A supposed interview with Clint Eastwood that was published in an Austrian newspaper last week got a lot of attention, given the iconic actor was quoted as railing against the current "era of remakes and franchises." Just one problem: Eastwood never actually sat for the interview. After it came out, the actor released a statement to outlets including Deadline in which he said, "A couple of items about me have recently shown up in the news. I thought I would set the record straight. I can confirm I've turned 95." (The interview was published the weekend of Eastwood's 95th birthday.) He continued, "I can also confirm that I never gave an interview to an Austrian publication called Kurier, or any other writer in recent weeks, and that the interview is entirely phony."
Now, Kurier says the journalist who wrote the article, an Austrian reporter who is based in Hollywood, admitted she never actually interviewed Eastwood, the Guardian reports. She claims the quotes in the article were genuine, culled from nearly 20 film festival round tables at which the reporter says she spoke with Eastwood and asked him questions. "Even though no quotes were fabricated, the interviews are documented, and the accusation of fabrication can be refuted, we will no longer work with the author in the future because transparency and our strict editorial standards are paramount to us," says the editor of the paper, which also recently published interviews by the same reporter with Pamela Anderson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Jude Law. Sources close to Law, however, say that he never actually sat for an interview either. (More Clint Eastwood stories.)