Ron Howard certainly falls into the category of a national treasure beginning with his role as America’s favorite kid, Opie, on “The Andy Griffith Show.”  Since that time, that little kid from Duncan, Oklahoma, co-starred in a variety of episodic television shows as well as directing Emmy-award winning programs.  He made his feature film directing debut with “Grand Auto Theft” subsequently working with some of the most famous Hollywood actors, including Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson, Gary Sinise, Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, and Bill Paxton.  He has directed some of the film industry’s most memorable films including, “Cocoon,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Splash,” “Parenthood,” “Cinderella Man,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “Apollo 13” which garnered the Best Director Oscar.

Your reporter sat down with this brilliant director for an exclusive interview to discuss his latest film, “Pavarotti,” a documentary on the life, times, and struggles of one of the world’s most famous tenors. A CBS Films Polygram Entertainment Brian Grazer presentation, the film is an Imagine Entertainment and White Horse Pictures production, and is scheduled to open in select cities on June 7.

The following has been edited for content and continuity for print purposes.

You’ve made two successful documentaries: “Made in America” and “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.” Why a documentary on Pavarotti?

Ron: I was drawn to his personal and professional journey, which I thought was inspiring and very dramatic and a great human-interest story. He had missteps and foibles but at the end of the day, I felt there was an interesting paradox with this very common, earthy guy performing at that high level for so many years. The film is a blend of his life and what I could reveal about opera, what it takes to sing opera, and what opera can mean on an emotional level. I could offer audiences something a little surprising. That’s what drew me to make the film.

When you were doing your research and interviewing people, did you discover something that surprised you?

Ron: It was interesting to understand the way he navigated in the world. So on one hand, he was not an innocent, but he wanted people to like him and he wanted to make people feel comfortable. At the same time, he was a shrewd businessman and he cared about the deals.  I was surprised at the way his career sort of flattened out. He went into a period of a kind of a malaise wherein he cancelled appearances and was just down in general in the wake of some romances that didn’t work out. His marriage was really over but he didn’t feel he could get a divorce. Catholic and Italian made a divorce highly problematic for him and his family.

Was it easy to get cooperation from his family?

Ron: I didn’t interview his first wife Adua Veroni because I don’t speak Italian and I was directing “Solo – A Star Wars Story” at that time. I think the family was incredibly courageous. They gave us all a gift – not by just offering insight into Luciano – all his foibles and all his disappointments – but also by giving us an object lesson in forgiveness. I didn’t expect that.  None of us expected that to come out of those interviews and it wasn’t just Adua, it was also the daughters.

Did someone in Pavarotti’s life impact him life in a positive way?

Ron: I was surprised that Princess Diana, who I had an opportunity to meet a couple of times over the years and actually talked to her, had a deep effect on him. Her dedication to philanthropy seemed to reinvigorate him in a way and he took that on himself. That was something that came out of the interviews.

What is it about documentaries that you find particularly exciting?

Ron: I always enjoyed them and they satisfy my curiosity. They’re related to a lot of the narrative stories that I’ve done – the ones that are either based on real events or they’re fiction and meant to depict the world like the movie “The Paper.” I wanted the journalism to feel realistic even though it was a fictional story. There’s a lot of research involved. I always found that fascinating and as I’ve done that, it’s made me more and more curious about what it would be like to make a documentary and take on that responsibility. In the three films I’ve done, I’ve had fantastic collaborators who were helping me understand that discipline. I find it very satisfying. It’s a departure in some ways from what I do when I’m directing a scripted narrative piece, but they’re more related than I expected it to be.

What is the difference between making a narrative film vs. a documentary?

Ron: Basically, you’re skipping over the production side with a documentary and going right to post. Whenever I’m in post production, I always forget about what it was like to shoot and just look at what we have and try to explore what its virtues are and what it can be. Actually, the big difference is that the story has to kind of define itself for you based on the acquired footage and what the interviewees have to say. So, you have your goals, you’ve done your research, you start thinking about what the story is going to be, but you can’t be sure. It does sort of present itself. When you’re working on a scripted project, you have a lot more editorial control over what it is you want to say and how you want to work with the story to say it. In this case, Pavarotti’s spirit informed every interview and even if they were acknowledging warts and disappointments, the take-away was always that the scales dipped dramatically to the positive. His spirit, and his sense of giving were pure and something everyone respected and appreciated.

Your film definitely fulfills his wish to bring opera to the masses.

Ron: Thank you. If we accomplished that, I’d feel that we have helped Luciano Pavarotti to fulfill his agenda.

Thank you so much for a gracious interview.

