“I put it in a drawer for 10 years”: Clint Eastwood Nearly Blew His Chance to Direct His $159M Oscar Winning Movie That Was Almost Snatched by The Godfather Director

Now and then rare films often breathe life into the mundane genre of movies and dig out a bold and unexpected direction. Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is one such movie that not only broke the Western stereotype but also reinvented the genre. However, surprisingly, Eastwood almost lost his chance to serve up a slice of his reality, to The Godfather director.

Although Clint Eastwood’s direction and performance enhance the experience of watching Unforgiven, the director initially lost the script to Francis Ford Coppola. Sold off to the Apocalypse Now director, the script later made its way to Eastwood, somewhere in the early eighties. However, the Oscar-winning director waited a decade to dive into the project.

Clint Eastwood Almost Lost Unforgiven To Another Director 

Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is one of those movies that truly inspires screenwriters and filmmakers around the world. Known for changing the landscape of Western movies, the film is hailed by critics and audiences, through generations. However, universally recognized as a masterpiece, the project almost went out of Eastwood’s hands.

Apparently, the script for Eastwood’s Unforgiven was written way back in 1976. Later on, it was sold off to director Francis Ford Coppola of The Godfather. Given his fame and penchant for unique projects, the script was initially went to Coppola. That’s when Clint Eastwood nearly missed out on his opportunity to direct his masterpiece.

However, sometime in the early to mid-1980s, Francis Ford Coppola passed on making the film as he failed to raise the money to develop the movie. That’s when Eastwood purchased the script to turn it into his groundbreaking masterpiece. But despite acquiring the screenplay, Clint Eastwood followed Coppola’s footprints and didn’t immediately turn it into a movie.

Clint Eastwood Waited A Decade To Make Unforgiven

Getting hold of his Unforgiven

 script, Clint Eastwood waited long enough to have a grip on the storyline. Sitting on the project for nearly a decade, Eastwood finally started working, despite being told that the story was complete trash. Well, although Unforgiven is widely regarded as one of the best movies of all time, it was initially predicted to be a flop when Eastwood started working.

“A lot of people said, ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be a cowboy actor.’ But I want to mix it up.” Clint Eastwood began explaining what he went through when he purchased the script. Thus, he decided to wait for a while and let the criticism subside. Thereafter, Eastwood started his journey of directing Unforgiven after ten years of purchasing the script from Francis Ford Coppola.

“I guess that’s why when I got [the script for] “Unforgiven” in the early ’80s I put it in a drawer for 10 years, I’d done a bunch of Westerns, I thought I should do some other things first. Then 10 years later I picked it up and re-read it and it felt fresh.”

Eventually, Clint Eastwood redefined the Western film by breaking down conventions and influencing a new wave of the genre in the nineties, with Unforgiven. The movie later made its way to the silver screen in 1992 and earned a staggering $159M at the box office. The movie garnered positive reviews and even achieved a 96% RT rating. Not just that, the movie even went to the Oscars and won its way to the top.