If you travelled back in time to 1973 and told the movie-going public that Clint Eastwood, the actor behind such iconic tough-guy characters as Harry Callahan in "Dirty Harry" or the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, would go on to become the nation's most preeminent and versatile director, few would have believed you.

In that year, Eastwood, volunteered to direct "Play Misty for Me" for free so he could get his directing career off the ground. Nineteen years later he won an Oscar for the revisionist Western "Unforgiven." Even more impressive was that Eastwood didn't just direct Westerns but a poignant romantic drama ("Bridges of Madison County"), a period thriller about a kidnapping scandal ("Changeling"), a Dennis Lehane adaptation ("Mystic River"), and a war film told from the point of view of the enemy ("Letters from Iwo Jima"). In the 2000's, Eastwood was littered with awards and accolades for practically everything he made.

Eastwood was 74 when he won his second Oscar for Million Dollar Baby and he brought his 96-year old mother to the ceremony with him. Who knew that since then, Eastwood would release an additional five movies to high critical acclaim (technically, four out of the five. "Hereafter" got mixed reviews) and that at the age of 80, he'd still be working in the business?

Approaching his 81st birthday, Eastwood has come to Washington D.C. to shoot his latest film "J. Edgar.". The original screenplay was written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") and the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role as FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, Naiomi Watts, Josh Lucas, Arnie Hammer ("Social Network"), Judi Dench, and Jeffery Donovan. Donovan, best-known for starring in the TV series "Burn Notice", previously starred in "Changeling" with Eastwood.

Eastwood is notoriously efficienct and completes his shooting quickly but be on the lookout for some stars in town. The film is also rumored to contain DiCaprio's first on-screen kiss with another man.

I've been told that all the casting has been done for extras, but there might be an opportunity if you get in with Central Casting.