Clint Eastwood Says Recent Viral Interview Was “Entirely Phony”

An interview attributed to Clint Eastwood that criticized Hollywood’s “era of remakes and franchises” has been disputed by the 95-year-old actor and director. The article, published by Austrian newspaper Kurier, went viral last week, but Eastwood has since called it “entirely phony.” However, the journalist behind the piece, Elisabeth Sereda, claims the quotes are authentic – they just date back years prior. Sereda, a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, says she pulled the comments from various Eastwood interviews conducted by the HFPA dating back to 1976. Kurier has since retracted the article, acknowledging it “fell short of its standards.” Sereda’s statement suggests Eastwood did make the quotes, but they may have been spoken decades ago. One quote about directing “sequels three times” points to the 1980s, when Eastwood had already made multiple Dirty Harry follow-ups. (Variety)