Clint Eastwood half-heartedly defends his RNC chair speech during premiere

Last night was the California premiere of Trouble With the Curve, Clint Eastwood’s latest film. Clint didn’t direct it or anything, he’s just the star. Amy Adams plays his daughter and Justin Timberlake is in there somewhere, and Matthew Lillard and John Goodman have supporting parts too. It looks like a boring movie – to me, at least. But I think a lot of dads might take their daughters to see it. It looks like that kind of movie.

Two funny things happened on the red carpet. One, there were 16 empty chairs lined up on the carpet for the premiere – they were bleacher seats meant as “set dressing” for the premiere, but everyone was like, “Hey, remember when Clint Eastwood went bonkers and yelled at an empty chair at the Republican Convention?” To his credit, Clint laughed about the chairs, and he took questions about his RNC speech, even though (the second funny thing) the studio asked reporters to avoid questions about the RNC speech. On the carpet, Clint also said that he “enjoyed” Bill Hader’s impression of him (Clint) on Saturday Night Live, and Clint said he would still continue to stump for Mitt Romney because “I just think we need a change, that’s all.”

Unfortunately for Clint, he keeps getting questions about the RNC chair thing as he promoted this film. When he was speaking to Extra (you can see the video here), Clint defended his chair-yelling by saying, “If somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re gonna have to take what they get.” Clint also said that Mitt Romney hadn’t asked him directly to speak, saying, “Yeah. Actually, he had some of his people ask.” Ellen DeGeneres also asked Clint about it when he appeared on her show – Clint said he didn’t care about the reaction to his speech, and “It was an interesting reaction actually. The Democrats who were watching thought I was going senile and the Republicans knew I was. It was actually, just trying to enjoy myself along the way.”

Here are some more photos from the premiere. I like Amy’s red dress, I think Timberlake should have worn a suit, and am I the only one who is strangely attracted to Matthew Lillard? I love that dude.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

33 Responses to “Clint Eastwood half-heartedly defends his RNC chair speech during premiere”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Brown says:

    I think this movie looks cute. Will probably Red Box it. But HOW does Justin Timberlake continue getting work?!

    • HME says:

      Seriously!!! I just don’t get it. Friends With Benefits was on one of the movie channels the other day and I couldn’t even get through 10 mins of it. He cannot act!! I remember when there was actually Oscar buzz for him for a while during The Social Network’s run and I couldn’t believe it. Thankfully everyone came to their senses and he didn’t get a nom but still. Everyone always brings up his stints on SNL as some kind of proof he can act but being good on SNL and being a good all round actor are two seperate things. A brilliant actor can go on SNL and completely suck. Plus I noticed last time he was on SNL that one of the reasons (the main imho) he’s good on SNL is because he SINGS on SNL. Last time he hosted I think he sang in almost every sketch. /rant

      • slh says:

        There was no actual Oscar buzz around his performance in The Social Network. That was all hype and PR.

        They promoted that “You know what’s cool?” line as if that was supposed to be memorable, but nobody taled about that. It was always Armie Hammer playing the twins “And there’s two of me” line/scenes.

  2. beyonce's bump says:

    Never got the whole “he’s crazy” rhetoric. It was pretty obvi he was attempting to do some comedic sketch, a failed attempt but still…

    • Raven says:

      I admit it, I never got it either. I thought it was funny. The media really overreacted,though, and, then, so did Clint. I’m glad he’s getting his sense of humor back.

  3. Eve says:

    Amy Adams looks great. Really. Absolutely LOVE her hair here.

    About Timberlake being (more and more, unfortunately) in movies, I’ll say what I’ve already said on Pajiba: I MUST live in an alternate reality where he CANNOT act.

  4. pretty says:

    His face looks like mantis.

