Hell froze over in 1972 when Clint Eastwood directed 22 takes of the same scene: “I know you’re gonna hate me”
Everyone has their own idea of what hell freezing over would actually look like, and when it comes to Hollywood, Clint Eastwood directing almost two dozen takes of the same scene is one of them.
This is a filmmaker who could barely bring himself to give his actors three attempts at delivering their lines, with Matt Damon making the mistake of asking if he could be the recipient of one of those mythical third takes, only to be shut down in short order.
Judi Dench, one of the greatest actors of her generation, had waited her entire life to get the call from Eastwood to appear in one of his pictures, and even she was shellshocked by the speed at which he moved through each setup, never allowing her any more than two, not that it mattered when she’s that good.
That’s the way he’s operated since the very beginning of his directorial career, with the very first scene of his debut feature, Play Misty for Me, having three days allotted in the schedule, but the first-timer only needed one to get it in the can. With that in mind, 22 takes does nothing but boggle the fucking mind.
The four-time Academy Award winner’s economy has always been one of his defining traits behind the camera, and two is almost always enough. Requiring ten times as many sounds preposterous, given Eastwood’s reputation, but he must have been in an especially forgiving mood in the summer of 1972 when capturing his sophomore flick, High Plains Drifter.
Verna Bloom, who played Sarah Belding opposite the leading man and director’s taciturn stranger, vividly recalled one of her scene partners struggling with a lengthy monologue. Perhaps to preserve their identity and save them from ridicule, she didn’t disclose their name, but did disclose what they did.
When it came time for the unnamed actor’s close-up, he kept shitting the bed. Not just once, or twice, but 21 times. Knowing Eastwood’s no-frills reputation, you’d think he’d have the offending thespian dragged around the back and shot for wasting his and the crew’s time, but he was shockingly calm about a once-in-a-lifetime situation that would never be repeated on any of his sets.
According to Bloom, after take number 22, the leading man and filmmaker finally had enough coverage to move on, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. However, to her amazement, her co-star wanted one more. “Clint, I know you’re gonna hate me, but I just can’t help it,” they asked. “Can I have just one more?”
Unsurprisingly, it was a no from Eastwood, but Bloom admired the man’s nerve nonetheless. Convincing him to persevere with 22 attempts at the same scene was bad enough, but asking for a 23rd? That’s just fucking madness, and maybe that was the moment that permanently convinced him two is more than enough.
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