Eastwood cranked out movies throught his entire career, but alot of them were the kind of stuff people expected based on the Westerns & cop movies that made him famous, or other movies with popcorn appeal. Some of his more unusual projects were either properties owned by the studio that had been kicking around for years waiting for someone to care enough to actually film them (Bird, White Hunter Black Heart) or books that had recently been popular (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Bridges of Madison County). Million Dollar Baby didn’t fall into any of those categories, it was something he picked up and had to shop around.

He did make some real Oscar Bait in the 2009-2014 window. Then he made The Mule, which feels like the product of a guilty conscience (maybe that’s wishful thinking).