Posted on 01/27/2009 4:15:37 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
This year's Oscar story lines have already been etched in stone — Mickey Rourke as the comeback kid, Slumdog Millionaire as the art-house wunderkind, Milk as the timely social commentary (released three weeks after Proposition 8 passed in California).
Yet while the critics have been fussing over wrestlers and Mumbai quiz shows, audiences have been flocking to Gran Torino — an Oscar outcast that's been doing laps around the competition at the box office.
At some point this week, the Clint Eastwood drama will pass the $100 million mark, easily surpassing the box-office receipts brought in by not only some of the Oscar front-runners (Slumdog Millionaire now totals $56 million, Milk $21 million) but also Eastwood's last Oscar winner, Million Dollar Baby.
"It's an amazing story that no one's really talking about," says Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst with Hollywood.com. "For a movie starring a 78-year-old to have a $29 million opening weekend in wide release, and in the process to beat out the likes of Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars, I don't know if I've seen that before ... It's a testament to how people still feel about Clint Eastwood."
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
To my shame I have to admit I have never seen those movies.
The two that he made with the orangutan were rather bad.
That Gauntlet flick had some good lines but otherwise was atrocious.
Clint is great though, and he is another American Treasure!
Roger Ebert has a man crush on any star that can cause Roger to wet his Depends....
You’re right. The Eastwood character was a Korean vet. My husband is a Vietnam vet. He can relate.
Sorry. My wording was confusing.
Clint is the best at one-liners. All the cowboys know when he drops a line like that...it's fixin' to get crazy.
Heartbreak Ridge....man he was good as Tom Highway in that one
Get Jose Wales on that list and Heartbreak Ridge, too.
Saw it tonight with my wife. I think if the Oscar people had any shred of character they would make it Best Picture, but it’s politically-incorrect enough that I understand why those schmucks would ignore it.
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