The Instant Expert's Guide to Ron Howard

Ron Howard is the kind of person to keep his head down and get on with the job. He rarely gets the credit he deserves. So, Cinema Paradiso gives him his due in the latest Instant Expert's Guide.

For almost his entire life, Ron Howard has been involved in film and television. He has acted in or directed over 130 features and TV shows, while producing over 120 more. As a director, his pictures have grossed more than $4.3 billion dollars and have scooped over 40 major awards. Yet, you'd be hard pressed to spot a Ron Howard movie. Influenced by the likes of Mike Nichols, Arthur Penn, and Norman Jewison, he has always placed greater emphasis on narrative and character than signature style.

In one interview, he conceded: 'I have to say that it's still important to me not to impose a style, a personal stamp, on a film. I'd almost prefer that the movies look like they were directed by other people.' Such self-effacement speaks volumes about his gifts as a storyteller and why Ron Howard is considered the nicest man in Hollywood.

Meet the Beckenholdts

Hailing from a German family that had long been settled in Oklahoma, Harold Engle Beckenholdt was born in Newkirk in 1928. Despite being raised on the family farm, he had ambitions to act and left for New York in 1948. While working with a children's touring company, he married Jean Speegle, who wore a Cinderella dress for the Kentucky ceremony. As 'it was a very low-budget production', she was only attended by four of Snow White's Seven Dwarfs.

Having changed his name, Rance Howard put on troop shows while serving in the US Air Force. During this stint in uniform, Ronald William Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma on 1 March 1954 and his brother, Clint, followed on 20 April 1959. Mother, father, and eldest son would all make their screen debuts with uncredited bit parts in Ron Ormond's Western, Frontier Woman (1956). But Rance, Jean, and Clint would frequently crop up in Ron's movies once he started directing.

Between them, the Howards have racked up a fair number of acting credits. Rance alone amassed 284 and supposedly earned a mention in the Guinness Book of Records for having played the most clergymen in screen history. As the lists would be too long to cite here, we are going to invite you to use the Cinema Paradiso searchline to find the titles that might interest you. But we should point you in the direction of three notable outings for each family member. For Rance, we'll go with Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974; in which he plays a farmer), Jonathan Wacks's Ed and His Dead Mother (1993), and Alexander Payne's Nebraska (2013). Jean's trio are Richard Donner's Scrooged (1988; as Mrs Claus), Danny DeVito's Matilda (1996), and Douglas Green's The Hiding Place (2000), while Clint can be heard or seen in John Lounsbery's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977; he voices Roo), Frank Coraci's The Waterboy (1998), and Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007).

The Beckenholdt farm is still run by Howard's cousins. But he spent little time in the Oklahoma backwoods, as his parents went west to pursue their acting ambitions, with Ron taking infant roles from the age of 18 months. Realising that their son enjoyed being involved, Rance and Jean moved to Burbank, although they could only afford a small house, as their pay cheques for bit parts wouldn't stretch to anything else.

In 1959, Howard landed his first credited film role in Anatole Litvak's The Journey, a story about the Soviet invasion of Hungary that reunited Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr from Walter Lang's The King and I (1956). He remembers clambering over the tanks in the studio in Vienna and how Rance secured him an agent on their return to Los Angeles. Indeed, he started giving the five year-old acting lessons, so that he knew how to hold himself on screen and interact with his co-stars.

Naturally taking to speaking roles, Howard was cast as the Wilcox boy in the 'Walking Distance' episode of the cult series, The Twilight Zone (1959-64). As he needed to squeeze in an education between acting gigs, Howard was intially tutored at the Desilu Studios, owned by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball (who would later be profiled in an Amy Schumer documentary that Howard co-produced). Eventually, he attend Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary and David Star Jordan Junior High before graduating from John Burroughs High School. However, he would spend his schooldays as a household name after being cast as Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show (1960-68).

Opie and Richie

Having cut his teeth in live broadcast television and guested in such family favourites as Dennis the Menace and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (both 1959-63), Howard was chosen to play Opie, the son of widowed lawman Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) in The Andy Griffith Show. Set in the small town of Mayberry, North Carolina, the action had a folksy feel that ran counter to the transformatory socio-cultural changes that shaped the 1960s. But audiences lapped it up and the series continued as Mayberry R.F.D. (1968-71) after Griffith and Howard left.

