Clint Eastwood Returns to USMC Base, Screens New Film for Marines
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood held an early screening of his new film “Richard Jewell” for U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton in southern California earlier this month.
“It’s changed so much. The base has gotten huge,” the actor and director said in an interview with a Marine at the base. “It was nice then and it’s nice now.”
Eastwood said the last time he was at Camp Pendleton was during the filming of his 1986 film “Heartbreak Ridge.”
“We get to thank Navy Motion Pictures for bringing back Gunny Highway,” the Marine who introduced Eastwood for the film screening said.
The Marine was referring to the character that Eastwood played in “Heartbreak Ridge,” a Marine named Sgt. Thomas “Gunny” Highway.
Eastwood’s new film, “Richard Jewell,” is based on a true story about title character Richard Jewell’s attempts to save lives during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as American Military News reported.
It shows Jewell’s efforts and his struggle with the media, whose initial reporting suggested he was involved in a bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park.
“It’s a great story about one man who stood by his principles, stood by his rights. And you never know by his actions who he could have saved,” the Marine introducing Eastwood said.
The Marine said Jewell’s actions might have saved his own parents, who were in Atlanta when the bombing happened.
Eastwood signed autographs for Marines and sailors after the screening.
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“It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” a man could be heard saying in a video of Eastwood’s brief meet-and-greet with service members.
“[It was] a great experience to be able to be so close to an iconic figure,” Juan Martinez, a Marine on the base, told KSWB.
Eastwood said he had a great appreciation for the Marine Corps.
“I see this and I’m proud that I got a chance to play a Marine,” Eastwood said as he toured the camp, KSWB reported. “Even though I’m not qualified to be a Marine at this present time.”
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