Malpaso Productions

Malpaso Productions
Company type	Private
Industry	Film
Founded	1967
Founder	Irving Leonard; Clint Eastwood
Headquarters	Burbank, California, United States
Key people	Clint Eastwood; Robert Lorenz; David Valdes; Fritz Manes; Robert Daley; Keith Dillin
Products	Motion pictures
Services	Film production

Malpaso Productions is Clint Eastwood's production company.^[1] It was established in 1967 as The Malpaso Company by Eastwood's financial adviser Irving Leonard for the film Hang 'Em High (1968), using profits from the Dollars Trilogy. Leonard served as President of the Malpaso Company until his death on December 13, 1969.

Name origins

The name is derived from Malpaso Creek (Spanish for "bad step", or "misstep"), located south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Eastwood had received U.S. Army basic training at nearby Fort Ord, where he remained as a lifeguard until discharged in 1953.^[2] On December 24, 1967, Eastwood bought five parcels totaling 283 acres (115 ha) of land along Malpaso Creek from Charles Sawyer.^[3] He later added more land until he owned 650 acres (260 ha). The land bordered the south bank of Malpaso Creek from the eastern side of Highway 1 to the coastal ridge. He sold it to Monterey County in 1995 for $3.08 million.^[4]^[5] Near the coast, a trail and later a road ran from Carmel to Big Sur during the 1800s. The creek has very steep side slopes and there was only one crossing (a ford only 10 feet (3.0 m) above sea level) until the Malpaso Creek Bridge was built in 1935 as part of Highway 1.

Founding

When Eastwood agreed to take the role of The Man with No Name in A Fistful of Dollars in 1964, his agent told him that it would be a "bad step" for his career. The Dollars Trilogy was surprisingly successful. After filming Where Eagles Dare in 1968, Eastwood grew annoyed about the money he considered wasted during these big productions. He wanted more creative control over his films and decided to form his own production company. He thought the choice of "Malpaso" was appropriate.^[6]

Irving Leonard, Eastwood's financial adviser, organized the company for Eastwood following the success of and using the earnings from the Dollars Trilogy.^[7] The first feature they produced was the 1968 film Hang 'Em High. Leonard served as President of the Malpaso Company and associate producer of Eastwood's films from Hang 'Em High until his death in 1969.^[8]^[9]

Eastwood is known for very tight shooting schedules, finishing his films on schedule and on budget, or earlier and under budget, typically in much less time than most production companies.^[10]

Few film production companies such as Malpaso Productions have been involved with one studio for releasing its motion pictures. Warner Bros. Pictures has served as the distributor of many of Clint Eastwood's produced, directed and starred films, a relationship that has lasted for nearly half a century and resulted in more than 40 features.^[11]

Filmography

1960s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
1968	Hang 'Em High	Ted Post	United Artists	The Malpaso Company	co-production with Leonard Freeman Productions; first film
1968	Coogan's Bluff	Don Siegel	Universal Pictures
1969	Paint Your Wagon	Joshua Logan	Paramount Pictures		top production billing went to Alan Jay Lerner Productions

1970s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
1970	Two Mules for Sister Sara	Don Siegel	Universal Pictures	The Malpaso Company	co-production with Sanen Productions
1971	The Beguiled	Don Siegel			co-production with Jennings Lang Productions
	Play Misty for Me	Clint Eastwood			co-production with Jennings Lang Productions
	Dirty Harry	Don Siegel	Warner Bros. Pictures
1972	Joe Kidd	John Sturges	Universal Pictures
1973	High Plains Drifter	Clint Eastwood
	Breezy	Clint Eastwood
	Magnum Force	Ted Post	Warner Bros. Pictures
1974	Thunderbolt and Lightfoot	Michael Cimino	United Artists
1975	The Eiger Sanction	Clint Eastwood	Universal Pictures		co-production with Zanuck/Brown Productions
1976	The Outlaw Josey Wales	Clint Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures
1976	The Enforcer	James Fargo
1977	The Gauntlet	Clint Eastwood
1978	Every Which Way But Loose	James Fargo
1979	Escape from Alcatraz	Don Siegel	Paramount Pictures

1980s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
1980	Any Which Way You Can	Buddy Van Horn	Warner Bros. Pictures	The Malpaso Company
1982	Firefox	Clint Eastwood
1982	Honkytonk Man
1983	Sudden Impact
1984	Tightrope	Richard Tuggle			uncredited scenes directed by Clint Eastwood
1984	City Heat	Richard Benjamin
1985	Pale Rider	Clint Eastwood
1986	Heartbreak Ridge	Clint Eastwood
1986	Ratboy	Sondra Locke
1988	The Dead Pool	Buddy Van Horn		Malpaso Productions
	Bird	Clint Eastwood		The Malpaso Company
	Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser	Charlotte Zwerin		Malpaso Productions
1989	Pink Cadillac	Buddy Van Horn		Malpaso Productions

1990s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
1990	White Hunter, Black Heart	Clint Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures	Malpaso Productions
1990	The Rookie
1992	Unforgiven
1993	A Perfect World				co-production with Mark Johnson Productions
1995	The Bridges of Madison County				co-production with Amblin Entertainment
1995	The Stars Fell on Henrietta	James Keach
1997	Absolute Power	Clint Eastwood	Sony Pictures Releasing		co-production with Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment
1997	Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil		Warner Bros. Pictures		co-production with Silver Pictures
1999	True Crime		Warner Bros. Pictures		co-production with The Zanuck Company

