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Oregon’s official movie? Readers nominate flicks starring Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, and more

The movie in question? Buster Keaton’s silent classic, “The General” (1927), which filmed on location in Cottage Grove, and, as the reader claims, “actually wrecked a live steam train on the old Bohemia timber company railway. (Which also was used for the train / railroad in ‘Stand by Me’).”

“The General” is a great movie, Keaton was a genius, so we have absolutely no problem with considering it as a candidate for Oregon’s official film. In case you didn’t know, the film is set during the Civil War, and Keaton plays a Confederate engineer who, as the Turner Classic Movies site says, “fights to save his train and his girlfriend from the Union army.”

Keaton is quoted in the historian Kevin Brownlow’s “The Parade’s Gone By …,” a classic history of silent film, referring to “The General” as “my pet.” Though the story was based on an incident that took place in the south, Keaton turned to Oregon locations, he said, because he needed narrow-gauge railroads, and “in Oregon, the whole state is honeycombed with narrow-gauge railroads for all the lumber mills.”

“The General” was also among the first features named to the first National Film Registry list, a class that included “Intolerance,” “Citizen Kane,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Sunset Blvd.,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Modern Times,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned How to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” among others.

Other reader suggestions for Oregon’s official film are works with fewer laurels. Though many critics praised it, for example, the Western, “The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid” (1972), isn’t widely remembered. Cliff Robertson and Robert Duvall starred in the film, which tells a story focused on the outlaws Jesse James and Cole Younger, and was filmed in southern Oregon locations, including Jacksonville and Gold Hill.

Then there’s “Paint Your Wagon,” a big-budget 1969 musical Western, loosely adapted from a Broadway show with a score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (”My Fair Lady”). Unlike “The Sound of Music,” however, which was also adapted from a Broadway musical, “Paint Your Wagon” featured a cast who were hardly known for their singing ability. And that was just the beginning of the film’s problems.

Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood starred as friends and prospectors in the tale, set during the California Gold Rush. Both fell in love with the same woman, played by “Breathless” star Jean Seberg, or all people. What with Marvin’s attempts at warbling, a soundtrack featuring such tunes as “Hand Me Down That Can o’ Beans,” and a reportedly chaotic production, it was hardly surprising that, despite a then-hefty $20 million budget, “Paint Your Wagon” left critics mostly unenthused.

But, despite all that, “Paint Your Wagon” did film in some of Oregon’s most gorgeous places, including the Wallowa Mountains, and in and around Baker City.

A reader who apparently disagrees with the critics who bludgeoned “The Postman” when it opened in 1997 picked it as a contender for Oregon’s official film. Anybody who pays attention to TV knows that Kevin Costner’s contemporary Western series, “Yellowstone,” is a massive hit. The show, which airs on the Paramount Network and can be streamed at such sites as Philo and Fubo, has made Costner hotter than ever.

Which is good news for him, because after “The Postman,” a post-apocalyptic drama directed by and starring Costner, bombed at the box office, Costner’s career was cold as a snow bank. But again, viewers can admire some central Oregon scenery in the film, so it offers a bit of virtual sightseeing.

Want to watch the movies and decide for yourself? Streaming platforms for “Stand By Me” include Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Paramount +; “Animal House” is streaming on platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and iTunes; “The Postman” is streaming on platforms including Amazon Prime Video and iTunes; “Paint Your Wagon” is streaming on platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV; “The General” is streaming on platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Paramount +; you can stream “The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid” on platforms including Amazon Prime Video.

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Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Reveals Her Favorite Advice He Gave Her

Alison Eastwood is an actress as well one of the daughters of the famed actor and director Clint Eastwood. Getting any type of advice from dear old Dad is a good thing. When it comes to her favorite piece that he gave her, you might think it was acting. She did get the acting bug, too, and did star in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This advice must be about her career, right? Nope. It had to do with the always tough task of living life.

“I guess just not to take [life] too seriously,” Alison Eastwood tells Closer Weekly in an interview from 2019. “He never seemed to take anything too seriously. Maybe that’s not a good thing … I don’t know.” Yet she also would offer up a little more insight which she’s picked up from being around him. “He makes me laugh, I make him laugh,” Alison said. “That’s my favorite part about it. I think just having a lot of laughter, especially in our family, amongst ourselves. We’re all getting older.”

Clint Eastwood Isn’t A Big Fan Of His Birthday, Daughter Alison Says

She also says that Dad isn’t a big fan of his birthday. He would rather be doing something else, like working or playing golf, than celebrating his big day. Still, Clint Eastwood keeps on providing fans with film work as an actor and director. He’s achieved great success and to think he also has a classic TV connection. Of course, Clint does from his days playing Rowdy Yates on Rawhide.

