In short
Podcast Episode Notes: Ron Howard on Charming Bette Davis, Calming Jim Carrey | In Depth With Graham Bensinger
Episode Overview
- Host: Graham Bensinger
- Guest: Ron Howard, acclaimed Hollywood director.
- Content Summary: Ron Howard shares behind-the-scenes experiences with legendary actors, including Bette Davis, Jim Carrey, and Robert De Niro, highlighting unique directing challenges and lessons learned.
Key Discussions
- Winning Over Bette Davis
- Initial Tension:
- During the project "Skyward," Howard faced skepticism from Bette Davis, who insisted on calling him "Mr. Howard" until she decided if she liked him.
- Howard felt anxious since he had not directed major stars before.
- Advice from His Father:
- Howard's father encouraged him to direct with confidence, emphasizing that experienced actors appreciate direction.
- First Day on Set:
- Howard dressed in a suit and tie, reminiscent of Davis's favorite director, William Wyler.
- Davis reacted dramatically to Howard’s approach, initially dismissing him but later warming up during the shoot.
- Establishing Rapport:
- After a tense first day, Davis's behavior changed positively when she acknowledged Howard's potential by comparing him to Wyler.
- Managing Jim Carrey's Costume Challenges on *The Grinch*
- Carrey's Struggles:
- The Grinch costume caused Carrey significant discomfort and anxiety, leading to panic attacks.
- Empathy from Howard:
- In an effort to support Carrey, Howard donned the Grinch costume himself to share in the discomfort.
- Boosting Morale:
- Howard arranged for Jim's idol, Don Knotts, to visit the set, which uplifted Carrey's spirits significantly.
- Lessons from Robert De Niro on Research and Character Development
- High Standards:
- Howard directed De Niro in "Backdraft," where De Niro's commitment to character research stood out.
- Observational Skills:
- De Niro's portrayal was influenced by real fire investigators, absorbing their body language and attitudes rather than relying solely on imagination.
- Impact on Howard's Process:
- This experience taught Howard the importance of thorough research and authenticity in filmmaking, which he applied in future projects like "Apollo 13."
Key Takeaways
- Confidence in Direction:
- Establishing authority and respect in directing, especially when working with established actors, is crucial.
- Empathy in Leadership:
- Understanding and sharing actors' struggles fosters a supportive environment on set.
- Research as a Foundation:
- Detailed character research enhances authenticity and enriches storytelling in film.
Conclusion
- Ron Howard's anecdotes offer valuable insights into the complexities of directing high-profile actors, emphasizing the balance between confidence and empathy. His experiences with Davis, Carrey, and De Niro illustrate the lessons learned in leadership and the importance of preparation in creative endeavors.
Call to Action
- Listeners are encouraged to rate and review the podcast to help reach new audiences.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:02Happy Friday, everyone. It's Graham. And today we're going into the archives to bring you one of the most popular clips ever on our YouTube channel. What you're about to listen to is trending this week on our Facebook page. Hope you enjoy. This week, Ron Howard. How did you charm Betty Davis? She was hard to charm. That was an important step for me. Anson Williams came up with that idea for that project. It was called Skyward. It was about a paraplegic girl who dreamed of flying. and uh betty davis was going to play this sort of crusty aerobatic pilot who would eventually be her instructor and and give her this opportunity to soar and i had some disagreements with her about the character and and i was having to you know over the phone sort of tell her here's who i was going to cast and here's here's how i thought the character should look and there were it was some back and forth it was kind of tense and she kept calling me mr howard and I said well Miss Davis uh you know just feel free to call me Ron please and she said no I will call you Mr.
1:13Howard until I decide whether I like you or not and hung up the phone so now I've never worked with a superstar at this point I've worked with friends and family and people my age and peers and people who just felt lucky to have the job you know and on the movies that I'd done up to that point. And I was tossing and turning. And it was my dad who said, you know, just don't be afraid to direct her because she's she's a major talent. She's a multiple Oscar winner. She knows she needs direction. Every good actor knows they need leadership. So, you know, don't get in their way, but respect her process, but do your job.
