What It Was Like Working with Clint Eastwood

The 20th Anniversary of Letters from Iwo Jima

2026 is the 20^th anniversary of the movie Letters from Iwo Jima. In my last blog, I described how I landed the job to write the movie and was then told that I could quit my full-time job. I remember that feeling of joy and liberation while driving down a tree-lined street on a weekday with the sun warmly beaming on my face, and not worrying about having to rush back to my desk job before lunch hour was over.

I had been told that the movie was going to be a “companion film” to Flags of Our Fathers. I didn’t know what that meant, so I was still under the impression that the movie was going to be an extra bonus feature only to be seen on DVDs. But somewhere in the process, I heard producers discuss that it would be nice to have audiences see the American perspective and then go see the Japanese perspective, so I had to ask, “Is the Japanese perspective going to play in theaters?” “Yes,” was the answer. I already knew that the script was going to be translated and the dialogue was going to be in Japanese. I had also been told that they were looking for a Japanese director, and knowing how Americans are averse to reading subtitles, my next question was, “In the U.S.?” Once again, I was told “yes.” I was beyond thrilled to know it was going to make the big screen. Still, I wondered whether anybody outside of Japan would really watch the movie.

I turned in a 24-page “beat sheet,” which was essentially a summary of each scene in the movie before I was given the greenlight to write the script. I was very eager and passionate about what I was writing. The whole time I was researching, I kept thinking how insane war is. When I was done, I handed in what I supposed would be the first draft of many by hitting the “send” button to both the studio and my agent. When my agent found out, she was livid.

Uh oh.

She called to ask why I hadn’t sent it to her to review before I handed it in to the studio. She then coached me on how I was going to apologize for the shoddy draft. A screenwriter’s contract is usually in steps – an installment for starting, an installment for each draft and then an installment if it made it all the way to production. So I knew I could be fired anywhere along the process.

When I got the dreaded call from the studio, I braced myself. Worse, it wasn’t Paul Haggis or one of the other co-producers on the line, but it was Clint Eastwood himself. “I read the script,” he began in that iconic gravelly voice. “It’s a real page-turner.” He went through some complimentary notes about the characters, which I was thrilled about, but based on what my agent had said, I knew it would be followed by a “but…” Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a big enough “but” to end my contract.

He came to the end of his review, and there was no “but.” It was basically “job well done” and he had no notes. What?! That was impossible. There are always notes!

I called up my agent after the conversation and she was as floored as I was. Not only that, but I subsequently learned that Clint Eastwood decided he would direct the movie himself! The movie was snowballing into something bigger than I dared imagine. From my impression that it was going to be an extra on a DVD to a bonafide film, and now it was going to be directed by Clint Eastwood! I was ecstatic.

Shooting began quickly in Hollywood time. Within months, not years. It wasn’t a big budget movie. It was more like an indie film, but Mr. Eastwood was known for being on time and under budget. I believe some CGI used in Flags of Our Fathers got double usage, and there were some leftover props from the set of Memoirs of a Geisha, which had also been produced by Steven Spielberg. Oh BTW, did I mention that Steven Spielberg was a producer? I never saw him during development or production, so it was pretty much Clint Eastwood’s baby.

I was invited on the set in Lancaster, California where some outdoor scenes were shot and then to the Warner Brothers lot for some of the interior cave scenes. I got the “goosies” when I saw a tour tram stop in front of the studio set and the guide talked about the movie, saying it was going to be a great film.

Clint Eastwood’s crew worked like a well-oiled machine. And the director doesn’t yell “Action!” or “Cut!” In fact, I never heard him yell at all. I’ve heard people say it was because he was used to working with horses that would startle. There were no endless reshoots, just a couple or a few takes for each scene. The actors told me it was a very relaxed set. One of the things I remember was that Clint was always munching on peanuts.

Another big thrill for me was seeing my name on the back of a chair as “Writer.” I started taking photos of it, so someone mentioned that I could take it home at the end of the day. But when I started to drag the entire bulky chair with me, wondering how in the world it was going to fit into my compact car, everyone gawked, and that’s when I realized I was not supposed to take the chair, just the back canvas!

Letters from Iwo Jima is currently streaming on Netflix. In my next blog, I’ll cover the craziness of the premiere in Tokyo.

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