Saturday, September 1, 2012
Film Clint Eastwood: halftime in America vs. the empty chair
Posted by Gabe Wardell on Sat, Sep 1, 2012 at 9:42 AM
- Joeff Davis
- TAMPA, FL - August 30, 2012 - Clint Eastwood speaking on the Republican National Convention's final night.
When iconic American actor, director, and sometime badass Clint Eastwood appeared in this memorable Super Bowl spot for Chrystler...
...right-wing pundits and conspiracy theorists cried "foul," Karl Rove was "offended," some accused Clint of being "in the tank for Obama," and one even called the spot "the most expensive political commercial in history."
The story behind the ad is fascinating. (Eastwood, apparently wrote some of the copy.)
By now, we all know how Eastwood's penance to the GOP, worked out. His surreal appearance at the RNC talking to a chair—I like to think that, in lieu of of appearance of hologram Reagan, the actors was channeling the late president in his late stage Alzheimer's—essentially pulled back the curtain on two-and-a-half days of carefully constructed, tightly scripted proceedings. He blew-up social media, grabbed headlines, dominated talk-shows, and upstaged the nominee. In short, Clint derailed Mitt's big night.
In the process, he proved me wrong, by a "real" and "unscripted" moment at the RNC.
That an icon like Eastwood, looking like the Crypt-keeper and delivering weak material that is not even as funny as an "AGT" audition, will now be remembered for this appearance, is a crying shame.
We deserve better, as does Clint Eastwood. It may be difficult, but let's wash that nasty taste out of our mouths with some fond memories of from the icon's canon—and remember an actor with range, depth, gravitas, and razor sharp comic timing:
It'll be interesting to see how his little appearance affects the numbers of his upcoming shot-in-Georgia release Trouble With the Curve.
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