CineMontage

July/August 2014

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26 CINEMONTAGE / JUL-AUG 14 by Peter Tonguette portraits by Martin Cohen T he name Clint Eastwood might first bring to mind the many characters he inhabited as an actor — Rowdy Yates, the Man with No Name, Dirty Harry Callahan and the like. It might also evoke his work as a director. Since helming Play Misty for Me in 1971, he has kept up the habit, making 30-odd feature films and coming away with Oscars for his handiwork on Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). The odds are that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences isn't done with him yet. But would the name also elicit the work of a music man? It should. Eastwood has played jazz piano for years, composed scores for several of his films, and made musicians the center of several others. In 1982, he starred as a traveling singer in his underrated film Honkytonk Man, while in 1988 he oversaw Forest Whitaker's brilliant performance as Charlie "Bird" Parker in one of his most critically acclaimed pictures, Bird. This summer, the debut of his latest film emphasizes the music-appreciation side of Eastwood as never before. Jersey Boys is a filmic realization of the Tony Award-winning musical that tails 1960s singing sensations the Four Seasons as they find their way to pop immortality. The film — its soundtrack shows off "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Rag Doll," among many others — was released by Warner Bros. Pictures June 20. Supervising music editor Chris McGeary, MPSE, has worked with Eastwood since 2008 — a run of films that includes Gran Torino (2008), Hereafter (2010) and J. Edgar (2011) — and while he is cognizant of the director's familiarity with music, he nonetheless sees Jersey Boys as being unique in Eastwood's filmography. "This was a project that struck a nerve for him, and he wanted to venture out and do a unique film in a style that he hasn't done before," McGeary says, adding that at this stage in Eastwood's career — he recently turned 84 — he wants to leave no genre unturned. The director has made more than a few Westerns, actioners and even comedies, but never Working Their Way Back to You The Four Seasons and Their Songs Return, Via 'Jersey Boys' Jersey Boys. Warner Bros. Pictures Opposite: Tommy Lockett, left, and Chris McGeary. CineMontage_Jul-Aug_14-4.indd 26 6/18/14 5:40 PM

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