The Outlaw Josey Wales

• 1. The Author Behind The Myth

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  Forrest Carter was the name on the 1972 novel that inspired this film. That name belonged to Asa Earl Carter, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and speechwriter for George Wallace. He wrote under a pseudonym claiming Cherokee heritage while actually being a segregationist. The truth about his identity remained hidden until the movie became successful enough to expose him. Critics later described the book as written by a crude fascist with insane hatred of government. Philip Kaufman felt the political stance needed severe toning down before filming began. Eastwood did not agree with that assessment since it was his film. Sonia Chernus worked on the script alongside Robert Daley at Malpaso. Clint Eastwood paid some money to obtain the screen rights himself. Michael Cimino also oversaw the writing process along with Kaufman. They retained many mannerisms from the novel including words like reckon and hoss. Spitting tobacco juice on animals appeared in both the book and the final cut.

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• 2. A Director Fired And A Rule Born

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  Principal photography started on the 6th of October 1975 in Arizona and Utah locations. A rift developed between Clint Eastwood and director Philip Kaufman during those weeks. Kaufman insisted on meticulous attention to detail which caused disagreements with Eastwood. Both men shared an attraction toward Sondra Locke who was still married to Gordon Anderson. Jealousy grew on Kaufman's part regarding their emerging relationship. One evening Kaufman demanded finding a beer can prop for a specific scene. Eastwood ordered cinematographer Bruce Surtees to shoot quickly while light faded. He drove away leaving before Kaufman returned to check the work. On the 24th of October 1975 producer Bob Daley fired Kaufman at Eastwood's command. The Directors Guild of America expressed outrage over this sacking. Hollywood executives pressured Warner Bros and Eastwood to back down. Their refusal resulted in a fine reported around sixty thousand dollars for the violation. This incident led to the passing of a new rule known as the Eastwood Rule. That regulation prohibits actors or producers from firing directors then taking the role themselves. Filming ended on the 6th of December 1975 after Kaufman's planning remained in place.

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• 3. Landscapes And Casting Choices

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  Cinematographers Bruce Surtees James Fargo and Fritz Manes scouted sites before seeing the final script. They found locations in Page Arizona Tucson Arizona Kanab Utah and Oroville California. The movie was shot in DeLuxe Color and Panavision format. Chief Dan George played the old Cherokee Lone Watie character. He had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Little Big Man. Sondra Locke appeared as Laura Lee granddaughter of Sarah Turner. Paula Trueman played the older woman named Sarah. Eastwood cast Locke against Kaufman's wishes despite her age being thirty-two years old. The character required someone much younger than she actually was. This marked the beginning of a professional relationship spanning six films into the late 1980s. Ferris Webster served as editor while Jerry Fielding composed the score. Bill McKinney and John Vernon joined the main cast list. Michael Parks portrayed Josey Wales in the 1986 sequel film. Mary Ann Averett played wife Laura Lee in that follow-up production.

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• 4. Box Office Numbers And Budget

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  The Outlaw Josey Wales earned thirty-one point eight million dollars at the box office. Production costs totaled only three point seven million dollars during its making. This financial return represented a massive success relative to the initial investment. Critics widely acclaimed the film upon release in August 1976. Many saw Eastwood's role as iconic relating it to America's ancestral past. The movie became one of the few Western films receiving critical and commercial success in the 1970s. That decade saw the genre thought dying as a major Hollywood force. Time magazine named the film among the year's top ten releases. Roger Ebert compared the nature and vulnerability of his portrayal with earlier characters. Orson Welles called Eastwood one of America's finest directors on The Merv Griffin Show. Academics invited to screenings included Bruce Jackson and critics like Jay Cocks. Directors such as King Vidor Henry King William Wyler attended the event too.

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• 5. Legacy And Cultural Significance

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  In 1996 the United States Library of Congress selected this film for preservation. They deemed it culturally historically or aesthetically significant enough for the National Film Registry. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a ninety-one percent approval rating based on forty-six reviews. The site's consensus stated Eastwood delivered the first great revisionist works of the genre. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score at the 49th ceremony. Eastwood later described the project as an anti-war film in 2011. He noted parallels to modern times where everyone gets tired but war never ends. Man becomes most creative during conflict according to his observations. The amount of weaponry made in four years of World War II stood out to him. Ships guns tanks inventions planes P-38s and P-51s all emerged from that urgency. That kind of statement remains sad about mankind if true. The film survives today as a testament to its historical importance.

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