The movie Ron Howard called “a hell of an opportunity to get some experience”
One thing that can never be said about Ron Howard is that his career has lacked variety, with the actor and director going out of his way to try his hand at as many different styles, tones, and genres as possible on either side of the camera.
As a performer, he broke out as a child on The Andy Griffith Show, played a major role in George Lucas’ ‘Best Picture’-nominated classic American Graffiti, became a key part of a generation-defining TV series in Happy Days, co-starred with John Wayne in his final movie. In addition, he was also a fixture on Arrested Development.
After segueing into directing, Howard reached the pinnacle of the industry by winning ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ with A Beautiful Mind. He made a point of tackling almost every type of movie there is, from blockbuster sci-fi epics, cult favourite fantasies and crime thrillers to biopics, racing dramas, family films, and comedies.
If an opportunity presents itself, then he won’t be of a mind to turn it down. That’s something he’s carried with him for going on half a century when the untried and untested director was offered the chance by his mentor to make his feature-length directorial debut.
Roger Corman launched no shortage of careers, and he showed faith in Howard that was repaid in kind. However, it wasn’t anywhere near as simple as the first-timer being handed the reins on 1977’s Grand Theft Auto no questions asked. The influential producer laid out a specific set of terms and conditions that needed to be met before he got his shot.
“Well, first I had to bribe my way in by acting in another of his movies,” Howard told Harvard Business Review of how he ended up making his first feature. “I told him, ‘I will only do Eat My Dust if you give me a chance to direct’. He gave me some hoops to jump through – the movie would have to make a certain amount of money, which meant I’d have to promote it, he had to like my script and approve the budget, blah, blah, blah – but I took the gamble.”
Howard’s desire to direct was hardly a secret at the time, but being a TV star, nobody took him particularly seriously. “People out of situation comedies especially didn’t become feature directors,” he admitted. “When I would say I wanted to direct, I was met with a lot of patronising pats on the head and, ‘I bet one of these days you’ll get a chance’. I didn’t want to hear that. I was ready to go.”
Fortunately, Corman had a reputation for giving filmmakers their start, and Howard was happy to match the terms put down in front of him. Although he did admit “Grand Theft Auto was not the socioeconomic masterpiece that I had dreamed of launching my career with,” he did brand it “a hell of an opportunity to get some experience,” and he hasn’t looked back since.
