Clint Eastwood's ‘The Ballad of Richard Jewell' Set For December Release

Clint Eastwood’s “The Mule” amassed box-office earnings of $103 million on a budget of just $50 million. No one should be surprised by the monetary success, it's Clint Eastwood. That's right, the legendary actor-director proved that his 89-year-old self was still a major attraction to moviegoers nationwide. It also helped that “The Mule” was a fantastic straight-shooting drama that could only be made by an old-school veteran like Eastwood.

Now, much like every movie year, Le Clint has already shot and wrapped up another movie, this one starring Sam Rockwell and titled “The Ballad of Richard Jewell.” The film’s production started in June and now, here we are, just two months later and there are plans to release it in December. If you remember, the same scenario happened with “The Mule,” which was also a June shoot and December release.

Jon Hamm, who also stars in the upcoming Eastwood film, stated at a recent Q&A for his upcoming movie “The Report” [via Deadline’s Pete Hammond] that the “The Ballad of Richard Jewell” is indeed being released this December. Hammond writes:

“He will have a very busy fall apparently with all three of these films because he mentioned to me he believes the Eastwood film, so far not officially dated by Warner Bros, will be released in December.”

The movie is based on the true story of Richard Jewell, a security guard during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games who discovered a bomb and tried to evacuate the grounds before it would detonate. However, as the police started investigating the drama they started to realize that Jewell could be a suspect and, in fact, responsible for entire the bomb hoax.

Eastwood has built up a considerable fanbase over the last five decades. His name is now synonymous and represents adherent conservative values for his viewers, they will go see whatever movie he directs or stars in just based on those beliefs alone (“Gran Torino,” The 15:17 to Paris,” American Sniper,” “Sully”). However, more importantly, “The Mule” proved Eastwood could still make movies at the twilight of his life, it was his best movie this decade and a worthy addition to his iconic filmography. I look forward to “The Ballad of Richard Jewell,” which is set to be Eastwood’s 36th film as a director.