Ron. Clint. Bryce. Jean. Rance. The Howards. Generations have grown up with them all, both in front of the camera and, in the case of Ron Howard, behind the camera as well. Led by patriarch Rance Howard, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 89, the Howards have been a hallmark for a standard of excellence in television, in film, and in life. Sitting down with Ron Howard to talk about his latest documentary, “Pavarotti”, it was impossible not to talk about one of the things most important to him – family; particularly given the imminent release of “Rocketman” in which daughter Bryce Dallas Howard plays Elton John’s mother, and with his father Rance’s final feature film slated as the then yet unannounced opening night gala for the upcoming Dances With Films Film Festival. The smile on his face and the light in his eyes on my revealing the latter said it all.
Not yet having seen “Rocketman”, Ron was eager for my impressions about Bryce’s performance. Beaming with pride as we went down memory lane to her turn in 2008’s “The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond”, we tapped into the issue of accents and that in that film there were moments where Bryce slipped from the southern drawl of the acclaimed Tennessee Williams’ tale. Such is not the case in “Rocketman” as Bryce is pitch perfect with a culturally specific English accent. “I actually had heard that from the Brits because the same guy who was mixing the music on ‘Rocketman’ when we were at Abbey Road mixing ‘Pavarotti, he was there. Giles Martin. George Martin’s son. And George Martin was The Beatles! And his son mixed our Beatles documentary (“The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years”). So he showed me a couple of the music numbers and so forth and he said that Bryce’s accent was just spot on. . .That’s so great! I can’t wait to see it!”
Already palpable, Ron’s elation grew as the conversation shifted to Rance Howard and “Apple Seed.” Fortunate enough to have seen the film before speaking with Ron and revealing to him that “Apple Seed” would be opening the Dances With Films festival, his excitement and enthusiasm was infectious. “That’s fantastic! That is fantastic!” The Howard family had already seen a longer cut of the film and were all thrilled with what writer/director Michael Worth captured with Rance Howard’s performance.
Coming in at roughly two hours, Ron noted that the version the family saw was “at least” about 10 minutes longer than that. “[Michael] said he wanted to show everything that my dad did. And so, of course, he had to trim it down. But it was very moving. And it’s fascinating that, and this is one of the great things about being an actor, is that [Dad’s] work just kept getting better and he kept getting better and better parts as he got older and more interesting to people. And so this lifelong kind of day player, a few lines here. . . suddenly gets a showcase like that.” Feeling Rance’s life experience infused into his character Carl Robbins with every movement, every bit of dialogue, every nuance, and particularly in his scene with son Clint, with “Apple Seed”, Rance Howard is at the top of his game.
A journeyman character actor throughout his career, “Apple Seed” marks Rance Howard’s first leading role. Written by Worth more than ten years ago, specifically with Rance Howard in mind for the role of Carl Robbins, Worth also co-stars as would-be bank robber Prince McCoy playing opposite Howard’s Robbins, a man just released from prison after 40-years for the same crime. Sweetening the pot is Clint Howard who plays Carl’s estranged son Hughie. This is the one and only time that Rance and Clint have played father and son. For Ron Howard, the shared scene between his father and his brother means everything. “What a great scene between my brother Clint and him!” Describing the work between the two as “beautiful”, his voice is a bit wistful. “That’s such a gift that my brother got to have that scene with him.”
“[Dad] learned only recently, like two years before, maybe a year before, to really trust improv. And Michael brought that out of him and allowed him to improv and work the lines a little bit more. Because he was always such a dutiful character actor, you know, it was always ‘I’m just going to say the lines that they gave me.’ And as he got a little older, people started encouraging him and he learned to trust it. You know, he’s not that guy in ‘Apple Seed.’ That’s not his nature. He wasn’t that sort of free spirit. He didn’t have those disappointments in his life where he’d let anybody down.”
Always generous in his praise of fellow filmmakers, Ron Howard’s respect for Michael Worth, and particularly as to “Apple Seed”, is genuine. “I love that director. He’s a great guy. Very talented. He’s made a lot of these little micro-budget movies. . .I’m happy for Michael. That guy’s a talented guy. And he makes one movie after another. He would have been a Roger Corman director in the days, only he’s making character movies. And I really appreciate it. And with micro-budget! Micro! Unbelievable!”
APPLE SEED opens the Dances With Films film festival on June 13 at 8pm at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. Now in its 22nd year, Dances With Films runs from June 13 through 23rd. Clint Howard will be at the West Coast Premiere screening!
