Steven Spielberg once met fellow filmmaker and veteran actor Clint Eastwood to discuss a project Eastwood was interested in potentially taking on.
But because of the peculiar circumstances of their meeting, Eastwood briefly wondered if there was something physically wrong with the actor.
How Clint Eastwood reacted to his meeting with Steven Spielberg
Eastwood set out to direct the 2010 film Hereafter starring Matt Damon. The film was about a couple of civilians dealing with their individual near-death experiences, a project that intrigued Eastwood because of its spirituality. The film’s script initially landed on Spielberg’s plate. But the Oscar-winner would soon send it to Eastwood to see if he’d be willing to tackle the project instead.
“I liked the script immediately,” Eastwood said according to IndieWire. “There were a few little ideas I had but I just put those in the back of my head. I thought it was good the way it was and didn’t need rewrites and I haven’t shot a picture when they had blue pages in it in a long time. Either you like them or you don’t, but I did.”
Although the movie had spiritual themes, it didn’t focus on a particular religion, which further attracted Eastwood to its premise.
“I think, whether you believe in the afterlife, or the chance of this near-death experience, you come back and see semblance of it,” he said.
Eastwood would meet Spielberg personally to discuss the project. But he couldn’t help laugh to himself about Spielberg’s behavior during the meeting.
“Steven has his meetings in the dark. I thought he might have some skin disease or something, but he’s sitting somewhat in the dark, and I just kept saying I’d do it,” Eastwood once told The Virginia Pilot. “There was no need to rewrite the script. I either like it or I don’t, and I liked it as it was – after one reading.”
Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg formed a retirement pact
Despite his age, Eastwood has remained busy during the latter stages of his career. This has made some wonder when Eastwood plans to retire. It’s a question that not even Eastwood knows the answer to.
“You never know when you’re going to give up,” Eastwood once told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I’m enjoying it.”
Similarly, Spielberg also once confided that his time behind the camera wasn’t close to being done. Which was something that he discussed with Eastwood himself.
“I have no plans to quit. Clint Eastwood is one of my best friends, and we have an almost jokey relationship about retirement,” Spielberg said in a 2012 interview with Digital Spy.
The Schindler’s List director went on to quip that he and Eastwood made a retirement pact between themselves.
“Clint’s 81 now, and I always say ‘Clint, are you ready to retire?’, he says ‘No, are you?’, I say ‘No’. I’ve been waiting for the phone call that says Clint is hanging up his spurs. If it doesn’t happen for Clint, it’s not going to happen for me.”
Steven Spielberg once took Clint Eastwood on a brief ‘Jurassic Park’ tour
Original Jurassic Park star Laura Dern once recalled a moment when Spielberg took Eastwood on a tour around the Jurassic Park set. This was a delightful surprise to Dern, who was already working with Eastwood on another film as well.
“We were going to have lunch at the commissary. First of all, I am such a movie lover so to be on the Universal lot, to go to the commissary to have lunch with Clint Eastwood is crazy. Pinch me! And then, because it broke, Steven came and joined us and Steven said to Clint, ‘Come back with us and see the T-Rex,’” Dern said in a 2015 interview with Uproxx.
When Eastwood saw the T-Rex, he gave a reaction that Dern would never forget.
“Nobody had seen it. Nobody was allowed in. And this is one of my favorite moments remembering Clint. He is seeing this life-size beast. He was like, ‘That’ll scare the hell out of you!’ I was just like, ‘Oh my God, my life is so amazing,’” she said.