Michael Moore confirms: Clint Eastwood threatened to kill me at an awards dinner

[ErikJ]

29 JAN 2015

Filmmaker Michael Moore confirmed a long-standing story in a post on his Facebook page, saying colleague Clint Eastwood threatened his life in January 2005.

“Ten years ago this past week, Clint Eastwood stood in front of the National Board of Review awards dinner and announced to me and to the crowd that he would ‘kill’ me if I ever came to his house with my camera for an interview,” Moore wrote. “‘I’ll kill you,’ he declared.”

The Washington Examiner reported at the time that Eastwood, who was being honored for his film Million Dollar Baby, slammed Moore for his on-camera confrontation with then-National Rifle Association president Charleton Heston in his documentary Bowling With Columbine.


“Michael Moore and I actually have a lot in common,” Eastwood said from the stage. “We both appreciate living in a country where there’s free expression. But, Michael, if you ever show up at my front door with a camera, I’ll kill you.”

Moore corroborated the Examiner‘s story, saying that he laughed nervously along with the rest of the audience, thinking Eastwood was making a joke.

“Having just experienced a half-dozen assaults in the previous year from crazies upset at Fahrenheit 9/11 and my anti-war Oscar speech, plus the attempt by a right wing extremist to blow up my house (he was caught in time and went to prison), I was a bit stunned to hear Eastwood, out of the blue, make such a violent statement,” Moore wrote.

However, he stated, the audience’s mood changed when Eastwood repeated the threat, saying, “I mean it. I’ll shoot you.”

...........clip

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/michael-moore-confirms-clint-eastwood-threatened-to-kill-me-at-an-awards-dinner/

[NYC_SKP]

1. Moore would do well to just stay away, then.

Crazy old men do crazy old things.

[cstanleytech]

7. Agreed. After all its risky going to the house of a guy who talks to empty chairs. nt

[MADem]

4. Vaguely reminiscent of a Family Guy plot....

[pa28]

3. Yes he did. There was even a DU thread about it at the time.

I'm a big fan. Still, what an asshole thing to say.

[sabrina 1]

12. Eastwood is a Republican. Gung ho, 'patriot' like Ronald Reagan, he is being used to promote the War

Machine. Too bad Ronnie sort of wasted that role.

Otherwise, General Electric would be running Clint's Campaign and we would be stuck with another Hollywood 'actor' in the WH.

[AtomicKitten]

5. Clint Eastwood lost his shit a while ago.

He divorced his wife, Dina, after some 17 years of marriage and started keeping company with the rightwing. Reminds me of Dennis Miller's descent into horribleness.

[C Moon]

9. I was shocked by Dennis Miller...although, I didn't care much for his show in the 90's anyway. :)

[merrily]

10. Nothing says "funny" like spewing bile.

[Go Vols]

6. In my experience

people that make such a threat seldom carry thru.

If Clint said this,it is conspiracy to murder?

[KingCharlemagne]

17. It's sort of like Palin publishing that website with gunsights on various

Democrats' names. There are plenty of nuts out there with access to firearms who see this as greenlighting an attack "to save the nation" (or some such malarkey).

It's not difficult to see this as incitement to (stochastic) violence, i.e., bumping right up against a long-standing limit to the First Amendment right to free speech. (The right to free speech does not give anyone the right to threaten imminent violence. The fact that Eastwood couched his threat in conditional terms -- If . . . then -- keeps him within the First Amendment but just barely, imo.)

Moore is absolutely right to have armed guards protecting him at all times. In fact, I've read somewhere that Moore employs former Navy SEALS for his guards.

[merrily]

8. I like Moore, but I don't think Eastwood would threaten him in front of a crowd if he was serious.

We've seen the empty chair routine and so we've gotten a glimpse of what Eastwood thinks will go over big in front of a crowd in real life.

But, kudos to Moore to speaking out on subjects that need ventilating, knowing that the RW can be dangerous (even if Eastwood is not out to kill him).

Clint, stick to movies. IRL, you just embarrass yourself and those you are trying to help

Michael, just stay off his lawn anyway.

[C Moon]

11. I'm not liking Eastwood's politics (of course), but I think Moore is being oversensitive here.

It's obviously a celebrity roast kind of joke.