Ron: Nice interview. Thank you.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in which Ron Howard discusses transitioning from actor to director, how he chooses his scripts, and his directing approach.

The post Ron Howard Discusses His Documentary on the Iconic Tenor Luciano Pavarotti appeared first on Traveling Archive.

It isn’t often in one’s career that you get to sit down with a Disney, but that opportunity presented itself with Tim Disney, son of Roy Edward Disney, grandson of Roy O. Disney and Edna Disney, and great nephew of Walt and Lillian. In the family tradition, he is involved in film making, producing numerous documentaries on the environment as well as directing and writing narrative films. The subject of the interview was his latest film William, which could be categorized as a sci-fi family drama about two scientists who decide to create a Neanderthal child by extracting DNA from a 35,000 year-old preserved specimen. The story covers the development of William from infancy through adulthood and stars Will Brittain in the key role. The cast includes, Maria Dizzia, Walled Zuaiter, Susan Park, Callum Airlie, Beth Grant, and Paul Guilfoyle. A review of the film will be forthcoming.

Your reporter interviewed Tim in an exclusive session to discuss his film and personal revelations. The following text has been edited for content and continuity for print purposes.

Part 1:  Making the Film

What drew you to this subject matter?

Tim: I got drawn to this idea by reading about the emergence of early man and their relationship with at least three other human species that co-existed with homo sapiens, the Neanderthals being the best known and who were their cultural equivalent.

How were they similar to other homo sapiens living at that time?

They did all the things that we think of as human. They created symbolic objects, had a complex language, and buried their dead – they were our equals. There was a lot of discussion about how our superior culture or language or creativity could be matched by Neanderthals, but they died out. You know history is written by the living and maybe pre-history too. I thought what if they died out because they were better than us? What if they were more virtuous than us? What if this special characteristic that we congratulate ourselves on is really a sinister quality. That was the essence of the idea. From that, I started crafting a personal story.

Would you characterize William as a cautionary tale?

Tim: Not primarily. I don’t think it’s principally about the science, or even the ethics of the science, although that’s certainly a theme within it. I think it’s a personal story. I think it’s a family story. I think it’s a story about otherness and the difficulty of being different in a hostile world.

A metaphor for social disorders?

Tim: I think so. But also beyond that it’s about emerging adults and the difficulty they have in individuating from their parents. I think it’s a universal story in that respect.

How did you go about casting William?

Tim: Well, it was hard. We had to have a great actor and that was the most important quality. We also needed someone who would have physical plausibility as a Neanderthal, who were shorter and stockier than us and had different proportions. Casting a tall, skinny person, no matter how great an actor he was, would be difficult.  We met a lot of really wonderful people but when Will came in the door, we knew he was the guy.

Just by his looks?

Tim: Yes. He’s formerly a personal trainer and football player so he was very fit. In preparation for the film, he spent months bulking up by working out every day, lifting weights and eating only 4,000 calories daily. I was very cautious about overplaying his physicality. I never wanted to get into farce and I didn’t want to make him superhuman. He couldn’t lift a car or anything like that. The day before filming began he took me aside and said, “I’ve been working out for three months. I’m taking my shirt off in the movie.”  (Laughs) So we wrote in some scenes that displayed his efforts.

Did he have an acting background?

Tim: He did a bunch of small parts but was not a big name. I had seen him in a movie called Everybody Wants Some!!, a Richard Linklaetter film, and he had a small part in King Kong.

How did you begin the process? 

Tim: I’m a collaborative person. These lower budget movies are more difficult to make than big budget films because you don’t get a lot of rehearsal time and there’s no room for errors or recovery. We started with a traditional table read followed by many conversations so that we were generally in sync with whom these characters were and how they would interact. So, we had a good understanding before we hit the set. That said, I also like to plan. I’m too nervous to wing it. Everything always changes and you have to be flexible, but I like to have a roadmap.

During the shoot, did the script go through any changes?

Tim: We started with what was on the page but in the moment you always adapt to what’s working or what’s not working. There were a lot of improvisations and changes that happened, but in general, the movie is structured as written.

What was most difficult about the shoot?

Tim: Working with the young kids was difficult. It was the first week and we had a lot of stuff to do with them.  We were getting up and running as a crew so having small children on set was really challenging. There was a lot of improvising going on. (Laughs) They don’t always do what you tell them to do. They get cranky, and hungry and tired. Dealing with the kids was challenging and nerve racking.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where Tim talks about being a Disney and his role as a single dad.

The post Up Close & Personal With Tim Disney on His Film – “William” and Other Topics appeared first on Traveling Archive.