
Since that report emerged, there has been no sign of Eastwood signing on to another movie. He will appear in Katie Clearly’s wildlife documentary Why On Earth, but aside from that he appears to have no other acting or directing engagements ahead. Having been so prolific for decades, perhaps Eastwood – who has a lost Western – is merely slowing down and taking a step back while quietly developing more movies. Being on a film set is in Clint Eastwood’s blood, so even if it’s not for Warner Bros, it’s hard to picture him stopping.