THE screenwriter of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, recognized as one of the greatest Western movies of all time, has revealed all about the film 30 years on – and how it was almost never made.
Unforgiven scooped four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director [Clint’s first ever Oscar], and Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman as the wicked ‘Little’ Bill Daggett.
Speaking exclusively to The U.S. Sun, writer David Webb Peoples, who also co-wrote Blade Runner, admitted he never expected the 1992 masterpiece to hit screens after almost two decades of attempts.
“I wrote it quickly in 1976 and then I co-wrote Blade Runner, and Ridley Scott had one of his people read Unforgiven and they were receptive to it,” he said.
“It didn’t work out and somehow Francis Ford Coppola saw it, but he failed to get the movie financed.
“Then, it ended up in the hands of Clint, who saw it, but not as a script but as a writing sample.
“He called my agent and, as it happened, that was the very day that Francis dropped the option.
“Even then nothing was certain. At the time, the very obvious reason why the script wasn’t getting interest was because I was a nobody writing a Western, and people didn’t want them at that time.”
David, now 82, refuted the claim that Warner Brothers were uninterested in casting Clint in a Western, in what was deemed as a dying genre.
He insists that if it wasn’t for Clint, then it’s likely the movie wouldn’t have been released.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with putting Clint in a Western in the first place.
“I think the only reason the movie got made and got made the way it was written, was because of Clint Eastwood. He made everything happen.”
Eastwood, the king of spaghetti westerns since the 1960s, decided that adventure would be his last outing as a cowboy.
But the film’s writer revealed that Gene had concerns over its violent content, and was thankful his film was made after years of disappointment and rejection.
The classic Western, set between 1880 and 1881, tells the tale of reformed outlaw William Munny [Eastwood], who sets out to avenge a brutal attack on a prostitute after spending his retiring years farming.
The movie’s star-turn was the performance of Gene Hackman as ‘Little’ Bill.
VIOLENT SCENES
David told The U.S. Sun: “Gene was a revelation and gave a performance that remains one of his greatest.
“Things could have been different. Gene’s daughters didn’t like all the parts that he took in the violent movies he was playing, so he initially turned the role down.
“He was at a stage in his career where his family was more important than his work.
“I understand Clint went out to see him and talked him into changing his mind by convincing him this wasn’t a celebration of violence.
“With Clint having full creative control, we all knew what he said was the reality.
“And God bless Gene he listened to Clint and together they produced something awesome. It is one of the greatest performances ever in a Western.”
Gene’s sinister portrayal won him a hat-trick of accolades in the Best Supporting Actor category, winning a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, as well as an Oscar.
CRITICAL SUCCESS
One famous scene where unlawful lawman Gene toys with ‘English Bob’, played by legendary Irish actor Richard Harris, comes to mind and shows his brilliance in the part.
It’s a scene that David admitted he couldn’t have envisaged it working as well with any other actor in the role.
He said: “I first wrote the scene being very funny. Later, when I would read the script, I was so tired of it and it just seemed boring. I couldn’t get that voice back in my head that was so funny.
“But when I went to see movie, Gene was better than what was inside my head. He was wonderful in that.
“Richard Harris did fine too, but Gene blew me away and I’m so thankful he did the role.”
Unforgiven was Clint’s first Western in seven years after he took a brief hiatus from the genre following the release of Pale Rider in 1985.
Following its success, he vowed never to don a cowboy hat and pair of spurs again.
Not only did Clint star, direct and produce the masterpiece, but he also wrote ‘Claudia’s Theme’, which was the score for the project.
SEQUEL IDEA
David said: “Don’t forget he produced and cast the picture too.
“It’s amazing what he did and I’m in awe of it and really appreciate it. He’s always been a great storyteller.”
The film earned an impressive $160m worldwide at the Box Office on a $14m budget.
Incredibly, David never spent any time on set during the making of Unforgiven, nor did he meet the Dirty Harry star before filming was complete.
However, they spoke to each other on the phone and Clint even asked if he could rewrite a scene, which in the end the Oscar winner never used.
“I didn’t even meet him until after he shot the picture,” he admitted.
“When I saw the movie I was very moved. I had a tremendous emotional commitment to it, but I didn’t think it would be intelligible to an audience.
“This is beautiful, this is my script and it’s just not working! I was close to it emotionally I couldn’t imagine the audience seeing it with the sound mix and everything. It was scary, but he was a very pleasant man. I felt intimidated by him, he’s a giant.”
Unforgiven regularly comes near the top of movie polls when it comes to fans’ votes in favorite films of all time. That recognition and kudos are what pleases David the most.
“The thing that makes anybody who makes movies any good is that people are watching it and liking it,” he confessed.
“If it features on those lists that means people are watching it and that’s really thrilling.”
David says he has considered a sequel: “I did want to write another Western, but unfortunately every time I struggled with it, it began to sound like I was imitating Unforgiven, and I didn’t want that.”
Unforgiven is available on Amazon Prime and HBO Max.