2000s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
2000	Space Cowboys	Clint Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures	Malpaso Productions	co-production with Mad Chance Productions, Village Roadshow Pictures and Clipsal Films
2002	Blood Work
2003	Mystic River				co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment
2004	Million Dollar Baby				co-production with Lakeshore Entertainment
2006	Flags of Our Fathers		Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures		co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin Entertainment
2006	Letters from Iwo Jima		Warner Bros. Pictures		co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin Entertainment
2007	Rails & Ties	Alison Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures
2008	Changeling	Clint Eastwood	Universal Pictures		co-production with Relativity Media and Imagine Entertainment
2008	Gran Torino		Warner Bros. Pictures		co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures
2009	Invictus		Warner Bros. Pictures		co-production with Spyglass Entertainment

2010s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
2010	Hereafter	Clint Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures	Malpaso Productions	co-production with Amblin Entertainment and The Kennedy/Marshall Company
2011	J. Edgar	Clint Eastwood			co-production with Imagine Entertainment and Wintergreen Productions
2012	Trouble with the Curve	Robert Lorenz
2014	Jersey Boys	Clint Eastwood			co-production with RatPac-Dune Entertainment and GK Films
2014	American Sniper				co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Mad Chance Productions and 22nd & Indiana Pictures
2016	Sully				co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Flashlight Films, The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Orange Corp
2018	The 15:17 to Paris				co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures and Access Entertainment
2018	The Mule				co-production with Imperative Entertainment and Bron Creative
2019	Richard Jewell				co-production with Appian Way Productions, Misher Films and 75 Year Plan Productions

2020s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Names	Notes
2021	Cry Macho	Clint Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures	Malpaso Productions
2024	Juror #2	Clint Eastwood	Warner Bros. Pictures	Malpaso Productions	co-production with Dichotomy and Gotham Group

References

^ "Clint Eastwood". Variety.
^ "Military People". www.militaryhub.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
^ "Mutual Water Company Subscription Agreement - Victorine Ranch Mutual Water Company" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 23, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
^ Pitnick, Richard (January 29, 1998). "Eastwood's Odello donation helped the movie mogul and the county". Retrieved October 25, 2016.
^ "Rancho Cañada Village" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
^ "Clint Eastwood". The Biography Channel. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
^ McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. London: HarperCollins. p. 162. ISBN 0-00-638354-8.
^ Smith, Paul (January 1, 1993). Clint Eastwood. Taylor & Francis. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-85728-158-3. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
^ American Film Institute (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970. University of California Press. pp. 450–. ISBN 978-0-520-20970-1. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
^ Edward Buscombe (1999). The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford University Press. pp. 472–473.
^ "Happy Birthday Clint Eastwood". Retrieved June 2, 2020.

[1] "Clint Eastwood". Variety.

[2] "Military People". www.militaryhub.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

[3] "Mutual Water Company Subscription Agreement - Victorine Ranch Mutual Water Company" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 23, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

[weekly0129-4] Pitnick, Richard (January 29, 1998). "Eastwood's Odello donation helped the movie mogul and the county". Retrieved October 25, 2016.

[5] "Rancho Cañada Village" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Retrieved December 7, 2016.

[6] "Clint Eastwood". The Biography Channel. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2008.

[McG162-7] McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. London: HarperCollins. p. 162. ISBN 0-00-638354-8.

[Smith1993-8] Smith, Paul (January 1, 1993). Clint Eastwood. Taylor & Francis. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-85728-158-3. Retrieved January 13, 2011.

[Institute1997-9] American Film Institute (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970. University of California Press. pp. 450–. ISBN 978-0-520-20970-1. Retrieved January 13, 2011.

[10] Edward Buscombe (1999). The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford University Press. pp. 472–473.

[11] "Happy Birthday Clint Eastwood". Retrieved June 2, 2020.

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v t e Clint Eastwood
Early life Personal life Political life Filmography Bibliography Discography Accolades
Films directed	Play Misty for Me (1971) High Plains Drifter (1973) Breezy (1973) The Eiger Sanction (1975) The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) The Gauntlet (1977) Bronco Billy (1980) Firefox (1982) Honkytonk Man (1982) Sudden Impact (1983) Pale Rider (1985) Heartbreak Ridge (1986) Bird (1988) White Hunter Black Heart (1990) The Rookie (1990) Unforgiven (1992) A Perfect World (1993) The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Absolute Power (1997) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) True Crime (1999) Space Cowboys (2000) Blood Work (2002) Piano Blues (2003) Mystic River (2003) Million Dollar Baby (2004) Flags of Our Fathers (2006) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Changeling (2008) Gran Torino (2008) Invictus (2009) Hereafter (2010) J. Edgar (2011) Jersey Boys (2014) American Sniper (2014) Sully (2016) The 15:17 to Paris (2018) The Mule (2018) Richard Jewell (2019) Cry Macho (2021) Juror #2 (2024)
Related	Characters Man with No Name Harry Callahan "Go ahead, make my day" Malpaso Productions Eastwood at the 2012 RNC Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall "Bar Room Buddies" "Make My Day" (song) "Clint Eastwood" (song)
Family	Dina Ruiz (second wife) Kyle Eastwood (son) Alison Eastwood (daughter) Scott Eastwood (son) Francesca Eastwood (daughter) Sondra Locke (ex-partner)
Category