Unlike Don Knotts and Frances Bavier, who would respectively play Deputy Barney Fife and housekeeper, Bee Taylor, neither Griffith nor Howard (who was billed as 'Ronny') would win an Emmy Award for their efforts. But the 249 episodes made them the most popular father and son on American television. Jim Nabors, who ran the local gas station, also did well out of the series, as he headlined the spin-off, Gomer Pyle USMC (1964-69). But the biggest beneficiary was Howard, who credits director Bob Sweeney for helping him grow into the character and for encouraging his growing fascination with direction.

Howard also feels indebted to Rance for teaching him a variation on the Stanislavsky technique of Method acting that not only enabled him to connect with the emotional core of a scene, but also to develop what he calls the 'almost hypersensitive empathetic pathway' that underpins his personality. Rance would often take small roles to support his son in features like Bill Karn's Five Minutes to Live (1961), which marked singer Johnny Cash's acting debut. In playing Winthrop Paroo in Morton DaCosta's adaptation of the hit stage musical, The Music Man (1962), Howard had to develop a lisp, while he tried to matchmake Glenn Ford with Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill, and Shirley Jones in Vincente Minnelli's comedy, The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963).

Howard also starred as a child genius whose potion causes chaos in Bert I. Gordon's H.G. Wells adaptation, Village of the Giants (1965). On television, he took guest spots in such classic shows as Bonanza (1959-73), Dr Kildare (1961-66), The Fugitive (1963-67), Daniel Boone (1964-70), The Big Valley (1965-69), and I Spy (1965-68). Notably, the Howard siblings also acted together for the first time when Ronny joined Clint in Gentle Ben (1967-69), a spin-off from Walt Morey's children's novel about the friendship between a young boy and a bear.

In 1969, Howard played Jodar in an episode of Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants (1968-70). He was also cast as Henry Fonda's son in The Smith Family (1971-72). But he rates his experience alongside Clint on Robert Totten's Disney saga, The Wild Country (1970), as the most crucial to his burgeoning fascination with directing.

Acting continued to pay the bills, however, whether as an underage Marine in the 'Sometimes You Hear the Bullet' episode of M*A*S*H (1972-83) or as Jason's best friend, Seth Turner, in 'The Gift' instalment of The Waltons (1972-81). Howard also took sizeable roles in features like Darren McGavin's Happy Mother's Day, Love George (1973), Richard Fleischer's The Spikes Gang (1974), Mark Haggard and Mark Kimmel's The First Nudie Musical (1975), and Don Siegels's The Shootist (1976), which saw John Wayne bow out of movies. as Howard earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Most significantly, George Lucas selected Howard to play Steve Bolander in his coming-of-age classic, American Graffiti (1973). During shooting, the director told his young star about a project he was developing. 'George tried to explain it as a kind of Flash Gordon movie but with better special effects,' Howard later recalled. 'And I thought it sounded like a pretty terrible idea. Sci-fi was really a B-minus genre. I liked Planet of the Apes [1968] all right but I couldn't possibly imagine what he was trying to do.'

By all accounts, Howard couldn't even get an audition for Star Wars (1977). But he probably wouldn't have been too downhearted, as he was then playing Richie Cunningham in one of the definitive 70s sitcoms, Happy Days (1974-84). Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1950s, the series traded on the nostalgia boom sparked by American Graffiti. Howard was notionally the star, alongside Tom Bosley and Marion Ross as his parents, Howard and Marion. However, the popularity of Arthur Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler) saw the focus shift toward The Fonz.

Having married Cheryl Alley in 1975 (whose daughters Bryce Dallas and Paige both act), Howard remained in the show for seven years. He also made guest appearances in later episodes, by which time Happy Days had spawned the popular spin-offs Laverne & Shirley (1976-83) and Mork and Mindy (1978-81), as well as the not so fondly remembered Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-83). But the acting bug had most definitely worn off and Howard was ready to start calling the shots.

Playing in the Sandbox

The history of Hollywood is strewn with tales of child stars whose lives are ruined by their brush with fame. Ron Howard is very much the exception to the rule. 'When I was 10,' he recalled in an interview, 'one of the directors on The Andy Griffith Show said, "I see the way you're looking at the camera and following rehearsals even when you're not in the scenes, and I have a feeling you're gonna be a director."'

