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
David Valdes David Valdes David Valdes (born August 12, 1950, in Los Angeles) is an American film producer known for working in the western genre and collaborating with Clint Eastwood. Valdes first started out his career as an assistant director for films like "Oh, God! Book II", "The Outsiders" and "Tightrope", (which he also had a minor role in). He became good friends with Eastwood after "Tightrope" and soon Valdes was promoted to associate producer/assistant director on 1985's "Pale Rider". He went on as producer and production manager on other Eastwood films like "The Dead Pool", "Bird", "Pink Cadillac", "White Hunter Black