Headline November15,2012

CLINT EASTWOOD:''THE WORLD'S NUMBER-ONE-BOX-OFFICE DRAW!''

Clint Eastwood is a movie star in the old sense. Clint Eastwood is a movie star in every sense, who forever, seemed the same in every film, but was not; an Actor who could steal a scene with nothing more than a squint or a curl of the lip.

There's an old joke about Chuck Norris's lack of charisma -when he's on the screen, they say, people start noticing the furniture. With Clint it's the opposite. When he is on the screen it's pretty hard to notice anything else. But more than just his presence and his acting skills, one loves the fact that he's not afraid to take a risk or two, even if it always feels like we are watching a different version of the same man.

It might seem unfair to compare his enduring appeal as a screen icon with his skills as a Director, but I believe it's safe to say that he will not be remembered as a great stylist or for having brought anything particularly new to American cinema. What he has done, however, is craft films with a no-nonsense, straightforward skill; films that are not flashy or showy but always do the job, films that allow actors to shine when engaged with the right screenplay.

After working together on ''Where Eagles Dare'' Sir Richard Burton described him as having a kind of ''dynamic lethargy''.

He seems to be very doing little when he's actually doing a lot, and that's just true of his Directing style. Which, is another reason why, when he does call it a day, the world will truly miss him.

His absence will be very large and deeply felt.

Which leads me to the one word I would think to sum up his career and his movies, if pressed: Total Integrity!

Good Night & God Bless!