Inspired by such innovative features as Mike Nichols's The Graduate, Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (both 1967), and Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), Howard realised there was a world outside sitcoms and that he 'wanted to play in that sandbox'. Consequently, with a little help from Rance, he made the shorts Deed of Daring-Do, Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore and Death, and Old Paint (all 1969), shooting at weekends with rented equipment.

Howard has recently admitted that he considered making a softcore comedy entitled Opie Gets Laid in order to draw a line under his past. Brother Clint joked that the picture could have made $1 million, but Howard insists that he only took the idea seriously 'for probably two and a half to three seconds'. Instead, he became part of the first intake at the University of Southern California's film school. But he had hardly started attending classes when he landed Happy Days and was forced to withdraw.

Convinced the series would only last a couple of years, Howard found himself tied down by a contract. However, he was free to take occasional acting roles and persuaded indie producer Roger Corman that he would play Hoover Niebold in Charles B. Griffith's car chase comedy, Eat My Dust! (1976), if he allowed him to direct Tis the Season, a comedy he had written with Rance. Corman was decidedly underwhelmed by the homemade project. But he agreed to let Howard make Grand Theft Auto (1977), providing he also played Sam Freeman, the poor student who has to keep stealing cars while eloping to Las Vegas with poor little rich girl, Paula Powers (Nancy Morgan).

With Rance playing the family retainer in hot pursuit, the picture made for lively, if undemanding viewing. But it gave Howard his start and he joined Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, and Joe Dante in the ranks of those who owe their careers to Roger Corman. Eager to learn as much as create his masterpiece, Howard made a handful of TV-movies for NBC, including the battle of the bands saga, Cotton Candy (1978), which he co-wrote with Clint for the family's new company, Major H. Productions. He also got to direct screen legend Bette Davis in Skyward (1980), in which she plays a veteran flight instructor.

In between directorial assignments, Howard took occasional acting roles, notably cameoing as Steve Bolander in Bill L. Norton's More American Graffiti (1979). He would also take two uncredited roles (see if you can spot them) in his second outing behind the camera, Night Shift (1982). Coming towards the end of his Fonz phase, Henry Winkler starred as a morgue attendant who is forced to share the graveyard slot with eccentric new co-worker, Michael Keaton.

Moderately successful, this edgy comedy helped launch Keaton. More importantly, it reunited Howard with Happy Days writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel and forged a link with producer Brian Grazer. They would form Imagine Entertainment, which, as we shall see, has backed a string of hits since 1986. The foursome enjoyed their first major success with Splash! (1984), which Grazer coaxed Howard into directing after he had been offered both Mr Mom (1983) and Footloose (1984), which would eventually be directed by Stan Dragoti and Herbert Ross respectively.

Echoing the classic Glynis Johns duo of Miranda (Ken Annakin, 1948) and Mad About Men (Ralph Thomas, 1954), this cornball romcom made stars of Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, as a New York greengrocer and the mermaid he falls for. Yet Michael Keaton, Jeff Bridges, Chevy Chase, Richard Gere, Dudley Moore, Kevin Kline, Bill Murray, and John Travolta had turned down the role of Allen Bauer, while Tatum O'Neal, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Melanie Griffith, Fiona Fullerton, Diane Lane, Kathleen Turner, and Sharon Stone were among those who had opted against strapping on Madison's tail.

As would become customary, both Rance and Clint took bit parts in the picture and they were also present when Howard changed tack to make the sci-fi charmer, Cocoon (1985). Robert Zemeckis had been removed from the project by 20th Century-Fox executives who didn't like the way Romancing the Stone (1985) was shaping. Shows what they know!

Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, and Wilford Brimley starred as the Florida seniors who discover a new zest for life after bathing in the pool in the property adjoining their retirement home. What they don't know, however, is that it contains pods from the planet Antaria.

At 77, Ameche won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, although the 49 year-old Brimley also worked wonders to appear so geriatric. The film also took the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and moved Howard up the directorial ladder. However, he slipped a rung on joining forces with Michael Keaton again on Gung Ho (1986), a culture-clash comedy in which a foreman persuades a Japanese company to take over a car plant in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, Howard similarly missed his step in helming Willow (1988), a fantasy adventure that producer George Lucas had been mulling over since 1972.

