Fun Faux Pas: Clint Eastwood Denies Austrian Newspaper's Alleged Interview Fabrication
Eastwood Fends Off Alleged Falsified Interview in Austria
In the spirit of Clint Eastwood's 95th birthday celebration, the Austrian Kurier published an interview that's left quite the stir. But the Hollywood legend himself is shaking his head and saying, "Sorry, pal. I didn't spill the beans to you."
Now, here's where it gets interesting. The old west-spinning icon claimed that he never gave an interview to the magazine or any journalist in recent weeks. The actor admitted he's made his home on the movie sets, not in past interviews.
His statement was echoed across several media platforms including Deadline.com. But here's the twist: the virtual smoke isn't coming from a mythical hadal fire in this case, no no, it’s coming from the fact-checking department.
A deep dive revealed that the quotes in the Kurier article weren't dreamt up by any magical imaginary scribe. Instead, they were carefully selected snippets from a collection of 14 interviews Eastwood had with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) over the years[1][2]. While Eastwood didn't sit down for a fresh gabfest with the Kurier, the quotes were real, but pieced together from old interviews.
Reuters and other outlets swifty withdrew their stories about the Kurier article based on concerns about its presentation[1][2]. But not dead yet, the Kurier team has marked the article as "currently under review" because, hey, international time zones can play tricks on us all, right?
This quivering-knees situation isn't the first of its kind. Once upon a time, reporters like Claas Relotius and Ingo Mocek were caught fabricating interviews, creating wildly inaccurate reports, and inflating tabloid fodder, leaving trust and credibility crushed in their wake[1][2][3]. Alas, in the whirlwind of Hollywood, it seems the mystery shall endure.
- Hollywood
- Cinema
- Interviews
- Austria
- Clint Eastwood
[1] Reuters. (2023). Clint Eastwood Disputes Austrian Magazine's Alleged Interview. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/entertainment-news/article/us-global-clint-eastwood-kurier-interview-idUSKCN2SN2JY
[2] Associated Press. (2023). Austrian Newspaper Defends Quotes in Controversial Interview with Clint Eastwood. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/austria-entertainment-clint-eastwood-journalism-7fb628d20dfa6a32ba5bc51553fec571
[3] BBC News. (2018). Spiegel Reporter Resigns over Fabricated Reports. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45989973
I'm not going to be able to share an entertaining conversation with you, as it seems the quotes attributed to Clint Eastwood in the recent Austrian Kurier interview were pieced together from old interviews, not a fresh one. Despite the initial stir caused by the article, it appears the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is not responsible for a recent interview with Clint Eastwood, as he affirmed he has been focusing on cinema sets instead of giving interviews.
