Clint Eastwood Buying Unforgiven Was A Roll Of The Dice For Writer David Peoples

Clint Eastwood's vast filmography is filled with classics, but some films in his history of work could be considered low-effort misses. While the director has shown his impressive skills in films like "Million Dollar Baby" — which won him an academy award for directing — there are also films like "Cry Macho," which feel much less revelatory and groundbreaking than some of his other work. While I wouldn't necessarily call the legendary actor and director "hit or miss," there's always a chance for any filmmaker to make a misfire, whether the story isn't compelling or some other bump in production lessens the film's quality. 

David Peoples, who wrote the script for "Unforgiven," felt a level of uncertainty about Eastwood's adaptation of his story. Originally titled "The William Munny Killings" when Peoples first wrote it, the screenwriter already had scripts such as "Blade Runner" and "The Day After Trinity" under his belt. Peoples was familiar with Eastwood's work, and upon the director's purchase of his script, he saw the potential film as either being deeply about the story at hand or a film that was made for the sake of box office revenue. Unbeknownst to Peoples, the gamble he believed he was taking with the actor/director would end up becoming both a critical and financial success.

In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment in honor of the film's 30th anniversary, Peoples expressed his opinion on Clint Eastwood, describing the director's approach to filmmaking in two different ways:

"I really began to be a huge fan of his when I saw 'Bronco Billy' in 1980. That's an absolutely wonderful film, and Clint gives a superb performance in it. So I was aware that he was a really good storyteller, and I began to notice that he made movies where he was a big star and made a lot of money, and then he would also make a movie where he just wanted to tell a story."

Peoples' view of Eastwood is a very simplified way to look at a director's way of making a movie. His view is also not necessarily true, as films can both focus on the story and make money. However, in Peoples' mind at the time, Eastwood working on the film felt like a roll of the dice:

"When he bought 'Unforgiven,' I hoped I would get the terrific Clint Eastwood because there were some Clint Eastwood movies I didn't love. I thought, 'Well, I hope he does something good,' but there are never any guarantees in the movie business."

Despite Peoples' doubts, "Unforgiven" would turn into a compelling Western that subverts expectations while telling an intimate story, along with being a box office success. The film was the best opening weekend for Eastwood at the time and was critically successful. The four academy awards "Unforgiven" earned speak for themselves. Winning Best Picture and Best Director, it seems that Eastwood unintentionally disproved every concern Peoples had about him.