Scott Eastwood says an unnamed Hollywood director abandoned a film after an investor had already spent money preparing the production.
During a June 26 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Eastwood criticized what he viewed as a serious failure of professional accountability.
“We started working on a film with a director,” Eastwood explained. He said the director withdrew after money had been spent because they no longer wanted to continue the collaboration.
Rogan pressed Eastwood for more information and offered him the opportunity to say the person’s name with the understanding that it could be edited from the final episode. Eastwood declined and continued speaking only in general terms.
The Director Reportedly Left During Preproduction
Eastwood introduced the story while discussing what he sees as a lack of accountability among people who have experienced celebrity treatment for too long. “I just worked with somebody and, without saying any names, people get too famous for too long and think the world owes them something,” he said.
According to Eastwood, the project had already entered preproduction when the unidentified director decided they no longer wanted to work with another person involved in the movie.
Eastwood said he believed leaving the project created an obligation to reimburse the person who financed its early development. He told the director that the money already invested should be returned. The person allegedly refused and walked away.
Eastwood characterized that response as unacceptable. “It’s black and white. Do the right thing,” he said before adding, “Don’t be a piece of s—.”
He Said Hollywood Allows Conduct Other Industries Would Reject
Eastwood argued that celebrity status can protect people from consequences that would be expected in more conventional workplaces. “I’ve seen some behavior in this business that is shocking,” he said, adding that similar conduct would not be accepted in other industries.
The actor acknowledged that he still loves filmmaking and the ability to move an audience through storytelling. He distinguished that creative work from the fame-driven side of Hollywood, which he described as considerably less appealing.
Eastwood was promoting his new film Lucky Strike during the episode. His credits also include Fury, Suicide Squad, The Fate of the Furious, Snowden and Regretting You.
Clint Eastwood Became His Professional Counterexample
Eastwood contrasted the reported dispute with the work ethic he learned from his father, actor and director Clint Eastwood. He described the elder Eastwood as a “put-your-boots-on, go-to-work man” who approached filmmaking as a profession rather than a source of celebrity privilege.
According to Scott, his father expected performers to arrive prepared, understand their work and leave personal problems away from the set. Scott appeared in several films directed by his father, including Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Torino and Invictus.
He said that example shaped his belief that filmmaking requires the same reliability and accountability expected in any other job, even when the people involved are famous.