It’s not easy being 94 and directing a film. Not everyone can be Manoel de Oliveira. In Hollywood, there aren’t many, if any, nonagenarian filmmakers, with the exception of Clint Eastwood, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the legendary director faced age-related challenges getting “Juror #2” to the screen
A Vulture piece interviews actor Phil Biedron, who appears in a supporting role as one of the jurors in the film, and he says that there were at least three days when the cast and crew reported to set only to be told “We’re not filming today” as a result of Eastwood’s unspecified “health issues,” requiring him to seek medical treatment.
Biedron, who calls Eastwood the most “generous” filmmaker he’s ever worked with, admits asking himself during the shoot if “‘Clint [had] the power to keep his production running and get finished?’ Because he’s at an age where it’s like, Will he make it to the end of this movie?”
Time will tell if “Juror #2” is indeed Eastwood’s “final film,” which is how it’s being marketed, but rumors persist that he might try to make another one very soon. Whether this next project is with Warner Bros is a whole other story, but the modestly budgeted ‘Juror’ has been making good money for the studio overseas, especially in France.