Movie Scum

Considering the 84-year-old director has helmed nine films in the past decade, that may not be much of a stretch. But Clint Eastwood isn't going for the gold in a 400 meter dash. Yahoo reports Eastwood is heavily considering a film based on the Centennial Olympic Park bombing that took place in 1996's Olympic Games in Atlanta. So far, Jonah Hill has been cast as Richard Jewell, the security guard who discovered the bomb and later became the top suspect, with Leonardo diCaprio in talks to play his defense attorney. Even if you don't particular like Eastwood as a director (I was ambivalent toward J. Edgar and completely uninterested in Jersey Boys ), you have to admire his stamina. Clint Eastwood is the Hugh Hefner of Hollywood.

Certain movies just scream for attention and Academy Awards because of the pedigree of cast and crew or their subject matter. If you recall, this was my main issue with last year's Best Picture winner The King's Speech . Yet, even though some films have the requisite check marks on the Best Picture to-do list, they fall between the cracks. Such is the case for J. Edgar . Directed by the award-winning Clint Eastwood , starring the award-winning Leonardo DiCaprio , and written by the award-winning Dustin Lance Black , this should have been a shoe-in for every award that Oscar could throw at it. This was not the case as it is a mostly entertaining tale but nothing showcasing great cinema. J. Edgar Hoover undoubtedly is a prominent figure in United States history and it is rather odd that a theatrical feature about his life has only just been made (not counting the appearances in other films or the Treat Williams' TV film). Good or bad, his name still stands upon FBI headqu