Your first look at Gran Torino

The first image and the poster for Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino have arrived on the web.

USA Today has the images, which you can see in the gallery on this page.
The poster finds him in particularly fearsome, get-off-my-lawn mode as Walt Kowalski, a racist Korean War vet whose classic car (hence the title) catches the eye of a local gang.

"The young kid, as part of a gang initiation, tries to steal it, and the old guy gets him at the end of his rifle, which becomes kind of a big deal. The gang make the kid do penance. He has to come over, and the old guy doesn't want anything to do with him, doesn't want him anywhere around."

Uneasy friendship

"Walt helps him get a construction job and helps him toughen up a bit," Eastwood says. "He gets the boy in through a buddy, an old crony. They take him in and try to show him how to handle himself in life."

The drama features one of Eastwood’s rapidly dwindling appearances in his own films, and the starring role, at that. “Yeah, it'll probably be my last," the director laughs. "I'll be drummed out of it after this one." Just don’t expect him to slow down on directing.

You watch – next year he’ll aim to break his own record and make 12 films in one year. Or 23. What have you done today?