Presentation Script

Presentation Script Adam Stephenson

PRESENTATION SCRIPT

The Development of Clint Eastwood Films Over The Past 10 Years

[Audience seated; lights fade out]

Presenter: For most of his career, Clint Eastwood’s career as an actor has overshadowed his accomplishments as a director. With over 30 movies as a director and two Academy Awards for Best Director, Clint Eastwood is one of America’s most prolific and best filmmakers. (item 10)

[Video Clip] Million Dollar Baby Trailer (item 12)

[Video Clip] Gran Torino Trailer (item 11)

[Video Clip] Changeling Trailer (item 13)

Integrated into one solid clip.

[Lights fade on]

Presenter: Today we are going to discuss the development of Clint Eastwood’s films that he has directed, doing this we will investigate the Themes and Styles that he includes throughout these. To help us do this I will be using three of his finest pieces of work within the last 10 years. The focus film will be ‘Gran Torino’ (2008) and the two supporting films are ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2005), ‘Changeling’ (2008) as my reference points.

Gran Torino is about a racist Korean War veteran living in a crime-ridden Detroit neighborhood who is forced to confront his own lingering prejudice when a troubled Hmong teen from his neighborhood attempts to steal his prized Gran Torino.

Million Dollar Baby stars Clint as a veteran boxing trainer who finds a woman pestering him to take her on, after saying no he isn't afraid to tell her why: he doesn't think much of women boxing, she's too old at 31, she lacks experience, and has no technique. However won over by determination he gives her a shot.

Changeling stars Angelina Jolie as a woman who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is an impostor. She confronts the city authorities, who vilify her as an unfit mother and brand her delusional.

Flip chart: The ways in which Clint Eastwood’s directed films develop from each one over the past 10 years, here are the focus points that we will talk about.

Themes

Films he wants to tell

Success

[Presenter points to the first one, themes]

Presenter: To begin this topic I would like to point out the themes that Clint includes in his films as a director. If one thing is apparent, at least to those who’ve been following Clint Eastwood's career in recent years, it is that he’s taken a different approach lately as a director. Instead of taking big well-rounded splatter shots at Oscars, as was the case with Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima, he has taken to a more targeted approach. This trend was very apparent in Changeling. Eastwood made a solid, but relatively one-dimensional film that was tweaked just enough to be a serious Oscar grab for Angelina Jolie. And had Jolie’s Oscar grabbiness not been so blatant, it might have worked. We see a similar theme with Gran Torino, in which Eastwood plays on both sides of the camera as director and as Walt Kowalski, Walt is a staunch racist. We are talking blatant, irreverent and uncompromising racism here. Yet somehow it is still very tastefully done, only Clint can make that happen. (item14)

[Lights dim]

[Video Clip] Interview with Clint, the producer and the Hmong cast (item 15)

[Lights fade on]

Presenter: The themes that Clint uses within his directed films that we are studying today mainly include Fatherhood/Motherhood attributes, in Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino it is Clint himself that takes on this role. However in the Changeling Angelina Jolie is the actress that addresses to this.

[Lights fade out]

[Video Clip]

[Lights fade on]

Presenter: These three films are all Dramas, he uses the typical conventions in these such as; emotional, illness and failed romance/friendship. At this point in his career, when Clint Eastwood stars in and directs a film, all bets are off. Things that would be old school and sentimental in other hands morph into something different when he is involved. If Tina Turner's motto is that she doesn't do anything nice and easy, Eastwood's would be that the ordinary is just not his style. Which brings us to "Gran Torino," Eastwood's second directing project this fall, his first work as an actor since "Million Dollar Baby" and a film that would be less interesting if he were not involved. Working from a script by first-time screenwriter Nick Schenk, Eastwood has, with his impeccable directing style and acting presence, turned "Gran Torino" into another in his ongoing series of films that ponder violence, its place and its cost. It combines sentiment and shootouts, the serious and the studio, in a way that has become distinctly Eastwood's own. (item 6)

Flip chart: Points at-Films he wants to tell

[Lights dim]

[Projector] Showing Total Film article and The Times Playlist (Items 7 and 9)

Presenter: Points at these, In his most recent films Clint is beginning to make films that are close to him and make an impact on the audience, we see in Gran Torino he is trying to capture the audiences attention to race he does this by producing a racist film making himself seem bad but yet the viewers are still on his side, throughout the film as he slowly becomes warm to them so do we. This is to give a message out about racism. In Million Dollar Baby it’s a sexist message and yet again he get the audience on his side. Changeling is slightly different as its about child abduction and police betrayal which is always close to anybody’s heart.

Points at Sight and Sound (Item 8)

This is a prime example of the passion that Clint Eastwood puts into his directing, he proves that to him it isn't about the money but what people want to see. By doing this he is showing to us that he knows the film industry more than most others and its getting nominated for films that companies didn't believe in and didn't want to promote.

