The 1990 movie that made Ron Howard an enemy for life: “I’ve never gone back to him since”
Imagine looking at Ron Howard and thinking to yourself, “Now there’s a man who deserves to be placed on my enemies list for life.” It sounds ridiculous, but it happened, and the grudge is still held to this day.
You can count on one hand the number of people inside the industry who’ve beefed, feuded, or felt they’ve been wronged by the two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker, who’s more than earned his stripes as Hollywood’s resident ‘Mr Nice Guy’, which might explain why he gets on so well with Tom Hanks.
Those two wholesome lads have gotten along so well for the last 40 years that Hanks has even joked about manufacturing some animosity between them, just to see what would happen, although there is a faint scent of irony in the air that their first picture together is tied to the star who made Howard persona non grata in their professional inner circle.
1984’s Splash was the future back-to-back ‘Best Actor’ winner’s big break as a big-screen leading man, but he wasn’t the first choice to play Allen Bauer. Michael Keaton, who’d starred in Howard’s previous film, Night Shift, turned it down, with the director struggling to find anyone who’d take the part.
Since it was a mid-80s comedy, the script was almost obligated to be sent Bill Murray’s way, and he responded by throwing it across the room, making it perfectly clear that he’d rather make a serious film instead. He did, but The Razor’s Edge was released the same year as Ghostbusters and Splash, so there’s that.
Several years later, though, the shoe found itself on the other foot. Murray had become enamoured with Howard Franklin’s script for Quick Change, but the project needed a director. Jonathan Demme got the nod, but scheduling conflicts ruled him out. The former Saturday Night Live favourite’s next port of call was none other than Ron Howard, who wasn’t impressed by the script.
In the movie, which he ended up co-directing himself alongside Franklin, Murray plays Grimm, a down-and-out New Yorker who orchestrates a bank heist while dressed as a clown, with Geena David and Randy Quaid as his accomplices. Howard didn’t find any of the main characters particularly sympathetic, relatable, or easy to root for, which placed him straight on Murray’s shit list.
“He lost me at that moment,” the man who claims he made Garfield by mistake explained. “I’ve never gone back to him since.” From that moment on, Howard was persona non grata, and at no point since Quick Change was released in 1990 has he even contemplated working with him on anything.
Finding him is hard enough as it is, but even if Howard were to make any inquiries on his availability, Murray wouldn’t bother his arse. He’s shown on numerous occasions that he knows how to hold a grudge, and this one has been simmering away for the last three and a half decades.
