Clint Eastwood Doesn’t Want to ‘Ruin’ His Filmography by Asking ‘Why the Heck Did I Make This?’

Somebody finally got Clint Eastwood to pause and reflect on his illustrious filmmaking career.

The “Juror #2” director gave a rare, career-spanning interview with “The Sweet East” screenwriter and former Village Voice writer Nick Pinkerton, who is the Editor-at-Large of the Metrograph‘s new biannual print publication, titled “The Metrograph.”

IndieWire can exclusively unveil a sneak peek at the conversation, which is deemed “The Metrograph Interview #1.” The full issue will be available December 10. Additional contributors include Ari Aster, Amalia Ulman, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Steve Martin, Simon Rex, and more.

“It’s not an intellectual sport, it’s an emotional craft,” Eastwood said of his approach to filmmaking. “Sometimes you like a script and want to do it as an actor; sometimes you like a script because you think you’d also want to direct. You get a feeling about certain projects and you want to make sure you get your stamp on them, because if you turn them over to somebody else, they might start seeing things differently.”

He continued, “If you have somebody directing who doesn’t see the material, it’s not much fun. If you’re with a director like Sergio [Leone] or Don [Siegel], that makes it fun. It makes it come out like you hoped it would come out. If you do it yourself and it’s bad, you take the beating; if it’s OK, you get the glory.”

Eastwood’s feature “Unforgiven” is dedicated to his two aforementioned past collaborators, with the tribute reading “For Don and Sergio.”

When asked about his more than half-century-spanning career as a Hollywood staple, both as an actor and a director, Eastwood credited audiences for supporting him, despite any perceived “disappointment” films at times.

“After you get a few films that are reasonably successful, people kind of stick with you. But if you’re grinding out turkeys, they don’t stick with you,” Eastwood, who made his directorial debut in 1971 with indie “Play Misty for Me,” said.

Of his film legacy, Eastwood said, “That would be up to them, to the audiences, to answer. Up to the people on the outside. I just kind of go along. I consider this, again, emotional. It comes upon you. You have a story, you make a movie of it. You have to just go for it. If you think too much about how it happened you might ruin it. I go back and look at films I’ve made, and I could easily ask, ‘Why the heck did I make this?’ I don’t remember! It might have been a long time ago…”

And a few of Eastwood’s successes have been surprise turns.

“When I did […] ‘The Mule,’ I liked the script, but I had no idea of starring in it,” Eastwood admitted. “I thought, ‘That’s just something I’ll direct.’ My gal in the office said, ‘You’ve got to play it.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding.’ I just thought it was a good script and an interesting project. Sometimes you have to listen to what’s going on around you. Good idea. Why not?”

Eastwood was hard-pressed to identify if any of his features were overlooked.

“Maybe? I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it that way,” the auteur said when asked if any of his films didn’t get the due they deserved. “If I’m happy with it, that’s it. As far as if anybody else has a different feeling about it, well that’s theirs. I’m sure I’ve had disappointments. If I did, I wouldn’t dwell on them.”

Guillermo del Toro recently called into question the theatrical rollout for Eastwood‘s “Juror #2,” urging Warner Bros. to leave the feature in theaters for longer. “Juror #2” will be streaming on Warner Bros. Discovery platform Max starting December 20. The critically acclaimed legal thriller received  an extremely limited theatrical release.

“Eastwood is a master filmmaker and the steady, unfussy craft reveals him still in great form,” del Toro wrote in part. “It’s — in some ways — his ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ Go see it on the big screen!”

The Metrograph magazine is now available for pre-order here and will be on shelves in bookstores on December 10. The inaugural issue is priced at $25, or $15 for Metrograph Members with free domestic shipping. The issue will also be available to purchase at Metrograph and from bookstores around the world. To become a Metrograph Member, go here.

Since its founding in 2016, Metrograph has opened beloved theater Metrograph NYC, which also houses a bookstore and The Commissary restaurant, as well as launched distribution company Metrograph Pictures. Metrograph Pictures is led by former Oscilloscope and A24 executive David Laub, who previously announced that Metrograph should target 10 film releases per year with features like “Good One,” “The Black Sea,” “Santosh,” “The Kingdom,” “Gazer,” “April,” and “Miroirs No. 3” among the upcoming slate. Metrograph additionally has an At Home streaming platform and online Journal.