"Before working on this picture, I didn't remember the details too much. I can't think of where I was at the time, but I remember when they said that they had a guard who found the bomb, who was a hero and then a suspect. I remember that, but I didn't know too much about it, and in hindsight I had forgotten about it. But when I read the article and the script, it seemed like a really interesting subject for today," Eastwood said.
In "Richard Jewell", Paul Walter Hauser stars as the real-life security guard Richard Jewell whose life turned chaotic after he was listed as a possible suspect in the Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, when he discovered a suspicious abandoned backpack.
Jewell maintained his innocence and was finally cleared by the FBI 88 days later, although his reputation was never restored and his health was damaged. Jewell was never charged and he died in 2007. Warner Bros. Pictures released "Richard Jewell" in India on January 3.
Talking about the film, Eastwood said: "Well, because I thought it was very pertinent for today. This everyday guy who was getting the ultimate bad deal from everybody because they were concerned the event was going to shut down, and the city had millions of dollars invested in it. So, they just went ahead and pinned it on this guy who was vulnerable."
( With inputs from IANS )