[Lights fade on]

Flip chart: Points at-Success

Presenter: The success of "Gran Torino" could boost Eastwood's awards chances. The film was largely overlooked by the Globes, but the Oscars have long supported Eastwood's directorial efforts and awarded his "Million Dollar Baby" best picture in 2005. Item 17

In 1990 Clint directed the film 'The Rookie' the domestic total gross for the film was $21m, True Crime in 1999 made $16m. When we look at the totals for our 3 films..

[Lights dim]

Projector: Item 16

Presenter:.. We see the dramatic increase; Gran Torino is his most prolific piece of Directing work making $148m at the box office. From this it also seems that the films Clint stars in himself have a higher gross total, this could be due to the big name actor. It attracts both Clint actor fans and his directing fans producing a wider target audience witch equals to higher success.

Presenter: To round up these three talking points that we have reviewed we can see the changes in which Clint Eastwood has made within the past 10 years of his directing career.

Projector: action shots of the films in the background as presenter is talking. Item 18

Presenter: We have established that he now mainly concentrates on telling story’s that mean something to him. He is no longer releasing them in a bid to get them on the screens as soon as possible to make as much money as he can. The films that he is now producing now are proving to be his biggest successes at the box office. Also we have seen proof that the films he directs and also stars in are making much more money due to his fans on both sides.

Trailers

Gran Torino http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Z2n534q1Q Item 11

Million Dollar Baby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irDGknOu0uY Item 12

Changeling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWXvbVXQHDU Item 13

I have chosen these trailers so that at the beginning of the script they will be played following on from each-other, this is to give the audience an insight into each film and can give their opinions based on what they have seen so far.

Interviews

For most of his career, Clint Eastwood’s career as an actor has overshadowed his accomplishments as a director. With over 30 movies as a director and two Academy Awards for Best Director, Clint Eastwood is one of America’s most prolific and best filmmaker.

http://cinemoose.com/clint-eastwood-directing-1/

I have chosen this as i can use it for the opening paragraph in my script.

Item 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC2zoxES45U

This interview staring the Hmong cast, Clint Eastwood and the producer talks about the culture and how they have been given a chance to be known and respected.

Item 15

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/collections/film-interviews/e/index.shtml#e

Item 19

Articles

Conversations with Clint on Changeling-Total Film, Christmas 2008, Issue 149

This magazine is useful to my project as it includes his views on the film 'Changeling' he quotes 'At this stage in life I'm doing stories that i really want to tell... Changeling was amazing because it really happened; the people were all real... And I'm always particularly appalled by crimes against children and that had something to do with me wanting to make this film.'

Item 7

Clint Eastwood The quiet american-Sight and Sound, September 2008

Talks about 'Changeling' and 'Million Dollar Baby', he tells about his struggle to get Warner Bros. to make Million Dollar Baby. They didn't have a big budget and Clint announced that he would do it for free and get a percentage of the profit if it is successful, if it didn't make money then it was fine by him. He also talks about the political aspects to Changeling.

Item 8

Go ahead Clint, make our Playlist-The Times Playlist, June 19-25 2010

'You never know whether any movie is going to be successful. You have to go by how much you want to tell that story; how closely you feel it inside'-Clint Eastwood when talking about Million Dollar Baby (the quadruple Oscar-winning boxing drama)

Item 9

Internet

item 18

CLINT EASTWOOD (Director/Producer) most recently directed and produced

the drama “Changeling,” starring Angelina Jolie in the true story of an infamous 1928

kidnapping case that rocked the LAPD. The film was nominated for a Palme d’Or and

won a Special Award when it premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005,

Eastwood won Academy Awards® for Best Picture and Best Director – his second in

both categories – for “Million Dollar Baby.” He also earned a nomination

for Best Actor for his performance in the film. In addition, Hilary Swank and Morgan

Freeman won Oscars®, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, and

the film was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.

Nominated in 2004 for his direction of “Mystic River,” Eastwood took home his third Best

Director Golden Globe the following year for “Million Dollar Baby.” He was also

nominated in 2005 as the composer of the score for that film.

http://www.thegrantorino.com/assets/pdfs/GRAN_TORINO_Final_Notes_and_Bios.pdf Item 5

At this point in his career, when Clint Eastwood stars in and directs a film, all bets are off. Things that would be old-school and sentimental in other hands morph into something different when he is involved. If Tina Turner's motto is that she doesn't do anything nice and easy, Eastwood's would be that the ordinary is just not his style. Which brings us to "Gran Torino," Eastwood's second directing project this fall, his first work as an actor since 2004's "Million Dollar Baby" and a film that would be less interesting if he were not involved. Working from a script by first-time screenwriter Nick Schenk, Eastwood has, with his impeccable directing style and acting presence, turned "Gran Torino" into another in his ongoing series of films that ponder violence, its place and its cost. It combines sentiment and shootouts, the serious and the studio, in a way that has become distinctly Eastwood's own.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/la-et-torino12-2008dec12,0,2314630.story Item 6

If one thing is apparent, at least to those who’ve been following Clint Eastwood's career in recent years, it is that he’s taken a different approach lately as a director. Instead of taking big well-rounded splatter shots at Oscars, as was the case with Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima, he has taken to a more targeted approach. This trend was very apparent a few months back with Changeling. Eastwood made a solid, but relatively one dimensional film that was tweaked just enough to be a serious Oscar grab for Angelina Jolie. And had Jolie’s Oscar grabbiness not been so blatant, it might have worked.

