Clint Eastwood is prepping '
Hoover', a
Dustin Lance Black (Milk) scripted biopic of the cross-dressing former head of the F.B.I. - J.Edgar Hoover - that has had
Leonardo DiCaprio attached to lead all summer, and should film before the end of the year at Warner Bros. Now that he has unveiled his supernatural drama Hereafter at Toronto, Eastwood is reportedly looking to cast the next major roles for his seventh feature since 2006. A little surprisingly, a seemingly solid scoop from
Vulture says
Joaquin Phoenix, who it seems
isn't actually unintentionally crazy but possibly might have pulled an irredeemable career P.R. nightmare - is Eastwood's first choice to play Hoover's probable lover Clyde Tolson. A firm offer is forthcoming, we are told, and it's speculated (probably rightly) that Casey Affleck's sudden announcement that
I'm Still Here was a hoax all along, and his brother-in-law didn't actually suffer a meltdown, is because they knew of Eastwood's interest and thought it unwise to harm Phoenix's chances of winning a role in a probable Oscar contender. If you hadn't guessed, Eastwood's movie is 'Milk Revisited'. In a way. Politics and gay rights/romance mixed. Though according to
The Playlist who have read Black's screenplay, the homosexuality isn't as overt as you might have expected;
" unqualified, and is thought to be a homosexual, but Hoover offers him a job anyway. There's an instant attraction between the two men, and Toulson becomes Hoover's right hand man throughout much of his career. Due to Hoover's deeply closeted nature, however, the relationship is never consummated; when Toulson makes a move on his boss, the two even come to blows. It's clearly the most important relationship in the script, and the emotional hinge of the piece. Hoover's sexuality is the driving force of the film, and you couldn't miss it, but its treatment is quite subtle."
Tolson was the associate director of Hoover's F.B.I. from 1947 to 1972 and not only spent much of his working life with the man, but they dined, socialised in night clubs, went on holidays together and after Hoover died - he even left his whole estate to Tolson. Was it because Tolson was the only true friend Hoover had in a lifetime of politics that left him with many bitter enemies, or were they actually intimate lovers? If Hoover were still alive, that statement alone would probably be enough for him to hunt me down (he was known to track down anyone who questioned his sexual preference) as both men furiously denied they were gay to their grave. From the sounds of things, Eastwood's movie won't give us a firm answer on 'were they or weren't they?'. In terms of Phoenix.... he probably couldn't choose a better role, project, or talent to work with, to ease his way back into normality.