Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood. The film marks Eastwood’s return to a lead acting role after four years, his last leading role having been in Million Dollar Baby. The film features a predominantly Hmong cast, as well as Eastwood’s younger son, Scott Eastwood. Eastwood’s older son, Kyle Eastwood, provided the score. The film opened to theaters in a limited release in North America on December 12, 2008, and later to a wide release on January 9, 2009.

The story follows Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran. After Kowalski’s young neighbour, Thao, tries to steal his Gran Torino and a Hmong gang attacks Thao for failing, Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbour. Gran Torino was a critical success, and became Eastwood’s most lucrative film by grossing over $246 million worldwide.

Production

Gran Torino was directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Nick Schenk. It was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, Media Magik Entertainment and Malpaso Productions for film distributor Warner Bros. Eastwood also produced alongside Malpaso partner Robert Lorenz and Bill Gerber. The original script was inspired by inner-ring suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, but filmmakers chose to produce Gran Torino in the state of Michigan, becoming one of the first films to take advantage of the state’s new law that provided lucrative incentive packages to film productions. Filming began in July 2008; locations included Highland Park, Detroit, Center Line, Warren, Royal Oak, and Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. Hmong crew, production assistants, consultants and extras were used.

In the early 1990s, Schenk discovered the history and culture of the Hmong while working in a factory in Minnesota. He also learned how they had sided with the South Vietnamese forces and its U.S. allies during the Vietnam War, only to wind up in refugee camps, at the mercy of Communist forces, when American troops pulled out and the government forces were defeated. Years later, he was deciding how to develop a story involving a widowed Korean War veteran trying to handle the changes in his neighbourhood when he decided to place a Hmong family next door and create a culture clash. He and Dave Johannson, Schenk’s brother’s room-mate, created an outline for the story. Some industry insiders told Schenk that he could not produce a film starring elderly characters as it could not be sold. Through a friend Schenk sent the screenplay to Warner Bros. producer Bill Gerber. Eastwood was able to direct and star on the project as filming for The Human Factor was delayed to early 2009, leaving sufficient time for filming during the previous summer. Eastwood said that he had a “fun and challenging role, and it’s an oddball story.”

Warner Bros. suggested that the movie should be shot in Michigan due to tax rebates intended to lure television and film productions to the state, and as a result of this incentive, most of the movie was filmed in Highland Park, Michigan. Producer Robert Lorenz said that while the script was originally set in Minnesota, he chose Michigan as the actual setting as Kowalski is a retired car plant worker. Eastwood wanted Hmong as cast members, so casting director Ellen Chenoweth enlisted Hmong organizations and set up calls in Detroit, Fresno, and St. Paul; Fresno and St. Paul have the two largest Hmong communities in the United States, while Detroit also has an appreciable population of Hmong. Chenoweth recruited Bee Vang in St. Paul and Ahney Her in Detroit.

Awards and nominations

Gran Torino was recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the Ten Best Films of 2008. Clint Eastwood’s performance has also garnered recognition. He won an award for Best Actor from the National Board of Review, he is currently nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics’ Choice Awards) and by the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actor. An original song from the film, “Gran Torino”, was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song. The music is by Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens, with Cullum penning the lyrics. The Art Directors Guild nominated Gran Torino in the contemporary film category.

The film, however, was snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 81st Academy Awards, not nominated for a single Oscar, which led to heated criticism from critics and moviegoers alike, who felt that the Academy had also deliberately snubbed WALL-E, The Dark Knight, Doubt and Revolutionary Road for the five major categories.