Download MP3 In today's episode Nate and Austin compare Clint Eastwood's best and worst rated films, Unforgiven (1992) and The Rookie (1990), respectively. Nate disses fake babies, Austin thinks it's Martin Sheen, and random people yell into the mic. Happy 4th of July! Check back next Sunday at 7pm PST where we will compare Tony Kaye's American History X (1998) and Black Water Transit (2009), his best and worst rated films. Also check out this interview with Clint Eastwood about Unforgiven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHQdSCDJhaU

The Rookie Notes

Worst Rated

PLOT: Clint Eastwood plays a veteran detective who gets stuck with a rookie cop to chase down a German crook.

• Ratings: IMDb 5.8 | RT 31% C / 36% A
• Released: 1990
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Writer(s): Boaz Yakin & Scott Spiegel (written by)
• Cinematographer: Jack N. Green (Serenity, The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
• Notable actors: Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Tom Skerritt, Lara Flynn Boyle, Pepe Serna, Marco Rodriguez
• Budget: $10 million
• Box office: $21 million

• Fun Facts:
  • According to the book "Clint Eastwood A Cultural Production" by Paul Smith, during the early stages of principal photography, actor Charlie Sheen had substance abuse problems. Eastwood reportedly took on a father-figure role in disciplining Sheen into responsible behavior.
  • The previous picture of Clint Eastwood, White Hunter Black Heart (1990), was entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990 and screened there whilst The Rookie (1990) was in production. To attend that movie's Cannes screenings, Eastwood halted production on The Rookie (1990) for five days. Reportedly, this cost an estimated 1.5 million dollars.
  • The movie was controversial for its depiction of a provocative and unconventional woman-on-man rape sequence with it garnering much publicity.
  • The film featured over twice as many stuntmen as it did actors. Held the world record for the biggest ratio of stuntmen/actors. Reportedly, over eighty stuntmen worked on the movie.
  • Clint Eastwood agreed to do this movie in exchange for Warner Brothers letting him make his personal film project, White Hunter Black Heart (1990).

Unforgiven Notes

Best Rated

PLOT: Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.

• Ratings: IMDb 8.2 | RT 95% C / 93% A
• Released: 1992
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Writer(s): David Webb Peoples (written by)
• Cinematographer: Jack N. Green (Serenity, The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
• Notable actors: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett, Saul Rubinek, Frances Fisher, Anna Levine
• Budget: $14 million
• Box office: $159.2 million

• Fun Facts:
  • The final screen credit reads, "Dedicated to Sergio and Don", referring to Clint Eastwood's mentors, Sergio Leone and Don Siegel.
  • Although the score was arranged by Lennie Niehaus, the main theme was written by Clint Eastwood himself.
  • This film put to rest Clint Eastwood's longstanding statement why he would never win an Oscar. Eastwood reckoned he would never be in the running because "first, I'm not Jewish. Secondly, I make too much money. Thirdly, and most importantly, because I don't give a fuck". Since his double Oscar win for Unforgiven (1992), Eastwood has gone on to win two more Oscars, as well as an Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, and has been nominated an additional six times.
  • Clint Eastwood's mother Ruth Wood toiled through an uncomfortable day (wearing a heavy dress) as an extra, filming a scene where she boards a train; but the scene was eventually cut, with her son apologizing that the film was "too long and something had to go." All was forgiven when he brought her to the Academy Awards and thanked her prominently in his acceptance speech.
  • The script floated around Hollywood for nearly twenty years, during which time Gene Hackman read and rejected it, only to be later convinced by Clint Eastwood (who had owned the rights to the script for some time) to play a role.
  • To maintain the authentic atmosphere, no motor vehicles were allowed on the Big Whiskey set.
  • Only the third western to ever win the Best Picture Oscar. The other two being Dances with Wolves (1990) and Cimarron (1931).
  • The film was shot in 39 days, coming in four days ahead of schedule. The town had to be built very quickly, with a relatively short run-up time (two months) to the start of filming; the construction period was used by the stunt coordinator to work on actors' riding skills and stunt choreography.

Intro music: Calm The Fuck Down - Broke For Free / CC BY 3.0