First it was VCU in the Final Four, and now it’s rubbing elbows with Hollywood. If Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell starts to walk with a bit of a swagger, one could hardly blame him.
McDonnell officially acknowledged on Tuesday what has long been known to D.C.’s more gossipy set: Clint Eastwood filmed part of his latest major feature film in Great Falls, Warrenton and The Plains in Virginia. The movie, a biopic about former F.B.I. director (and reputed power-monger, and rumored drag queen) J. Edgar Hoover, stars Leonardo DeCaprio in the lead, Judi Dench as Hoover’s mother, and Naomi Watts as his longtime personal secretary.
That’s more glamour packed into four big stars than Virginia has seen since Elizabeth Taylor‘s little stint with former Virginia Sen. John Warner.
“Clint Eastwood is an American legend,” McDonnell said, adding that he was “thrilled” that the director (and actor, and cowboy, and fellow Republican politician) chose Virginia for his movie shoot.
In all, the direct and indirect impact of Virginia’s burgeoning (very burgeoning) reputation as the Hollywood of the East Coast brings in nearly $350 million to the state, according to a McDonnell spokesman.