Although the visual and sound effects were nominated for Oscars, critics were less enamoured of a storyline that pairs aspiring sorcerer Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davies) and warrior Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) on a quest to protect an infant princess from Queen Bavmorda of Nockmaar (Jean Marsh). The reviews were markedly more enthusiastic, however, for the Ganz and Mandel-scripted Parenthood (1989), which saw Howard return to the kind of family feel-good milieu to which he had become accustomed as a child actor. Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen were aptly cast as St Louis couple, Gil and Karen Buckman, although Dianne Wiest also impressed with her Oscar-nominated turn as Martin's skittish sister.

Ever eager to demonstrate his versatility, Howard followed this cosy, but acute comedy with Backdraft (1991), which paid tribute to America's firefighters. Kurt Russell and William Baldwin were teamed as siblings Bull and Brian McCaffrey, who find themselves under scrutiny from arson investigator Donald Rimgale (Robert DeNiro) after a series of fires around Chicago resembles those set by jailed pyromaniac Ronald Bartel (Donald Sutherland). Despite questions being raised about the authenticity of the blazes, the action was sufficiently spectacular to attract Oscar nominations for its visual effects, sound, and sound effects editing.

Howard co-concocted the storyline for Far and Away (1992) with Canadian screenwriter, Bob Dolman. Envisaging the story as an epic paean to the Land of the Free, he arranged to make pioneering use of the Panavision Super 70 process, which made the tale of Irish migrants finding a home in 1890s Oklahoma the first Hollywood feature to have been shot in 70mm since Steven Lisberger's Tron (1982). Moreover, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were recruited as Joseph Donnelly and landlord's daughter Shannon Christie. But the box-office returns were disappointing, while the reviews were harsh and two years passed before Howard returned to the director's chair.

Brothers David and Stephen Koepp scripted The Paper (1994), which followed workaholic New York Sun editor Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) over a 24-hour period in which his private life impinges upon a scoop to expose a police conspiracy and an in-house plan to impose stringent cutbacks. Despite Marisa Tomei and Glenn Close leading the estimable ensemble, some reviews objected to the depiction of women in a newspaper office, as though Howard Hawks's His Girl Friday (1940) had never happened. Nevertheless, the notices were largely positive and proved a timely fillip, as Howard prepared to embark upon the most ambitious enterprise of his career to date.

Houston, We Have a Problem

James Lovell's account of the 1970 Odyssey mission to the Moon was adapted for the screen with Kevin Costner as the astronaut's first choice to play himself. When Howard took over Apollo 13 (1995), however, he had no doubts that Tom Hanks was ideal for the role and, thus, politely turned down John Travolta's offer to headline. With Brad Pitt and John Cusack opting out of the roles of Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton were selected to share the command module. Following extensive training under Lovell's watchful eye, the trio started shooting, with several scenes being staged on a special plane where the weightlessness of space could be simulated.

The attention to detail proved worthwhile, as the film notched up nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Actor. Ultimately, the only triumphs came in the editing and sound categories, although the production design and visual effects earned BAFTAs. To date, Apollo 13 has taken over $355 million at the box office and it remains Howard's finest achievement as a director. So, whatever followed was going to seem somewhat anti-climactic and the reviews were rather mixed for Ransom (1996), in which Mel Gibson and Rene Russo anxiously await news of their kidnapped son.

Gibson received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, while Howard's propulsive direction was commended. But comparisons weren't always favourable with Alex Segal's Ransom! (1956), which paired Glenn Ford and Donna Reed as the parents, alongside Leslie Nielsen and Robert Keith as the reporter and the local police chief covering the case. Cinema Paradiso users, of course, can judge for themselves by ordering both films for a nail-biting double bill. The same could apply to Howard's EdTV (1999) and Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998), which stole a march in the battle between these satirical studies of surveillance and celebrity (although they were both trumped by Michel Poulette's Québecois comedy, Louis 19, King of the Airwaves, 1994). It also didn't hurt that Weir could call on the services of Jim Carrey, although Matthew McConaughey was admirable as the reality star, especially when sharing scenes with Woody Harrelson as his rascally brother.

