No trouble with Curve at box office for new Eastwood movie

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - A month ago, Trouble with the Curve was just a low-key fall movie starring Clint Eastwood as a stubborn, aging baseball scout.

But after the Oscar-winner's headline-making "empty chair" speech at the Republican National Convention in August, the film could be set for a box office home run when it opens on Friday.

Eastwood, 82, used to performing multiple duties, handed the directing reigns to someone else for the first time in 20 years for Trouble with the Curve. He plays a baseball scout with failing eyesight who has a fractured relationship with his strong-willed attorney daughter, played by Amy Adams.

The movie opens in United States (US) theaters after weeks of public debate, and many jokes, over Eastwood's unscripted Aug 30 political speech that Hollywood box office watchers say has stirred interest in the movie and will likely boost ticket sales.