Readers React to Clint Eastwood J. Edgar Comments

Wall Street Journal contributor Michael Judge is the latest journalist to make the pilgrimage to Carmel, California to chat with former mayor Clint Eastwood. He does a nice job of painting the picture of what it’s like to sit down with the 80-year-old Hollywood icon on the actor’s home turf.

In the comments section, several readers debate Eastwood’s declaration that his upcoming biopic of J. Edgar Hoover starring Leonardo DiCaprio will not really address allegations that the FBI chief was a closeted homosexual and cross-dresser. While some comments reflect disappointment and surprise that this would be the case with a screenplay written by Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black (Milk), others like Sally Wilson applaud the non-salacious focus:

Many years ago my spouse pleaded with Richard Pryor concerning a planned biographical film on the legendary Charlie Parker. To make his point he sent Pryor a tape of varied musicians of the thirties and forties to show… that the curse of drugs and racism though existent in Parker’s life was not the essence of his genius and his demons. Pryor did not produce the story.

It was left to the laconic Eastwood to direct the magnificent drama Bird… Hopefully he will similarily handle the Hoover tale without all the trite and distracting details we all carry in living out our days.

Eastwood, who is about to start shooting the Warner Bros. film, also told Judge he read all the source material used by Black and got a personal tour of FBI headquarters in D.C.

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