Legendary actor Clint Eastwood said a widely circulated interview attributed to him in an Austrian newspaper is fake.
In an interview published by the German-language newspaper Kurier, Eastwood was quoted criticizing film remakes, franchises, and what he sees as a shortage of original storytelling. Although the paper has a relatively modest circulation of about 100,000, the comments quickly went viral, with major outlets picking up the story.
"A couple of items about me have recently shown up in the news," Eastwood said in a statement to Deadline. "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."
Eastwood's latest film, "Juror #2," starring Nicholas Hoult, premiered last year, and there has been no official announcement yet about his next project. In a promotional interview for the film with Metrograph magazine, he reflected on his legacy as a filmmaker.
"That would be up to them, to the audiences, to answer," he said. "Up to the people on the outside. I just kind of go along. I consider this, again, emotional. It comes upon you. You have a story, you make a movie of it. You have to just go for it. If you think too much about how it happened, you might ruin it. I go back and look at films I've made, and I could easily ask, 'Why the heck did I make this?' I don't remember! It might have been a long time ago."
Eastwood, who celebrated his 95th birthday on Saturday, is "doing good" and is "a survivor, a trouper," according to his son, Scott Eastwood.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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