Welcome to My favorite scene! In this series, Indiewire speaks with actors behind some of our favorite TV performances about their personal best on the screen and how it gathered.
There is a moment in section 3 of AppleTV+ Series “The studio,” where Ron Howardwho plays itself in a Continental Studio’s marketing meeting, throws its Imagine Baseball Hat at Studio Head Matt Remick (Seth Rogen). Soon they wrestle on the floor.
The two men have known each other for several years, and Howard has just happily regulated Remick’s team with the story of how young Remick gave him a memorable note (in front of Spielberg, The Coens and Soderbergh) on his possible four-time Oscar winners “A beautiful mind”: Why not reveal the central twist in the film?
“It’s seared in my brain. … He just wanted to put it out there. Pamper the living shit out of it,” Howard says. It is when the humiliated Remick is snapped back and tells Howard that he has destroyed his latest movie with a densely ending. Then hell loosens.
Howard has not acted much lately (he came as himself last year in a section of “Only Murders in the building”), so it’s fun to see him turn so far away from his approval persona. He could even land an Emmy nomination as a guest star in a comedy series. (He’s up against Martin Scorsese and Matt Belloni.) We talked about Zoom about the stage, his favorite in the series.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Anne Thompson: You maintain an acquaintance approval persona in Hollywood, such as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Subvert in this section. How did they first approach you?
Ron Howard: I heard that Seth and Evan did this show, and that they had a section they had written built around “A beautiful mind” and me. I read it, and that was it. It was funny. And I talked to them. I had it for weeks in advance, because I haven’t done much spectacle. It is the most dialogue I have had to learn. I have made some fun little komos that are simple. And I said: “This is a good role: some spectacle, turns and moments to play. I don’t just want to be como good. I would like to be actually good.” And I said, “Who is directing?” And they said, “We’re.” Crack, crack the whip.
How did you prepare? Did you share any war stories?
My goodness, no, no. These were all them. We went through the dialogue and I beat a couple of small tweaks and refinements, and they were open to keep it loose. And during the day we try to and forth improvements. Tossing the hat was something I thought of the evening before we were going to shoot it. I had it in the back of my mind, and I didn’t say anything to them, because then I had worked for a couple of days, and I saw what their approach was, and I did it in the first rehearsal. And suddenly Seth got this hat in the face. But I heard the bent setth the rogue laugh, and he said, “We have to keep it. We have to do it.”
And did you plan to turn him over?
He would fall down. I somehow scared him enough to make him fall down. He is much bigger than I am. I’m older than he is. How will he be intimidated enough to fall down? So I thought that what would be really, really humiliating, stupid humiliating, was to throw your performance hat at him. It just crossed my mind that the absurdity of it would be, the blacksmith in it would be so strangely bizarre and funny, and yet, only likely enough that it can work.
I did it in the rehearsal and they laughed. And when we rehearsed it and shot it a number of times he had to make Oner work. I think he was probably hit in the face 12 or 14 times, but it didn’t seem to care him. He thought it was fun every time. So we kept it on.
Did you have any models, someone you can use to inspire this? Did it let up emotions?
There were no models for this. This was just Alter-Ego Ron. And so while I have never talked to anyone that way or thrown my hat at them, it was catartically.
Still, you are not someone I would like to be angry with me.
People don’t like it when I get angry. But they know I’m upset, and that’s enough. So I don’t dress down or get on my face or any of it. But when I coached youth basketball, I would sometimes be thrown out of a game. It happened to me a couple of times where I would come to the judges. I emulated some notorious coaches. But I was a little more vocal – not with actors and not with the crew, not with film people. I respect them too much and love them too much to treat them that way. But it was fun. It was so well written. And frankly, I was preparing. I thought about it.
Did you get a coach?
I was going to go to a coach. And I mentioned (it) to the guys, but when I started working on it I said, “Come on, I know what they are going for here and and I know what to try for.” I didn’t go to a coach. I went to my son -in -law, Seth Gable, Bryce’s husband. Seth, who works a lot, must constantly learn a lot of dialogue quickly. And my brother Clint and I borrowed a couple of their techniques they suggested for learning lines and used some seth and clint tips to get command of the dialogue.
