Eastwood stays fresh with latest pic

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in J. Edgar. Mengers In just a minute when Hollywood is flailing about with tired remakes, Clint Eastwood, among its more senior filmmakers, seems more determined than in the past to stake new ground. His gripping new film "J. Edgar" might be the polar the complete opposite of contemporary studio product -- a searing biopic of a megalomaniacal right-wing ideologue.Under his four-decade reign, J. Edgar Hoover used the FBI to blackmail presidents and manipulate the media to mold his image since the nation's lone protector against gangsters and "Bolsheviks." Top people in politics and reporters were scared to exhibit that J. Edgar (fantastically carried out by Leonardo DiCaprio) will be a mama's boy getting a gay lover.Eastwood's picture opens November. 9, so I am unlikely to judge it here aside from to convey it's consistent with Clint's legacy. His protagonists certainly are a study in surprise -- cure would roam from Dirty Harry to Wally Kowalski (of "Gran Torino"), from Josie Wales to Nelson Mandela, within the military of Iwo Jima with a "Big Baby."Request Clint about his strategy, which he'll, clearly, deny the existence of any. I'd a leisurely speak with him last weekend in Carmel, Calif. (he was previously the mayor), where he shown his new film before pals and neighbors within the Carmel Film Festival. "My existence is numerous accidents," Eastwood demands. When John Grazer first stated Hoover to him, he wondered why producer was considering vacuums. A look in the fabric, combined having a telephone call from DiCaprio, spurred his interest. Dustin Lance Black was introduced aboard to produce the script (he'd won an Oscar for "Milk") and continued to be while using film through production.The profile of J. Edgar can be a measured one. A driven guy who fought against against very presenting science into the untidy an entire world of crime-busting, more youthful crowd was both callous and psychologically unstable.In comparison, Clint, age 81, seems as rock-solid and relaxed of course. He's a man infamously missing of intellectual pretension. He steadfastly declines to intellectualize about his work. Indeed, his films seem to unfold as adventures in self-discovery. A libertarian by instinct, he's another humanitarian by character -- a profoundly decent and accessible guy who covets the "accidents" define the continuing growth and development of his career.In the 2010 profile of Eastwood inside the NYer, David Denby observed that "people who've been skeptical of Eastwood four decades ago (I'm one of these simple) have extended since capitulated, outdated or died. He's outlasted everyone." Talking with Eastwood last weekend, I didn't sense he'd interact with Denby's remark. Rather, he made an appearance to regard themselves just like a filmmaker in mid-career who was simply already planning his next film. Also it wouldn't be described as a remake. There's a lot of more to know and explore.Remembering MengersLofty tributes were paid out to file for a suit Mengers the other day, but more attention was presented with to her parties as opposed to the numerous pictures she develop. The fabled agent, who died the other day at 79, had an instinct for excellent material and was ready to push, bully and cajole to acquire her deals closed.One time i sent her the initial draft of "Paper Moon," proclaiming that, "Vital developed it, I like it however can't persuade Peter Bogdanovich to think about it on or learn to cast it." Soon after, Mengers was around the telephone, purring, "Don't get worried, honey, I've got Ryan O'Neal and also the daughter Tatum and I'll beat the shit out of your friend Bogdanovich to direct it." Bogdanovich, it switched out, needed the beating, nevertheless the whole project became a member of together and will be a hit.Mengers put glitzy parties for celebs and, in route, paved the means by which for other energy-seeking women of her generation. The obits, however, introduced in your thoughts the brevity of her heyday. She will be a major pressure with the early '70s but losing her energy with the early eighties. By age 54 she surrendered her energy base at ICM, serving briefly as leader in the William Morris Agency simply to uncover that, while major stars continued to be as accepting her party invites, they were not prepared to register again as clients.A couple of of her star clients found resent her forcefulness. Mengers was skeptical of Barbra Streisand's decision to direct "Yentl," and Streisand herself opposed Mengers' urgings to star in the film being directed by Mengers' husband, Jean Claude Tramont (an attractive stock picker but an unskilled director). Progressively more, Mengers was growing weary of Hollywood's corporate making choices and was initiating the organization generally. She spent her final years in relative seclusion but ongoing to request her preferred handful of to her house.Around the personal level, Mengers will be a gracious ally in my opinion. She found my parties, aided me develop my pictures and, later on, frequently dropped me notes of praise for my documents. She once even offered us a glancing hug in my mouth area, coming smoke throughout my face as she moved closer (it had not been a Pall Mall). For Mengers, it was a astonishing show of affection. It absolutely was greatly appreciated. Contact Peter Bart at peter.bart@variety.com