Clint Eastwood Says Interview With Austrian Newspaper Criticizing Hollywood "Is Entirely Phony"

Clint Eastwood claims recently published comments in his name criticizing Hollywood are “entirely phony.”

Austrian newspaper Kurier published what was believed to be an interview with Eastwood where he allegedly criticized Hollywood for its lack of originality while also revealing he was working on a new film.

Kurier claimed Eastwood told them, “I long for the good old days when screenwriters wrote movies like 'Casablanca' in small bungalows on the studio lot. When everyone had a new idea.”

“We live in an era of remakes and franchises,” he continued. “I've shot sequels three times, but I haven't been interested in that for a long while. My philosophy is: do something new or stay at home.”

He noted this philosophy was instilled in him while he was in the old studio system, “As an actor, I was still under contract with a studio, was in the old system, and thus forced to learn something new every year. And that's why I'll work as long as I can still learn something, or until I'm truly senile.”

The outlet went on to claim he was already in pre-production on his next film and he was setting the bar high for it, “There's no reason why a man can't get better with age. And I have much more experience today. Sure, there are directors who lose their touch at a certain age, but I'm not one of them.”

READ: Report: James Gunn's 'Superman' Budget Clocks In At $225 Million

However, Eastwood informed Deadline these comments are fake.

He said, “A couple of items about me have recently shown up in the news. I thought I would set the record straight. I can confirm I’ve turned 95. I can also confirm that I never gave an interview to an Austrian publication called Kurier, or any other writer in recent weeks, and that the interview is entirely phony.”

What do you make of Eastwood calling the interview comments phony?

NEXT: James Cameron To Adapt Joe Abercrombie's "The Devils" For Film Adaptation