Clint Eastwood: Made in Spain by Francisco Reyero

Spanish journalist Francisco Reyero presents his new book, followed by a conversation with Mark Parascandola, author of “Once Upon a Time in Almería.”

The making of Clint Eastwood as a worldwide star began with a journey into the unknown. When struggling to find work in 1964, Eastwood took an offer from a non-established Italian director to shoot a western movie in Spain. Director Sergio Leone hoped to count on the likes of James Coburn, Charles Bronson, or even Henry Fonda as the star for the movie. However, financial restraints left him with Clint Eastwood, a young man with moderate success in television, as his only choice.

After several chaotic weeks in Spain, unpaid bills, and threats of ending the project, A Fistful of Dollars premiered in Italy in 1964. The success of the movie brought Eastwood back to Spain, where he worked over the next two years in the equally succesful For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966). Eastwood became a well-known star three years later, when the films were premiered in the U.S.

About Francisco Reyero

Francisco Reyero (Sevilla, 1971) has been working as a journalist in Spain for the last twenty years. Reyero has participated in radio and television shows, and published several essays on famous figures and personalities linked to Spain, like Frank Sinatra and Clint Eastwood. His work Nunca volveré a ese maldito país (Fundación Lara/Planeta, 2015) narrates the difficult relationship between the famous singer and Spain. Clint Eastwood: Made in Spain (Fundacion Lara/ Planeta, 2018) is an English version of Eastwood: Desde que mi nombre me defiende (Fundación Lara/Planeta, 2017). The book tells the story of how the Californian actor became famous accepting a project to shoot a western movie in Almería.

About Mark Parascandola

Mark Parascandola is a photographer based in Washington, D.C. with family roots in Spain. Parascandola was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities 2017 and was a Finalist for the Sondheim Prize 2011 and for Critical Mass 2016. His latest photobook, Once Upon a Time in Almeria: The Legacy of Hollywood in Spain (Daylight Books), was published last year. The photographs document the film sets, locations, and landscapes used in the many movies made in Almería since the 1960s.