Recouping only $35.2 million on its $80 budget, the film flopped on the back of apologetically underwhelmed reviews. Perhaps the pain was eased by the Emmy and Golden Globe success of From the Earth to the Moon (1998), an acclaimed mini-series about the Apollo programme that Howard and Grazer exec'd for producer Tom Hanks. A take of $345 million similarly helped the studio gloss over the negative press for Howard's adaptation of the Dr Seuss fable, The Grinch (2000). Universal had been invited to submit a treatment of the story to Theodore Geisel's widow, Audrey, who had rejected several other proposals (including one to star Jack Nicholson) before accepting Howard's interpretation.

Shelving an adaptation of Jack London's The She-Wolf, Howard agreed to direct after Tim Burton had declined. Anthony Hopkins narrated, while Jim Carrey exuded humbug in Rick Baker's Oscar-winning make-up as the green-furred Christmas hater. Critics, however, clung to Chuck Jones's 1966 animation, Dr Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which had been narrated by horror icon, Boris Karloff. But Howard's retelling became one of the most successful Yuletide releases until its numbers were exceeded by Yarrow Cheney's The Grinch (2018).

In another bold switch of direction, Howard moved on to a biopic of John Nash, the mathematician and Nobel Prize-winning economist who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Tom Cruise was originally considered to headline A Beautiful Mind (2001), while Rachel Weisz was offered the role of Nash's wife, Alicia. In the end, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly took the roles and received Oscar nominations. Indeed, Connelly won Best Supporting Actress, while Howard took home two statuettes for Best Picture and Best Director. Yet the film was shrouded in controversy, as Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman were accused of disregarding facts and ignoring the fact that Alicia hailed from El Salvador.

Undaunted, Howard moved on to The Missing (2003), which was adapted from Thomas Eidson's bestseller, The Last Ride. Set in New Mexico in the late 19th century, the action follows Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett) and her estranged father, Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones), as they ride out to rescue abducted daughter Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood). Owing debts to John Ford's The Searchers (1956), this was hailed by some as the best Hollywod Western since Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992). Its use of Apache dialects was particularly praised. But, being a Ron Howard picture, the usual naysayers had to point to a lack of finesse and, as a consequence, the public were unenthused.

Throughout this period, Imagine had continued to back a range of films. Howard took producer credits on James Foley's The Chamber (1996) and Pat O'Connor's Inventing the Abbotts (1997). He was also executive producer on Peter Werner's No Man's Land (1987), Joe Dante's The 'Burbs (1989), and Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991). For kids, Howard co-produced Curious George (2006), Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! (2009), and Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle (2015). In 2003, however, he moved back into television to produce and narrate Michael Hurwitz's cult sitcom, Arrested Development (2003-06). Indeed, when the series was revived in 2013 and 2018, Howard resumed his roles with alacrity. Another Imagine hit from this time was 24 (2001-10), which starred Kiefer Sutherland as Federal Agent Jack Bauer.

Back on the big screen, Howard reunited with Russell Crowe for another biopic. Andy Griffith had used to joke that his TV show felt like something from the 1930s and critics accused Howard of romanticising the Great Depression in Cinderella Man (2005). There was a hint of John G. Avilden's Rocky (1976) about this account of the travails of heavyweight boxer Jim Braddock, his wife Mae (Renée Zellwegger), and his loyal manager, Joe Gould (an Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti). But America was in the mood for an underdog story and cinematographer Salvatore Tonino and editors Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill ensured the legendary 1935 world title bout with Max Baer (Craig Bierko) was good and punchy.

Nicest Guy in Hollywood

Despite never particularly being a critics' favourite, Howard is well regarded among his peers. He is also trusted by studio chiefs. So, when Dan Brown sold the rights to his behemoth bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, for $6 million, Columbia had no hesitation in bringing Imagine on board. Howard's first choice for Harvard professor Robert Langdon was Bill Paxton. But Tom Hanks made religious symbology box-office gold, as Langdon and police cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) race albino monk Silas (Paul Bettany) and his Opus Dei cohorts to find the Holy Grail after Langdon is accused of a brutal murder at the Louvre.

Filmed on the 007 stage at Pinewood and at locations around the UK, the 2006 feature received a cool reception at Cannes. But it went on to gross $758 million worldwide. No wonder Hanks was persuade to return for Angels & Demons (2009), which pitted Langdon against the Illuminati during a papal election, and Inferno (2016), which saw him battling amnesia in a bid to outwit dangerous mavericks in the World Health Organisation.