[sabrina 1]

13. Moore didn't initiate the story, he is verifying it. Eastwood is a Hollywood Republican, like Reagan

Republicans like their 'fantasy heroes'. Problem with Clint is, he actually thinks he really is 'Dirty Harry'. I guess acting for so long can confuse a person. See Ronnie again.

What is laughable is how the Right accuses the Left of being 'Hollywood Commies'. While THEY have enlisted more ACTORS into politics that the Left, that I recall.

[Lint Head]

14. Father Time will soon make Eastwood's day.

[DeSwiss]

15. K&R

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. Moore should show up with Joe Pesci.

[stevenleser]

30. Yes! "What's so funny about that joke? Are you talkin' to me? To my guy Mikey here???..."

"... is Mikey a clown? Does he amuse you?"

[JustAnotherGen]

33. awwww uh um er . . .

[URL=http://gifsoup.com/view/1168729/goodfellas-henry-laugh.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://gifsoup.com]GIFSoup[/URL]

[Cha]

18. Charming. Violent talking man who ended up talking to an empty Angry Chair at his mittload's

rnconference.. how'd that work out for ya, Clint?

He's made good movies but he has this idiot side that won't be denied.

[StrictlyRockers]

21. The cringe-factor was so real there.

I remember some reaction shots of Republicans looking aghast at his rambling diatribe to an empty chair.

[Cha]

22. LOL.. I read that as "crime" factor @ first. I was hoping mitt was enjoying it in the wings or

wherever they had him perched.

We were loving it! When I heard Clint was going to be there I was concerned that a lot of Indies would fall for Mr Chrysler-Super Bowl Eastwood. He actually did give America a gift .. he just didn't know it.

[hfojvt]

19. Well that's not a threat

not unless you cross the line.

I thought the Heston scene was one of the low points of Bowling.

Watching that old man shuffle away from Moore in his own house just made Moore look like an a$$hole.

[RandiFan1290]

23. Just like the good old days

Moore was right and it REALLY makes you guys mad

[reddread]

24. I am not pleased with his treatment of Heston

That was poorly executed and badly timed.
opportunistic exploitation that served the message poorly.
people who can see that are not automatically right wing.
although the overwhelming majority of kneejerk Moore bashers
MOST DEFINITELY are.

[Triana]

20. Eastwood is a disturbed lunatic

sad to say.

[reddread]

25. Eastwood is a jazz fanatic

and according to local lore a very big animal lover.
I think it is too easy to simplify his motives or outlook.
considering what passes for news reporting these days,
being outraged by yet another NSA friendly box office product seems peculiar.
I wont be seeing the movie, but I may have to watch
the empty chair act someday.

Clearly, he may have been deeply offended by Moore's tactics with Heston.
I think that is absolutely understandable.

[Triana]

27. Anyone who talks to empty chairs as political speech is...

...well - a little off his rocker, IMO. If that was some sort of movie role I could see it but..well what I was disturbing. And not just to me. Millions found it strange, to say the least. Then, threatening Michael Moore's life? Seriously? I'm not concerned with Moore's "tactics with Heston". I AM VERY concerned with the NRA's tactics with what is supposed to be OUR government. And with their indifference and absolute lack of conscience when it comes to needless and preventable killing and death. And then Eastwood threatens to kill Moore. The same guy who was talking to the empty chair as political speech.

And I'm supposed to feel all this is A-OK because the guy likes jazz and animals?



Ummm. NO.

[reddread]

29. you have the order reversed

for all the difference that makes.
Because I perceive a few circumstantial elements rather than proceeding straight to two minute hate
does not mean I am pro-NRA or any sort of weapons proliferation or violence.
I wasnt clear enough, I simply suspect there is some substance between Eastwood's ears, and his opinions
might not be simple-minded or easily sussed. I can see exactly why he might have been offended if Heston was a friend.

look at all the hate Jay Leno elicits around here?
either Democrats dont know their own, or right wing trolls cant hide their contempt.
Moore certainly has that effect.

[Triana]

31. Tx for the explanation. I understand. n/t

[raouldukelives]

32. Yeah, I wonder if he doesn't recall all his past movie roles as reality at this point.

"I cleaned up the streets of San Francisco and lost a leg in the civil war!"

[Dont call me Shirley]

26. Clint always had a violent bent. He's a tool of the war makers.

[lonestarnot]

28. Old dried up leather senile trigger squeezer has a shotgun in every room of the house, empty paper

bag.