Jack Smart is the Movies Staff Writer at PEOPLE. With 10 years of experience as an entertainment journalist, he previously worked at The A.V. Club and Backstage.
Clint Eastwood is delivering a twisty new legal drama full of moral dilemmas.
Juror #2 stars Nicholas Hoult as Justin Kemp, a "family man" who, "while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma, one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict -- or free -- the accused killer," per a synopsis.
Eastwood, 94, tells PEOPLE in a statement, "This is a film I would want to see, that I think a lot of people would enjoy. It looks at the gray areas between the black and white of everyday circumstances and makes you decide for yourself."
The director adds that it started with a "good script" by Jonathan Abrams and a "solid story that I thought would make a good picture."
He adds, "It really intrigues me when a story places a character in a moral dilemma, and this is one that we could all imagine ourselves in or relate to in some way."
The all-star cast includes Hoult, 34, plus Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch, Kiefer Sutherland, Gabriel Basso, Leslie Bibb, Chris Messina, J. K. Simmons and more.
Eastwood says the cast and crew shared "all the laughs" on set.
"We had a really great group of actors, led by Nicholas Hoult, who I was really impressed with -- he is what I think a movie star is," says Eastwood. "Everyone was very professional, came prepared and ready to work, but more than that they came and we laughed every day. Whether I'm directing or acting, I think it's important to enjoy the work, and we did."
"I really loved him. Ninety-three years old and completely with it, great notes, up on his feet behind the camera -- just a badass," the actor said. "You think you're going to get some tough guy and he is completely gentle and calm and fun and cracking jokes."
Sutherland, 57, revealed on the BBC's The One Show in May that he earned his part in Juror #2 after hand writing a letter to Eastwood "telling him how much I admired his work, which specific films [I loved] and why... he was kind enough to give me a job. So, kids, learn how to hand-write," he joked.
"I had read in one of the trade magazines that he was directing his last film," added Sutherland, "and I thought, 'This is my last chance.' "
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