Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood was at the centre of a firestorm Thursday over his latest movie depicting a reporter trading sex for stories — prompting legal threats over the “shocking” and “untrue” portrayal from her real-life newspaper.
‘Richard Jewell’ dramatises the story of the innocent man who found himself targeted in a devastating media frenzy following a deadly blast at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Jewell was initially hailed as a hero after he spotted the pipe bomb but was soon identified by journalists including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Kathy Scruggs as an FBI suspect.
Scruggs, portrayed by Olivia Wilde, is depicted in the movie trading sex with an FBI agent in exchange for learning the suspect’s identity.
“The portrayal of our reporter is shocking, untrue and an obvious Hollywood trope,” editor Kevin G Riley said.
“The film commits the very sin that it purports to accuse the media of. It literally makes things up in telling the story.”
Never arrested or charged, Jewell was cleared by the FBI after 88 days. But TV networks camped outside his home for the duration, hounding Jewell and his family.
He became the subject of wild speculation and ridicule.
Cox Enterprises, the newspaper’s owner, on Monday sent a letter to Eastwood and Warner Bros demanding it release a public statement stating “some events were imagined for dramatic purposes.”
The letter says the paper and its staff are “portrayed in a false and defamatory manner.”
It is not the first time critics have raised eyebrows at the movies of 89-year-old Eastwood, who won Oscars for directing ‘Unforgiven’ (1992) and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2004).
‘Gran Torino’ (2018) and ‘The Mule’ (2008) were criticised for the frequent racial epithets spoken by their lead characters — both Korean War veterans played by the director himself — while ‘American Sniper’ (2014) was dismissed by some critics as jingoistic propaganda.
Warner Bros has responded to the ‘Richard Jewell’ letter with a statement insisting the film is based on “a wide range of highly credible source material.”
It is “unfortunate and the ultimate irony that the Atlanta Journal Constitution, having been a part of the rush to judgment of Richard Jewell, is now trying to malign our filmmakers and cast,” it says.
“The AJC’s claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend against them,” the statement concludes. The film does not have a UAE release date yet. Watch the trailer below:
