‘The Insider’: The Al Pacino movie loved by Ron Howard
After deciding that merely performing in front of the camera was never going to be enough to satisfy his creative desires, Ron Howard made the brave leap into the director’s chair, proving that his talents reached far beyond his childhood efforts on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days and he established himself as one of Hollywood’s great filmmakers.
The list of Howard’s cinematic achievements is remarkable in nature and includes the equally brilliant A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and The Da Vinci Code, proving that he’s capable of providing a wide range of emotion, from drama to intensity to suspense. Quite simply, Howard is fully deserving of the widespread acclaim that has come his way throughout his career.
Howard once appeared in a joint interview with his A Beautiful Mind star Russell Crowe, hosted by Larry King, and eventually, the conversation turned to the brilliance of Al Pacino. Crowe had famously performed alongside Pacino early in his career in the 1999 drama film The Insider, directed by Michael Mann.
“Great movie,” Howard responded when King admitted that it’s one of his favourites, adding, “I love that film.” The film arrived from a screenplay written by Eric Roth and Mann from a 1996 Vanity Fair article called ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’. It tells of Jeffrey Wigand, the infamous tobacco industry whistleblower (played by Crowe), and Lowell Bergman (Pacino), a CBS producer.
Crowe had also been asked of his opinion of The Insider and gave details as to what it was like working so closely with Pacino. “It was very interesting,” he began. “And we have a totally separate process, you know. I’m not looking for it. I’ve done my homework. I’ve done it since I’ve been at the set that morning in terms of specifically thinking what do I need to get out of this thing to push the story forward.”
The Gladiator actor continued: “Whereas Al will begin to discover it in that moment, which is very fascinating to watch, you know, but it’s just different from me. And there’s no value judgment on that. That’s Al’s attitude, you know. And I understand it and respect it. But, I like to have a little bit more of a handle on what we’re actually looking for, because, you know, then, for me it’s also the efficiency of the day.”
Check out the trailer for The Insider below to see Crowe and Pacino in action together.
