Clint Eastwood has made it clear that he is not planning to hang his director's hat anytime soon. In a recent interview with Kurier, the 95-year-old filmmaker stated that fans will not have to worry about his retirement for "a long time".
But more importantly, in over his seven-decade-long film career, the actor-filmmaker had some profound thoughts on the state of the industry today where he urged directors to come up with original ideas instead of relying on remakes, franchises and adaptations.
"I long for the good old days when screenwriters wrote movies like Casablanca in small bungalows on the studio lot. When everyone had a new idea," the director, who last made the critically-acclaimed Juror #2 said.
"We live in an era of remakes and franchises. I’ve shot sequels three times, but I haven’t been interested in that for a long while. My philosophy is: do something new or stay at home," he added.
Best known for Oscar winners like Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven, Eastwood noted that he has a better experience today with regards to the industry and its workings and has adapted constantly with growing times. "Sure, there are directors who lose their touch at a certain age, but I’m not one of them," he said confidently. "I’ll work as long as I can still learn something, or until I’m truly senile," he said.
Eastwood achieved success in the Western TV series Rawhide. He rose to international fame with his role as the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films.
Eastwood's greatest commercial successes are Every Which Way but Loose and its action comedy sequel Any Which Way You Can.
Other popular Eastwood films include the Westerns Hang 'Em High, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Pale Rider, Where Eagles Dare, Escape from Alcatraz, Heartbreak Ridge, In the Line of Fire, and The Bridges of Madison County. More recent works include Gran Torino, The Mule, and Cry Macho.