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Ron Howard Reflects On 50 Years In Film

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 28, 2008

It's one of Hollywood's grandest success stories: The boy who was Opie Taylor became a top director. He learned the lessons of Mayberry well.

And so the documentary "Ron Howard: 50 Years in Film" carries a nostalgic kick. Now 54, Howard looks back at his long, productive career in the 90-minute program, which debuts at 8 p.m. Monday on TCM.

Filmmaker Richard Schickel's setup can grow a bit tedious; Howard is the only speaker as clips play.

The half-century dates to Howard's film debut in 1959's "The Journey." Howard recalls the experience as "fantastic playtime." But the documentary ignores Howard's acting in "The Music Man," "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" and "American Graffiti." And there's no mention of Howard's narration on "Arrested Development," although it's rumored he could direct a film version of that short-lived sitcom.

The section on "Cocoon" has been dropped because of licensing issues, so we get no Don Ameche.

To its detriment, the documentary treats Howard's directorial efforts equally. The Tom Cruise epic "Far and Away" (which Howard calls his "most misunderstood film") gets as much attention as "Apollo 13" and "A Beautiful Mind," which brought Howard the Oscar.

But Howard certainly deserves the well-timed retrospective because the new "Frost/Nixon" is one of his finest achievements.

Howard describes the director as "the keeper of the story." His education began on "The Andy Griffith Show," which ran from 1960 to 1968 and continues to charm in rerun eternity.

"Andy took that show very, very seriously," Howard says. "There was no phoning it in."

The education continued on "Happy Days," where Howard learned by watching series creator Garry Marshall and Henry "The Fonz" Winkler and by working in front of a studio audience.

Producer Roger Corman put Howard on the directing path with 1977's "Grand Theft Auto." (It plays at 9:30 p.m. Monday on TCM.)

Howard loves actors who can deliver powerful performances. That trend dates to "Skyward," a 1980 TV movie he made with Bette Davis. The trend has continued with Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind" and Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon."

But you usually can find good acting in Howard film's supporting roles. Watch Dianne Wiest and the young Keanu Reeves interact in "Parenthood." Or Kathleen Quinlan fret in "Apollo 13," Jennifer Connelly stand by her man in "A Beautiful Mind" or Ian McKellen steal scenes in "The Da Vinci Code." The trend continues with Kevin Bacon and Michael Sheen going at it in "Frost/Nixon."

Howard says he looks for stories that work out, such as "Cinderella Man." When your own story has worked out so fabulously well, that approach makes sense.

Today's Birthdays

Comic book creator Stan Lee is 86. Actress Dame Maggie Smith is 74. Rock singer-musician Edgar Winter is 62. Actor Denzel Washington is 54. Comedian Seth Meyers is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer John Legend is 30. Actress Sienna Miller is 27. Pop singer David Archuleta (TV: "American Idol") is 18.

Sources: McClatchy-Tribune, The Associated Press

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