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His willingness and ability to transcend his image helps answer some of the questions about the trajectory of his career, among them: How come he isn't Doug McClure, one of those TV-series hunks of the '60s who faded into anonymity? Or merely a Sylvester Stallone, one of those action heroes who have achieved nothing like the longevity Eastwood has? Neither could have, or would have, made a movie like Unforgiven. With the intelligent shyness that empowers many great actors, Eastwood embraced the entire craft of filmmaking, wandering the sets and picking up insights even as he was churning out B movies in his early days. Even now, he keeps a VCR on location to study movies new and old. "My involvement goes deeper than acting or directing," he once said. "I love every aspect of the creation of motion pictures, and I guess I'm committed to it for life."
He takes the work seriously, but not himself. During the Unforgiven shoot, he regaled the crew with his wicked John Wayne impersonation. When Gene Hackman kicked the hell out of him in their first saloon encounter, the script called for Hackman to stride over to the bar and pour a drink. From his position on the floor, where he was miming grievous hurt, Eastwood didn't call cut. Instead he groaned, "Pour one of those for me."
He is quick to spread the credit for his success to a loyal and veteran production crew. His wardrobe man, Glenn Wright, has been with him since Rawhide in the early '60s. Cameraman Jack Green has worked on 18 Eastwood films, and production designer Henry Bumstead has been on board for two decades. "Henry Bumstead likes to say that I take the bullsout of moviemaking. It's pros like Henry who do that for me," says Eastwood. "All I'm doing is encouraging them."
Eastwood plans his productions like military campaigns and compares his role to that of an officer in combat. "Making a film takes on a life of its own," he says. "You guide that life along like a platoon leader, getting everybody kind of enthused to charge the hill." To a relative newcomer like actress Frances Fisher, who plays the prostitute Strawberry Alice in Unforgiven and is Eastwood's current companion, it all seems seamless. "He is the most confident director I have ever seen. He kind of glides through it all." Distractions are kept to a minimum and posturing discouraged. "He says very little to you," says Hackman, whom Eastwood lured to play the sheriff in Unforgiven. "I appreciate that. Most of what directors say to actors is said for the benefit of the people standing around the camera."
"I don't want to intellectualize it too much," Eastwood says of his preference for keeping rehearsals to a minimum and putting the first take in the can. As a result, Eastwood films are delivered under budget and ahead of schedule. "He gets the most out of a dollar spent," says Warner Bros. chairman Bob Daly. "Ninety-five percent of his movies are hugely profitable." Eastwood says producing appeals to his practical side. "I like to ask myself, 'What is the best way we can do this without slighting the film?' "