Clint Eastwood Brings the Laughs, Charm to 'Jersey Boys' Screening, Backstage at the Tony Awards
Legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood is still on top of his game at 84 — the dapper, witty and sharply dressed movie icon continues to turn up the charm, make people laugh and seize opportunities.
The director of "Million Dollar Baby" and "Jersey Boys," promoted his latest film along with the cast and screenwriters Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice as a part of a press junket at New York's historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which Latin Post attended. Eastwood shared his passion for the project and praised the music and the strong cast that he helped to carefully assemble.
"Somebody said 'would you be interested in reading the script?' They sent me a script and it was by a very good writer and then I found out later after a series of events that wasn't the script of the play ... I said maybe I better look at that. I figured only in Hollywood would someone give you a script on something else when they already have a script that's a hit," he said.
"I went and saw three different versions of it in New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas, and I saw all of these wonderful actors and thought what a nice project it would make, and so I said 'yeah.'"
Eastwood's "big screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of the four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic '60s rock group The Four Seasons. The musical, and now the film, feature classic songs like "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," "Who Loves You," and "Oh, What a Night."
The cast is made up of John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza, and Christopher Walken. All but Walken attended the press screening on Sunday, June 8.
"All of their stuff was great. It was energetic music and it was great fun, certainly superior for that particular time in history," Eastwood added.
Later the same night, Eastwood presented the award for Best Direction of a Musical at the 68th Annual Tony Awards, which went to Darko Tresnjak for "A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder."
He also showed his comedic side there by poking fun at himself, mocking the time in August of 2012, when he raised eyebrows at the Republican National Convention by debating an empty chair standing in for Obama.
He told Access Hollywood at the time: 'I thought it was a good reaction. It was a good reaction because it antagonized some people ... and other people liked it."
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "A Raisin in the Sun" and "All The Way," as well as Bryan Cranston, Neil Patrick Harris, Audra McDonald, were big winners at the Tonys.
Check out the official trailer for Jersey Boys, which hits theaters June 20.
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