While such assignments confirmed the impression that Howard was Mr Mainstream, he could also delve deeper, as he demonstrated by taking on Peter Morgan's acclaimed play, Frost/Nixon (2008). This reunited stage leads Michael Sheen and Frank Langella as TV host David Frost and disgraced ex-president, Richard Nixon, who came together for a much-anticipated series of interviews in 1977. Despite carps about some factual discrepancies, the reviews were solid and Howard received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.

Meanwhile, Imagine continued to sponsor projects as different as Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's documentary, Inside Deep Throat (2004), Bob Dolman's kidpic, How to Eat Fried Worms (2006), and Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2007), a true-life crime saga that starred Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Among Howard's other producer credits from this period are Gus Van Sant's Restless, Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens (both 2011), and Philippe Falardeau's The Good Lie (2014). He also reworked one of his old movies into the hit TV series, Parenthood (2010-15).

Back in the director's chair after three years, Howard found himself in the critical bad books again for The Dilemma (2011), a Chicago-set buddy comedy that sees Vince Vaughn fret about whether to tell Kevin James that he saw wife Winona Ryder kissing Channing Tatum, in case it jeopardises a deal for their auto design company. Howard next announced that he was going to direct Conquest, an account of the clash between Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II. Despite boasting a script by José Rivera, who had written The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) and On the Road (2012) for Walter Salles, the project has yet to be realised.

Instead, Howard returned to the sphere of fast cars for Rush, another Peter Morgan-scripted biopic that centred on the 1976 battle for Formula One supremacy between Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) and Brit James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth). Once again, there were grumbles about factual accuracy. But most agreed that Howard had brought intensity to the rivalry and zip to the racing sequences, which earned the picture a BAFTA for its editing. It was also nominated for Outstanding Brtitish Film and gave Howard a boost as he ventured into documentary for the first time with Made in America (both 2013), which focussed on the eponymous music festival organised by rapper Jay Z.

Having also co-produced Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz's Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012), Howard remained in a musical frame of mind as the director of The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016), which earned BAFTA and Emmy nominations for chronicling the Fab Four's touring years from The Cavern in 1962 to San Francisco's Candlestick Park in 1966. Frustratingly, however, the remastered footage of the fabled 1965 concert at Shea Stadium in New York appeared only as a big-screen bonus and has yet to be made available on the home entertainment formats of this Grammy-winning treat. Howard's turn in debuting daughter Bryce Dallas Howard's fatherhood study, Dads (2019), and his own potent actualities, Rebuilding Paradise (2020) and We Feed People (2022), are also unavailable. But Cinema Paradiso users can discover the man behind the legend in Pavarotti (2019), which made exemplary use of Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti's private archive.

Once again showing his versatility, Howard returned to features with In the Heart of the Sea, a recreation of the 1820 sinking of the whaling ship, Essex, which influenced the storyline of Herman Melville's epochal novel, Moby-Dick (1851). Chris Hemsworth and Benjamin Walker starred as sailor Owen Chase and skipper George Pollard, who were stranded with their crew for 90 days following an encounter with a 100-foot white whale. With several scenes having been filmed in the water tank at Leavesden Studios, this was converted into 3-D for theatrical release. But the critics weren't impressed and the film failed to recoup it $100 million budget.

Howard also had the misfortune to have his name on the first feature in the Disney Star Wars franchise to lose money. In his defence, he only took over Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) after Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired six months into the Pinewood shoot following creative differences with Lucasfilm. Despite having declined the opportunity to direct Star Wars Episode One - The Phantom Menace (1999), Howard accepted the challenge and not only completed the remaining schedule, but also signed up for five weeks of reshoots.

Ultimately, Howard was responsible for 70% of the footage, but the situation was hardly ideal and not even Harrison Ford's affirmation of Alden Ehrenreich's performance as Han Solo could win over fans. Nevertheless, the visual effects team was nominated for an Academy Award.

Amy Adams and Glenn Close earned Oscar nods for Howard's adaptation of J.D. Vance's memoir, Hillbilly Elegy (2020), while Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen were acclaimed for their performances in Thirteen Lives (2022), which reconstructed the 2018 rescue of a junior football team from the Tham Luang cave in Thailand. Sadly, neither picture has been released on disc, so we shall end by looking forward to the release of The Shrinking of Treehorn, a CGI version of Florence Parry Heide's popular children's book, which will mark Howard's first excursion into animation.