On September 3, 2001, Pauline Kael died and Clint Eastwood lost his sworn enemy

This article is taken from Figaro Special Edition “Clint Eastwood, the last of the Giants”.

On September 3, 2001, the critic Pauline Kael died, whose column in New Yorker had been, from 1968 to 1991, the terror of Hollywood. She summed up her cinema in four words, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and declared herself the sworn enemy of Clint Eastwood, in whom she saw the king of these films in which violence and insipid romance were the only driving forces.

Clint had always done everything to seduce the press. From his early days as a provincial, he said: “ I’m going to give them my Gary Cooper. » He talked about diet, played the happy husband. With the success, he attached a lot of importance to criticism to get out of the B series. Warner increased the number of previews and press cocktails. Over time, some became less severe. Not Pauline Kael. Clint couldn’t take a step without her seeing a ” fascist potential ». The inspector…