Is Clint Eastwood intent on outing John Edgar Hoover?

[xchrom]

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/is-clint-eastwood-intent-on-outing-john-edgar-hoover-2367813.html

Like any arm of the US government that employs large men who wear moustaches and carry handguns on their belt, the FBI boasts the most macho of official mottos: "Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity".

If Clint Eastwood has his way, the nation's cinemagoers may soon be given to wonder if a fourth (and very different) abstract noun ought to be added to that proudly held list: Homosexuality.

The veteran film director will next month release a movie called J Edgar, which is billed as an extravagant biopic of the bureau's co-founder and director for 37 years of the 20th century, John Edgar Hoover.

It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, and a supporting cast that features Judi Dench and Naomi Watts. But that does not a hagiography make, and there are growing signs that the film will focus intently on suggestions that its supposedly conservative subject was in fact a closet gay.

[Meeker Morgan]

1. J Edgar wasn't just in the closet ...

... he actively persecuted gays. A real villain.

[Ken Burch]

7. And even if it was just rumors

Having them spread about a man who built his fascistic power by spreading vicious and inaccurate rumors about OTHER peoples' sex lives is just what ol' Jenny Edgar Hoover deserves.

[joeybee12]

2. How can you out a guy who the whole world knows was gay? Sounds like a good cast...

But I think Clint is really a mediocre director, so I'll catch it on dvd.

[Ken Burch]

3. Well, what went down between J.Edgar and Clyde Tolson has been a source of open discussion

for years.

Don't think that many people still think J.Edgar was just "a lonely man who never found the right girl".

[dipsydoodle]

4. Thought it was common knowledge.

:shrug:

[Ken Burch]

5. Is it wrong of me to enjoy the fact

that the link you quoted in this OP also had an ad for something called "The Wizard Of Oz Storybook"?

[Rabblevox]

9. "We represent/the pantyhose league"

[Ken Burch]

11. "...and those of us in the Lingerie Guild, would love to welcome you to Munchkin Land".

n/t.

[Rabblevox]

13. So now I know what movie I'll watch tonight!

[Rabblevox]

6. No "outing" here, Hoover was outed 20 years ago. Looking forward to the film, Eastwood keeps...

getting better as a director/producer. And DiCaprio has grown into being one of the finest actors of our generation.

[Ken Burch]

8. What's more interesting is the fact that Clint Eastwood is doing this

when he's been known for decades as one of the most famous conservatives in Hollywood.

[Rabblevox]

10. He's a conservative gun-nut, but has never been homophobic AFAIK. /nt

[Ken Burch]

12. Not homophobic, but a big law-and-order type, back in the day...

Remember his most famous Seventies character:

[Rabblevox]

14. This, from Wikipedia, about his politics...

Eastwood registered as a Republican to vote for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and later supported Richard Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. However, he later criticized Nixon's handling of the Vietnam War and his morality during Watergate.<256><257> He expressed his disapproval of America's wars in Korea (1950–1953), Vietnam (1964–1973), and Iraq (2003–2010), believing that the United States should not be overly militaristic or play the role of global policeman. He considers himself too individualistic to be either right-wing or left-wing, describing himself as a "political nothing" and a "moderate" in 1974<257> and a libertarian in 1997.<258> Eastwood has stated that while he does not see himself as conservative, he is not an "ultra-leftist" either.<259> At times he has supported Democrats in California, including Representative Sam Farr in 2002 and Governor Gray Davis in 2003.<260> A longtime liberal on social issues Eastwood has stated that he is pro-choice on abortion.<261> He has endorsed the notion of allowing gays to marry<259> and contributed to groups supporting the Equal Rights Amendment for women.<262>

So I don't think it's a huge stretch for him to take on Hoover, Tolsen, and their sex-life.

Even though he's hard-core macho RW on some things, he's actually pretty progressive on others. Like most of us, he's a mixed bag. Unlike most of us, he's incredibly talented both in front and behind the camera.

I want to see the movie.

[Ken Burch]

15. I wasn't actually dissing Clint in the posts above

He is an interesting mixed bag, and this simply happened to intrigue me.

If this country had a real Libertarian Party, Clint would be their dream presidential candidate.

[Rabblevox]

16. Never thought you were dissing him, and I'm not trying to pimp him. As you say, an "interesting...

mixed bag.

[yardwork]

22. Clint Eastwood just came out in favor of equal marriage.

He said something like "I don't give a fuck who anybody marries."

[Ken Burch]

24. I get that

See my response above.

[Old and In the Way]

18. IMHO, Dicaprio started off pretty fine.

His role in "What's eating Gilbert Grape?" was one of the best acting jobs I've ever seen. Depp was good, but Leonardo was outstanding. I remember telling the SO after watching it, "I wonder how the director got that mentally handicapped kid to do his scenes?" If you having seen it, it is worth a watch.

[unblock]

20. he was also phenomenal in "basketball diaries".

i first heard of him as the latest "heartthrob" actor, which usually means good-looking-no-talent-mega-marketing.

but he's actually got the chops.

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. Where's the logic here?

"But that does not a hagiography make, and there are growing signs that the film will focus intently on suggestions that its supposedly conservative subject was in fact a closet gay."


There's no question that he was "conservative". So why "supposedly conservative."

"Closeted gays" are also "closeted liberals" ?

Bad writing. Worse editing.

But K and R for the OP.

[Glorfindel]

19. Interesting...I'm looking forward to seeing it

Bob Hoskins portrayed Hoover as a fairly flamboyant gay man in the 1995 movie "Nixon," and Anthony Hopkins as the title character called him "that old faggot," or words to that effect. Not my favorite movie, but anything with Hopkins is worth watching.

[Fearless]

21. Ok so Hoover who vacationed with his partner... made him his replacement... and was BURIED NEXT TO

him...


It's a wonder people don't know this one already.


Additionally...

"When Hoover died, Tolson inherited his estate of $551,000 and moved into his house; he accepted the U.S. flag draped on Hoover's coffin. Tolson's grave is a few yards from Hoover's grave in the Congressional Cemetery."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Tolson


There are plenty of interesting reads on it for those interesting... lets see how Hollywood deals with the man... that REALLY should be interesting considering how he dealt with them in life.

[yardwork]

23. Several very bigoted assumptions in that article.

The suggestion that "homosexuality" is "very different" from "Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity" is a bigoted comment. And it gets worse from there. Writer of that article is a jerk. Also uninformed. Everybody knows that J. Edgar Hoover was gay.

[RKP5637]

25. It was well known by some in DC in the 60's, maybe earlier too. n/t

[William769]

26. K&R.