We see a similar theme with Gran Torino, in which Eastwood plays on both sides of the camera as director and as Walt Kowalski, an iron-willed Korean war vet whose wife has recently passed away, leaving him alone in their old house surrounded by an ever-growing population of Hmong neighbors. And much to the dismay of Spike Lee, Walt is a staunch racist. We are talking blatant, irreverent and uncompromising racism here. Yet somehow it is still very tastefully done — only Clint can make that happen, of that I am convinced.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/reviews/review-gran-torino.php Item 14

Box Office Success-

Gran Torino Domestic Total Gross: $148,095,302, Production Budget: $33 million

Million Dollar Baby Domestic Total Gross: $100,492,203, Production Budget: $30 million

Changeling Domestic Total Gross: $35,739,802, Production Budget: $55 million

http://boxofficemojo.com Item 16

The success of "Gran Torino" could boost Eastwood's awards chances. The film was largely overlooked by the Globes, but the Oscars have long supported Eastwood's directorial efforts and awarded his "Million Dollar Baby" best picture in 2005.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28605623 Item 17

This will be used for the opening paragraph of the 'Success' topic of Clint Eastwoods directing abilities.

Changeling

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Staring Angeline Jolie, Gattlin Griffith, Michelle Gunn

Based on real life events in 1928 Los Angeles, the film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is an impostor. She confronts the city authorities, who vilify her as an unfit mother and brand her delusional. The dramatized incident was connected to the "Wineville Chicken Coop" kidnapping and murder case.

I chose the film as its a true story which appeals even more to the audience, this is a very emotional and powerful film that has effects on everyone that watches it as they could relate to it but even still, know that it is true and crimes like this could still be going on. This film uses motherhood along with illness' and many other similar themes in which Clint uses in each of his directed pieces.

Item 4

Gran Torino

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Brian Haley, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her

A racist Korean War veteran living in a crime-ridden Detroit neighborhood is forced to confront his own lingering prejudice when a troubled Hmong teen from his neighborhood attempts to steal his prized Gran Torino. Decades after the Korean War has ended, ageing veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is still haunted by the horrors he witnessed on the battlefield. The two objects that matter most to Kowalski in life are the classic Gran Torino that represents his happier days working in a Ford assembly plant, and the M-1 rifle that saved his life countless times during combat. When Kowalski's teenage neighbor (Bee Vang) attempts to steal his Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation rite, the old man manages to catch the aspiring thief at the business end of his well-maintained semi-automatic rifle. Later, due to the pride of the Asian group, the boy is forced to return to Kowalski's house and perform an act of penance. Despite the fact that Kowalski wants nothing to do with the young troublemaker, he realizes that the quickest way out of the situation is to simply cooperate. In an effort to set the teen on the right path in life and toughen him up, the reluctant vet sets him up with an old crony who now works in construction. In the process, Kowalski discovers that the only way to lay his many painful memories to rest is to finally face his own blinding prejudice head-on.

This is my focus film as its my favourite film of all time. Again the fatherhood theme is included along with the illness. Clint includes race as a huge factor in the film which in the end the audience witness a white man dyeing to give the asians a better life. The effect that this film has on the audience is huge, although Walt is a racist, stubborn old man we still feel sympathy for him and are on his side throughout the film. Item 3

Million Dollar Baby

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank, Jay Baruchel, Anthony Mackie, Mike Colter

Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a veteran boxing trainer who has devoted his life to the ring and has precious little to show for it; his daughter never answers his letters, and a fighter he's groomed into contender status has paid him back by signing with another manager, leaving Frankie high and dry. His best friend and faithful employee Eddie Dupris is a former fighter who Frankie trained. In his last fight, Eddie suffered a severe injury, a fact that brings Frankie great guilt. One day, Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) enters Frankie's life, as well as his gym, and announces she needs a trainer. Frankie regards her as a dubious prospect, and isn't afraid to tell her why: he doesn't think much of women boxing, she's too old at 31, she lacks experience, and has no technique. However, Maggie sees boxing as the one part of her life that gives her meaning and won't give up easily. Finally won over by her determination, Frankie takes on Maggie, and as she slowly grows into a viable fighter, an emotional bond develops between them. When a tragedy befalls one of the three characters, each comes to a decision that shows how the relationships in the film have changed them.

I chose this film as it can relate to the audience in an emotional way. He adapts to the role of a father figure for this woman who lost her father, it shows a range of themes that Clint uses in many of his Directed films such as fatherhood and illness. This film really captures the viewers attention from the beginning and is very powerful it represents the meaning of 'never judge a book by its cover'. When he firsts meets her he is very stubborn and does not want to look weak giving into a girl, however as time goes on the become very close and he depends on her.

(Item 2)