Peter Viertel Black Heart", which was made into a film starring Clint Eastwood in 1990. It is a thinly-disguised account of Viertel's experiences working with film director John Huston while they were making "The African Queen". The central character is scriptwriter Pete Verrill while the Huston character is called John Wilson. Film critic Pauline Kael wrote in 1999 that "White Hunter" was “still the best Hollywood novel I’ve ever come across — and it isn’t even set in Hollywood.” Viertel's opinion of the finished film was tempered by his idea that Huston himself would have preferred a portrayal with more sarcasm. Viertel's
Clint Eastwood in the 1960s that the scene would not be suitable in a saloon. They eventually agreed to introduce a whore scene, in which the attack takes place afterwards, as Eastwood enters the bar. Eastwood signed for the film, for a salary of $400,000 and 25% of the net earnings to the film, playing the character of Cooper, a man accused by vigilantes of a cow baron's murder, lynched and left for dead, and later seeking revenge. With the wealth generated by the Dollars trilogy, Leonard helped set up a new production company for Eastwood, Malpaso Productions, something he had long yearned for. It