  5. TheOriginalKitten says:

    Amy Adams looks amazing.
    I freakin’ love Clint Eastwood. I saw him in another interview and when asked about the chair incident he basically said (paraphrasing here) that the good thing about being his age is that he doesn’t give a sh*t what anybody thinks. He said it in a much more charming Eastwood-esque way though.
    Love him 🙂

    • V4Real says:

      I was not a fan of his antics at the Republican convention but I am still a big Eastwood fan. I love his movies, especially the old westerns so he gets a pass from me.

      • kiki says:

        Gets a pass from me my same reason. Everyone has a right to their opinion as long as it is not bullying or calling for violence. Love this veteran actor and artist. And I am a liberal leaning independent.

    • marie says:

      ha ha, love it and him..

    • Chattycat says:

      I am an all around Clint fan!
      Timberlake gives me the shivers…and not in a good way. Amy looks lovely here, I love the Grecian style dress, though I am not a fan of red (maybe because I can’t do any shade of red and are really envious?) And Lillard reminds me alot of Richard Coyle, and I love Richard Coyle, so maybe I could have it for Lillard as well.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        Clint is untouchable in my eyes.

        Um, I just googled Richard Coyle. He is hot as HELL. IMDB’d him and I’ve never seen him in anything before.

        He is YUMMAY.

      • Chattycat says:

        Oh Kitty, you should here him speak and see him without a shirt on…it just makes for the whole damn package. He is not Fassy, but I think he could be in my top 5…definately in my top 5 european I’d hit it list! 🙂

  6. Ari says:

    Matthew is getting older obviously but yes I would still hit that too. He is such a quirky actor.

    I can still remember him in Hackers! haha

  7. lucy2 says:

    Love that he has a sense of humor about it and himself. It was not a good moment for him, but he’s not out there screaming or crying, or pulling a Palin and blaming the media and feeling victimized. It is what is it, and he doesn’t care whether people liked it or not.

    Amy looks great. Lots of good actors in this, except WTF is Timberlake doing there? He is such a bad, non-actor. It’s such a shame he’s getting roles like this and less famous but more talented people don’t.

  8. serena says:

    Love Clint, he’s just so amazing he can yell at all my empty chairs, I don’t care.

    Gosh..Justin Timberlake.. Why is he STILL an actor?? Someone should let him know that he sucks.

  9. Esmom says:

    I think it’s funny how he’s brushing the incident aside, but wow if I were one of the convention orchestrators, I would be pissed. This was a huge moment for them and I’m sure they expected him to be serious and thoughtful and instead he just treated it as a lark.

    He may have “enjoyed himself” but it seems kind of sad/disrespecful that he doesn’t seem to realize that his enjoyment was not the purpose of his appearance. It worked out well for the Democrats, though!

  10. really says:

    I wish that Ellen had asked him why he supports someone who wants to deny rights to gay people, and belongs to a church/organization that basically condemns them all to hell (Romney, not Eastwood). I don’t mean this sarcastically – it could have been a real conversation instead of tv fluff. I know he’s promoting a movie, but if he’s appearing at political conventions on tv during the same month, then it’s very much fair game (since he only got to speak at the convention because he makes movies). He uses his hollywood clout to have a political voice, so the details of his politics are relevant when he’s trying to promote a movie.

    • EmmaStoneWannabe says:

      Blah. This is not a political blog; your rant is a bit much.

    • mln89 says:

      i totally agree, ellen should have put his senile ass on the spot. eastwood already took pains to publicize the fact that he supports that ignoramus, so he shouldn’t have ANY problem explaining why he’s stumping for someone who’s policies are discriminatory towards gay people like ellen.

      • lindsay says:

        Sounds fair enough. Get some equality up in here.
        Similarly, the Obama supporting celebrities must also be held to the same standard and answer questions on silly talk shows defending why they are supporting a man that ran on an antiwar platform yet approves drone strikes on Pakistan and now moving warships against Libya. Or why they support his re-election when he promised to close Guantanamo directly after his election and has instead approved a $40 million dollar renovation.

        Or you could just have a juice box and take a nap.

