The Austrian newspaper Kurier is under fire for an interview with Clint Eastwood. The 95-year-old actor and filmmaker states that he never had a conversation with the newspaper.
Kurier published an interview with the American Eastwood on Friday, in which he reportedly said that the film industry needs to be more innovative. The article was posted in honor of the actor’s 95th birthday.
Eastwood, however, denies speaking with the newspaper. “I thought I’d set the record straight,” he tells Deadline. “I can confirm that I have turned 95. I can also confirm that I have never given an interview to an Austrian newspaper called Kurier, or to any other writer in recent weeks, and that the interview is completely fake.”
The Austrian newspaper states in a statement that the quotes in the article are a compilation of various previous interviews of the author with Eastwood. “That is common for a birthday portrait,” the statement reads. According to the newspaper, the author of the article, Elisabeth Sereda, was present eighteen times at press moments where a group of journalists spoke with Eastwood at the same time. The transcripts of those conversations would be freely available to journalists.
“But the article was formatted as an interview, not as a portrait,” the statement continues. “This was intended to give the impression that it was a new interview. The fact that this was not the case is not in line with the quality standards that Kurier applies.” The newspaper has decided not to work with Sereda anymore.