Clint Eastwood is a legend in Hollywood for over half a century and has been involved with a ton of great movies, more than that, he is also famous for shooting skill as few takes as possible.
His ‘profound’ earned him respect even among his colleagues. Ridley Scott (who also shoots quickly with very few takes and multiple cameras) talks about the importance of casting well, and that he loves the story that Damon told him about Clint.
Many argue that he is the best director alive and always in charge of his productions. He is a no nonsense, economical and master director who can stick you on the edge of your seat by every movie he makes.
1. He shot ‘Gran Torino’ in two weeks
Clint Eastwood shot ‘Gran Torino’ in five weeks, though he shot in july and got it ready before december.
2. American Sniper.
When American Sniper was in production, Warner Bros was expecting it to be a 2015 release only for Eastwood to complete it sooner than expected and then they cranked it out for 2014 instead.
3. 15:17 To Paris
It is a Clint Eastwood movie about terrorism.
A restaurant owner who witnessed his shooting skill was in awe of his professionalism. He has this to say;
‘He filmed part of this film (15:17 To Paris) at the bar I own in Atlanta and was done within 2 hours. We couldn’t believe it. One full day to decorate the place and 2 hours of filming. Tear down and reset took less than 5 hours.’
4. Mystic River
The cinematography of the ‘Mystic River’ may not wow you but it does exactly what’s needed for that film (simple shot like the frequent callbacks to Dave in the backseat of the car). What a masterpiece.
Tim Robbins can’t but speak highly of Clint Eastwood’s shooting ‘power’.
Tim said ‘one time that on the set of Mystic River, they were able to complete a days work before lunchtime.’
5. Sully
One of the casts on the movie ‘Sully’ – who casted as an airline passenger said this about Clint.
‘He does one take of everything. two takes is very very rare. He actually said on set, “If you don’t get it in the first take, you’re not gonna get it by the tenth.”
‘Clint doesn’t say action or cut (says go & stop) and doesn’t let anybody know when he’s filming (to get honest reactions of people talking to one another).
‘He filmed all the interior and exterior airplane shots in a matter of two weeks. Works from 9-5 (unlike other shoots where we work for at least 14-16 hours) and walks around with a handheld monitor watching what the camera is recording. Doesn’t get “creative” with shots, he tells a story. Exactly what a good director should do.’
However, some people still believe that he’s not famous for shooting as few takes as possible, but that he’s only famous for being a bada*s action star turned into a direction who takes a few takes as possible.