      • mln89 says:

        @lindsay- yes! these are TOTALLY comparable situations! foreign policies and war strategies that essentially impact EVERYONE living the in the united states and that at least have some cogent reason for existing in the first place, because they were formulated IN RESPONSE to things like terrorist groups, attacks on u.s. consulates, murders of diplomats, etc are TOTALLY in the same league as DOING AN INTERVIEW WITH ANOTHER AMERICAN CITIZEN who’s basic civil rights are being violated because of discriminatory and ignorant domestic policies championed by the politician you PROUDLY proclaim to support. nefarious, unfair policies that will NEVER EFFECT YOU, because these laws have nothing to do with responding to criminal actions or behavior, like engaging in terrorism or any other similar conduct. no, these policies that your “fave” politician supports, have to do with good old fashioned bigotry and marginalizing people who’s instrinsic homosexuality is deemed socially unacceptable. these scenarios are so much alike! NICE TRY.

        maybe when you’re done sucking on your binky, you could try cracking open book and reading up on false equivalencies. kay?

        i don’t actually agree with some of obama’s war policies , but what does that EVEN have to do with this jerk sitting face to face with this woman, knowing that the candidate and party he stumps for incessantly justify the fact that her marriage is not recognized on a federal level nor in 30 other states and that in 29 states she could be fired simply for being gay ?

      • lindsay says:

        Nice try indeed. I do not support Romney in any way. There is little to no difference between Obama and Romney.

  11. KellyinSeattle says:

    Still love Clint. He does look pretty rough; probably all that smoking. His face needs to be ironed. Yes, I know he’s old. Amy looks fantastic! And why does JT always have to wear jeans? He dresses Jessica up in all sorts of crap and obviously he picks out his own outfits that suck.

  12. Green_Eyes says:

    Not a JT fan, agree never got the whole Oscar buzz for him before. He cannot act. Don’t care for Clint’s politics, but love ALL his movies from acting to directing. He’s just Clint. I love Amy Adams, she’s such a sweetheart & love the dress she is wearing, she’s so adorable… Red was always my favorite color but the last yr I am losing some of that love so not going to comment on color as it may not be fair lol.

    Totally agree Matthew maturing is a good thing.. He looks great. Pretty sad JT shows up looking scruffy, oh wait that’s his normal look (wasn’t he at one time supposed to be a fashion icon)?? Another JT thing I never understood.

  13. EmmaStoneWannabe says:

    Amy Adams is beautiful! Always. ..And JT looks…stupid as usual. He should take cues from his Social Network character – that guy was ballin’.

  14. mln89 says:

    can’t he sit his decrepit, crypt-keeper ass down somewhere and stay out of politics? even he admits his “talking to an empty chair” schtick made him appear senile to democrats and repugs, so why doesn’t he just shut it, drink some metamucil, and watch some matlock or something. he needs to leave political debates to those who have their all their wits about them and enough sense and dignity not to go on t.v. looking like a delusional old fool.

  15. RTR_Girl says:

    I love Clint, his politics AND his movies. The man is talented beyond belief. Well, except in singing…that “Elisa” song he sang in “Paint Your Wagon” was pretty cringeworthy.

  16. babythastarsshinebrite says:

    Whatever.

  17. Elle says:

    Amy Adams looks gorgeous. Such a lovely woman. I find her impossible to not like.

    I don’t agree with Clint’s politics but have nothing against him as an actor.

    Justin Timberlake isn’t in Adams’ league in terms of talent but he’s likeable which is why he gets roles.

    Amy’s look here reminds me of those famous pictures of Lois Lane in the Superman cape brw. She’s so lovely.

    Movie looks cute. Probably a nice break for Amy compared to the crazy Lady Macbeth she played in The Master!

  18. dooliloo says:

    J. Timberlake for the love of whatever God… you SUCK at acting!!!!
    I must be living in a Matrix… dude keeps getting roles one after the other… how how how???