Yet it is in the movies of Eastwood that has really made him a household name. Working in Europe would provide some foundational success thanks to the “Spaghetti Westerns” directed by Sergio Leone. He would play the “Man with No Name” in films like A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. They all would lead Eastwood to then become an iconic police officer as Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry. One time, he talked about A Fistful of Dollars possibly becoming an “absolute disaster.” What in the world does he mean by this? Eastwood told Roger Ebert years ago that the movie’s producers were arguing among themselves. The issue at hand was who would pay the bills to get the movie done. This leads him to say, “It could have been an absolute disaster. But, we got lucky with it. And it turned out Sergio Leone was for real.”

While his record of success and achievement is solid, sometimes Eastwood has to pick and choose between projects. When it came to playing Bruce Willis’ role John McClane in Die Hard, Eastwood did turn it down. Screenwriter Jeb Stuart would say that Eastwood said that he didn’t get the humor in the movie.

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Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Posts Rare Selfie, And Her Fans Are Absolutely Loving It

Earlier this week, Clint Eastwood’s daughter, Francesca Eastwood, took to her Instagram account to share a rare selfie.

The actress, who didn’t write a caption for the post, is seen with a pair of pink lens sunglasses while sitting near a plant. Follows of Clint Eastwood’s daughter gushed over the simple snapshot. “Extraordinarily Beautiful,” one follower declared. “You look gorgeous, so much like your mom,” another added.

Francesca is preparing to film her upcoming action-packed movie, “Live Fast, Die Laughing.” The film follows a broke taxi driver in Vietnam who thinks it is his lucky day when a mysterious offers him a fortune to drive her 1,000 miles from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. While on the road, the duo is pursued by mobsters and an assassin. Written by Timothy Linh Bui and Tim Tori and directed by Bui, Eastwood will star in the film alongside Harvey Keitel. 

Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Francesca Talks Starring in a Western Genre Film 

While promoting her 2016 film “Outlaws and Angels,” Francesca revealed to the Observer that she didn’t speak to her father, Clint Eastwood, about starring in the western genre film.

“I didn’t ask my parents for advice on this one,” Francesca stated about the role. But she did admit that she usually asks her parents but she wanted to do her own thing this time. “So I just ran and did it and talked with them about it later. I wanted to do one on my own, and it felt great.”

Frances Fisher, Francesca’s mother, was also part of the film. However, the duo did not appear in any scenes together. “This is the first time that I was on a film and then she came on after, rather than her being in a film and I join as her baby. I was probably the least experienced actor, and everyone was just so welcoming and really nurturing to that.”

While speaking about working in a desert, Francesca recalled, “It was pretty intense with the heat and the costumes, and we couldn’t wash them because they were supposed to look aged, so after about 3 weeks of being in the same layers it was just gross. It was fun and part of the experience though. Normally if you’re uncomfortable or too hot you go get a water and sit in a trailer, but that was so not the case with this one.”

Francesa went on to note that she and the rest of the cast just dealt with the production’s conditions. “No one really went to the trailers. We just hung out – no texting, Tweeting, Instagramming. I think it made it really special. There were no distractions.”

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Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood: The Wild Story of How He Survived a Plane Crash Into Shark-Infested Waters

Although he is known for his successful Hollywood career, Clint Eastwood’s acting talents were almost never discovered.

According to War History Online, Clint Eastwood actually survived a plane crash in shark-infected waters. This was all during his time in the U.S. Army. The now actor was drafted into the military branch for the Korean War in 1951. He was then sent to Ford Ord, California to complete basic training and where he worked as a swim instructor as well as a bouncer at the NCO club.

While returning to California after a visit with his parents in Seattle, Clint Eastwood flew on a U.S. Navy AD-1Q Skyraider. The airliner was heading to Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California. However, during the flight, Eastwood and pilot Lt. Francis Coleman Anderson’s aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Point Reyes. The duo notably survived because they had access to a life raft and managed to swim in the cold water. 

Clint Eastwood spoke about the incident by stating, “In those days, you could wear your uniform and get a free flight. One the way back, they had one plane, a Douglas AD. Sort of a torpedo bomber of the World War II vintage, and I thought I’d hitch on that. Everything went wrong. Radios went out. Oxygen ran out. And finally, we ran out of fuel up around Point Reyes, California, and went into the ocean. So we went swimming.”

Clint Eastwood further recalled that the event took place in late October or early November and the water was very cold. “Found out many years later that it was a white shark breeding ground, but I’m glad I didn’t know that at the time or I’d have just died,” he noted. 

Clint Eastwood Responds to Whether or Not His Film ‘American Sniper’ Glorified War 

While speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Clint Eastwood discussed his 2014 film “American Sniper” and if the film actually glorifies war. 

“I think it’s nice for veterans,” Clint Eastwood explained. “Because it shows what they go through, and that life — and the wives and families of veterans. It has a great indication of the stresses they are under. And I think that all adds up to kind of an anti-war [message].”

When asked if he considers himself anti-war, Clint Eastwood answered, “Yes. I’ve done war movies because they’re always loaded with drama and conflict. But as far as actual participation … it’s one of those things that should be done with a lot of thought, if it needs to be done. Self-protection is a very important thing for nations, but I just don’t like to see it.”

Clint Eastwood went on to add that he wasn’t a big fan of going to war in Iraq or Afghanistan.

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