Warner Bros. may have made a grave error by trying to bury legendary actor Clint Eastwood’s latest film Juror No. 2. The 94-year-old filmmaker’s 40th film recently premiered at the AFI Fest but Eastwood reportedly skipped the event, in what is being speculated to be a protest against the studio.
The film has been speculated to be the nonagenarian filmmaker’s final project due to his age, but the studio seems to have leaned into its villain era by disrespecting its most loyal creators. The release plan of Juror No. 2 by the studio received huge criticism from fans and critics, who feel the move was disrespectful towards the legend.
Clint Eastwood Skipped The Festival Premiere Of His Latest Film Juror No. 2
Clint Eastwood has not only made a name for himself as one of the greatest actors of all time but also as one of Hollywood’s most poignant filmmakers. He has constantly churned out thoughtful dramas that have received love from both fans and critics. He has won the Oscar twice as a director and his films have earned millions at the box office.
While his previous film Cry Macho was a box office bomb (via Box Office Mojo), he immediately began working on his next film Juror No. 2, which recently premiered at the closing ceremony of AFI Fest. However, Eastwood was reportedly not present at the event as mentioned by lead actors Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette (via Variety).
Many have speculated that his absence might be a reaction to Warner Bros.’ release plan for the film, which seems to be limited to 50 screens on the weekend without an expansion plan. Fans believed that WB was disrespecting the legend with the lackluster release plan.
I’m not suggesting that WB should exist solely to keep this man employed but Eastwood made so much f*cking money for Warner Bros over the last 50+ years and this is how they’re gonna treat potentially his last film ever because they lost half a billion dollars making sh*tty superhero movies. Kinda sucks!
-GenarosBear
Even if this movie’s a total turd, and even if WB wasn’t completely broke, this is insane
-Trick-Paramedic-3736
If this isn’t like an absolute fiasco of a movie, this movie doesn’t make any sense. You know his American Sniper audience is out there!
-sleepyirv01
It feels odd to be rooting for a nonagenarian Hollywood legend like he’s a first-time director trying to his little indie picture off the ground, but here we are.
-ChainsawLeon
I don’t know why any established director would choose to work with WB at this point
-brucespruicekaboose
The film is also speculated to be Eastwood’s final film, as the 94-year-old filmmaker may not have another one in him. However, the actor-director’s work ethic and enthusiasm even at this age might just lead him to go on as long as he can.
Warner Bros. CEO Reportedly Questioned Why Executives Greenlit Cry Macho
Clint Eastwood’s potential final film Juror No. 2 ideally would have been celebrated throughout the country as the swansong of a truly legendary actor-filmmaker who has given his all to cinema. He has made some of Hollywood’s greatest modern classics such as Unforgiven, Letters to Iwo Jima, Million Dollar Baby, and more.
Despite his contributions, and loyalty to Warner Bros. (which has produced most of his work), current CEO David Zaslav allegedly disrespected the legend by asking executives the reason for greenlighting his previous film when they were not sure of its success. Variety reported,
[The] then-newly-minted CEO David Zaslav questioned why ‘Cry Macho’ was made after film leadership conceded that they had doubts the movie could turn a profit. ‘It’s not show friends, it’s show business,’ the exec was quoted.
While Eastwood may not have had a box office hit like his old days and Cry Macho was a flop, with Box Office Mojo reporting a box office collection of $16.5 million, he is still a legacy filmmaker who has given solid films for the studio. A cursory rollout of his latest and potentially final film is a huge disrespect to the legend who has contributed to the industry for decades.