1:55and so on that very first day we were shooting in texas plano texas in august it was like hitting 100 degrees by you know 8 a.m in the morning we were shooting out on this airfield and uh i knew that william weiler was her favorite director great director but he always directed in a suit and a tie so i showed up in a suit and a tie uh and uh i went up to give her her first direction and she really overreacted in this big Betty Davis way. She said, oh, you startled me. I saw this child walking up to me and I wondered, you know, what, what, what of any consequence could this child possibly have to say to me?
2:39Ha ha ha ha ha does the big Betty Davis laugh. All of this is loud enough for the crew to hear. And so I did, I laughed too and gave her the direction anyway and walked off and was popping tums and just thought, oh man, this is going to be a long one. It's going to be a long road. Now it's about 4.30 or 5. And I said, well, Miss Davis, you're finished for today. We have another scene to do, but great first day. See you tomorrow. She said, okay, Ron, see you tomorrow. And then she patted me on the ass. And I thought, well, okay, we're on the Betty Davis ride. But I'd won her over. Didn't mean that there weren't arguments and tense moments ahead, but when it was all over, she said, keep it up.
3:25You could be another Wyler. I haven't turned out to be as great as Wyler. He's in the ultra elite, but it certainly gave me a lot of confidence. What about Jim Carrey and the contact lenses on the Grinch? I felt like I was, it was the Spanish Inquisition and I was the Inquisitor. I could tell that the The costume and, you know, especially the contact lenses were just tormenting Jim. He was having panic attacks to the point where, you know, literally he'd be breathing into a paper bag in between setups, just trying to hang on. Because he just, he felt claustrophobic in the costume. But we'd already filmed it.
4:05He wanted to wear that costume. He wanted to create that character. I tried to do things just to cheer him up. you know like like one day I put on the Grinch suit so that I could suffer along with him and and I could let him know just yeah I could see now how miserable it really was. Was it that bad? Yeah it was terrible it was itchy it was you know and I didn't even have to have the contact lenses which made it worse so he appreciated that I was at least willing to suffer with him. One day I surprised him he loved Don Knotts. Don Knotts played Barney on the Andy Griffith show and I I hadn't seen Don in a long time, but I called Don and I said, would you come over and hang out on the set one day?
4:47Jim Carrey idolizes you and he's going through hell on this project. And so I snuck Don in and I threw the speaker. I said, hey, Jim, look over here. Look at me. There's somebody down here who wants to see you. and he looked and he squinted through those contact lenses and he could see it was Don Knotts. And I wish I'd had the camera rolling because he immediately went into his Don Knotts impression. Jim's a genius impressionist. And he did a perfect Don Knotts in the Grinch costume. The whole crew was just laughing. He came down, spent an hour hanging out with Don and it really elevated him. But I also, you know, I also understood the kind of agony he was going through.
5:36And, you know, whatever he had to do, he'd have to do. Robert De Niro, you said he's not a guy who invented. He was reflective. How did that impact your future process? Well, I directed Robert De Niro in Backdraft. I wanted to sort of recreate the whole cowboy mentality and the environment around the Chicago Fire Department, which was unique at that time in a lot of ways. Very old school. Robert De Niro came in to do a role. It was only four weeks of shooting. He could have phoned this in. But instead, he really doubled down on his own research as this sort of forensic fire investigator. And once we started rolling, I realized that he had met three different fire investigators.
6:28And now he had the body language of one of them, the speech cadence of another, and the sort of the cocky attitude of a third. And I realized that these vivid characters that he had created so memorably were not coming from his imagination. They were coming from what he could observe and learn. and then sort of meld and share through his instrument, him as an actor. It kind of blew my mind. And it taught me, in a way, how to research. The next film was Apollo 13, which was all about accuracy and authenticity. and slowly but surely I just began to find real joy and creativity, ingenuity through the research, through the fact finding and then finding ways to use everything that I learned about drama and comedy for that matter to sort of present these ideas to audiences in ways that could be really compelling and entertaining but rich with detail.
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From the publisher
Famed Hollywood director Ron Howard serves up memorable moments on set with illustrious actors, including how he eventually won over a skeptical Bette Davis, tactics to calm Jim Carrey amidst panic attacks and lessons learned from a highly-prepared Robert De Niro, who went above and beyond to research his character for “Backdraft.”
