Hollywood filmmakers tend to walk a very fine line between representation and misrepresentation (which can end up turning into borderline racism in the blink of an eye) when it comes to war dramas or adapting history into films. So, when one of the most fabled industry icons seemingly tripped the said fine line, he faced harsh admonitions from a rather esteemed director in the business. And so began Eastwood’s feud with Spike Lee.
Clint Eastwood Butted Heads With Spike Lee
One of Hollywood’s most legendary and prolific filmmakers, Clint Eastwood is renowned for his remarkable repertoire of Western ventures, action flicks, and war dramas. But some of his projects seem to have gained him more trouble and controversy than fame, or so it seems.
When Eastwood released two war pieces exploring a theme of World War II which served as a colossal turning point in global history, the 93-year-old found himself clashing with another celebrated director, Spike Lee.
Despite Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima earning Oscar nominations with the latter even winning one, Lee, 66, berated Eastwood for “omitting” the Black soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima. While historians recounted roughly 700-900 Black enlisted men who were a part of the fight, the Gran Torino director argued that they didn’t actually raise the flag at the time.
“This guy’s lost his mind,” Eastwood said of the Malcolm X director in light of the same, accusing him of not getting his facts straight. “A guy like that should shut his face,” he added. And well, it didn’t take long for their bitterness to spread like wildfire after that.
“First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either,” Lee, 66, fired back at the Hollywood legend in an interview with ABC News claiming that his comments just made him sound like “an angry old man.”
And things only took a turn for the worse thereafter. Enter their knight in shining armor, Steven Spielberg.
How Steven Spielberg Doused Their Nasty Feud
When their conflict ended up escalating a little too much, Lee, who is the proud owner of 2 Academy Awards out of 6 nominations, found himself wanting to declare a ceasefire. So, he approached the Jurassic Park director who doubled as a great friend of Eastwood.
Meeting Spielberg, 76, at 2008’s NBA Playoffs, the BlacKkKlansman director urged him to clear the air between him and Eastwood, eager to put an end to their dispute. “I said, ‘Steven, it’s over with Clint Eastwood,’” Lee recalled. “Steven laughed and said, ‘I’ll call Clint and tell him in the morning.’ I said, ‘It’s over!’”
And Spielberg did indeed act as their mediator, bringing a swift conclusion to their squabble, as Lee himself confirmed in an interview. “That thing with Clint was overblown, and that stuff was squashed. We’re cool,” he remarked. “We never talked, but I talked to Spielberg, and Spielberg talked to him.”
Eastwood and Spielberg have worked together on numerous occasions, including the 2006 war films Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Both movies are available for renting/buying on Apple TV+.