I had the greatest time. It was simple and loose, and you could bend words and try things, and that was the spirit they maximized their own role, which is brilliant. They are very leading for what they do, but they create this big vibe. It’s fast, it’s fun. And Seth is fantastic, both in front of and behind the camera, and Evan is also a great leader.
You pulled on Dark Ron Howard?
It was a character. And yes, it was built on certain aspects of my life. I wanted to use my cadenses and my behavior and all this. But when it comes to the nasty and pleasing to humiliate this guy, it just played the stage. So I trained old gears that I had not used for decades.
Do you remember the last full role you had? I looked it up. It’s a long time ago.
It’s been too long since 1985 or so. We made a Andy Griffith -Show, “Return to Mayberry.” And it may have been the last time I learned dialogue and played it.
What struck me about this: There is a step by step understanding of how to build that scene. Remick is worried about giving you the note. And this is this moment where you sit at the end of the table, and you say, “Do you have a note?” That’s when Remick knows you remember his ultimate humiliation.
It’s like a guy who knows he has an ace in his sleeve. He has just been waiting to pull it out and play it, too early he pushes him for notes. Since (remick), the fact that he does not speak, it means he has something in the sleeve. I liked his boss (Catharine O’hara as Patty Leigh). I understood her. She was a good CEO, but this guy, I don’t want him to move with me. And yet I feel that he has something that bugs him.
It’s in the room. They are all waiting for him to deliver the note.
No one really wants to give an experienced director or actor criticism. It is increased, but it is realistic. That’s what I love about the series.
“The studio“Is exactly.
Yes, it is, and of course (Seth and Evan) know because they have been on it for a long time and and they are also producers. It is a joy to look at.
The character that Matt plays, you win and hug in each section when he is entering the MAW disaster. You recognize the guy who thinks he knows everything and wants to do his best, but is weak and sniffing at the same time.
He is afraid of politics for everything.
They wrote that role for you. And if you hadn’t said yes, they would have had to throw it out, because there was a specific set of things they needed. They needed Oscar winners ”a beautiful mind,” A movie with a twist from an established director.
Unless they had another movie with a twist and another director, which I did not go in with them.
Explain why this director is so scary: the power structure, why this guy has everyone who says nice things to him all the time.
Due to enforceable final cutting. I’ve had the last clips for several years. Leaders seem more than willing to tell them what they think, at least, that is my opinion, but I am also known for being cooperative and open and not so likely to execute the final cut. If you know that someone has a final cut and you cross them, it may be the end of the conversation.
Because the studio is so invested in being in business with these creative. There are not many on your level, right?
Or they are caught and get stuck with a movie that will fail and cost them a lot of money. It is a tricky situation. And of course they built brilliantly in this previous experience in his history, it is the gun on the table.
“Studio” depicts managers who are driven saved in Hollywood.
It is a very difficult time to be executive, of hook or with a villain, with so many stores. If you are passionate enough for something to make all victims the necessary sacrifices, you can probably get projects that you really love done in some way.
But even you, your taste is such that the movies you like to do, in intermediate drama like “A beautiful mind” and “Apollo 13”, they no longer do.
I always say that the audience defines this more than managers do, and it is easy to blame managers or data reading of data. But at the end of the day, the audience tells us, how and how often they are interested in certain types of movies or stories at a certain time. TV does a good job with character drama and there is a lot of excellent work there that I am sure I have an impact on the theatrical business. And we creative people must continue to push for the things we care about and recognize the market and our audience and then continue to take risks. Because you don’t learn much from following the status quo.
One of the things I find is encouraging is “sinners” that do so well, because it’s a big swing.
Me too. Even at the multiplex this weekend I went with my family, it was a matinee. It is more admission. It’s a little more alive. We went to see Marvel (“Thunderbolts”). Getting back to the “studio”, because it took me three days to do it, and it was a real role. It was enough with a departure that it was like playing a character, in a way, even if the character was inspired by me. It was so fun. So it made me think …
Do you open the door to act again? Have you told people this?
I mentioned it to people at CAA and we’ll see.
I look forward to it, whether it’s good Ron Howard or villain Ron Howard.
It’s fun to play an asshole. No wonder everyone likes to play the evil every now and then.
