Happy Sad Confused - Bryce Dallas Howard, Vol. III

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

Bryce Dallas Howard returns to talk about her documentary, PETS, her directing career, STAR WARS, plus she gets surprised by her dad, Ron Howard! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Quince -- Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠���⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Quince.com/happysadco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 365 day returns and free shipping! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is now streaming only on Disney Plus. Sam Jackson has been incredibly supportive of me and has told me many times that he would act in something that I directed, which has been, like, I'm like, I'm not worthy, basically. And then I like went straight to Dave Floney and I was like, so let's just talk about Mace Windu. and where he is. We just talk about this. Because is he dead? Is he?

Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. I'm Josh. Welcome to the podcast. Today we have Ms. Bryce, Dallas, Howard, actor, and more particularly for this conversation,

director, Bryce Dallas Howard. We talked about her new film, Pets. Star Wars, her dad, who makes a more than a cameo appearance in this conversation, and much, much more. Thank you, as always, for checking out the podcast. For those of you that might have checked out our Emilio Estevez conversation last week, and there were a lot of you between that conversation and my Breakfast Club 40th anniversary reunion. That's a lot of pickup in the pop culture sphere. So that was really exciting. It's always cool to see people take an interest in in what we do over here.

So thank you for checking it out. If you haven't checked out, especially the Amelia chat, because that's particular to the podcast. Check it out. It's a really cool one that I'm very proud of. Some things to mention. We have a new event that we have just announced.

I'm going to be hosting a Q&A. It's not a podcast, actually, just a Q&A. The only difference being it's not going to run on the podcast, so all the more reason to show up because it's exclusive to this live event. April 29th in New York City with Jeremy Renner. Jeremy Renner, fantastic actor, you know from Marvel, Wind River, the town,

so many great things. I don't need to list Jeremy Renner's credits. His new book that we're going to be chatting about is all about the aftermath and rehabilitation of his life and physicality after that horrific accident a few years back. He's written very eloquently about, yeah, his road back, his long road back. So April 29th, it's going to be at the Grammarcy Theater. And I always love chatting with Jeremy. And I'm so honored.

He has asked me to host this conversation. He's not doing a lot of live events. I think he's doing like one in L.A., maybe one in Pittsburgh, where they shoot his TV show, and one in New York. So link is in the show notes for how you can get your tickets. But come on out. say hi to me and Jeremy. We have some more events coming up very, very soon. One in May for Star Wars fans.

Keep your eyes peeled. Something cool there. And always more to come. As always, the best place to keep track of all the events, etc., is on our Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, sad, confused. We have an exclusive video from my adventures at C2E2. That is up on the Patreon site just for Patreon folks.

It includes a little catch-up with Sam Hewain and John Boyega and some other cool moments from that really fun day in Chicago recently. Patreon.com slash happy say I confused merch, discounts, event announcements, all sorts of cool stuff. That's your place for all things Josh Horowitz and happy, say I confused. Okay, so back to Bryce Dallas Howard. Her new film is called Pets and it is a documentary. She's been directing a lot of documentaries in recent years. a lot of stuff, period. But this is her, I think it's our second feature-length documentary.

She's done a lot of shorts. She did a lovely one called Dads a few years back. And this new one is called Pets, and it is, of course, about pets and humans' relationships with Pets. It is a very sweetly told story, a series of stories about different relationships features a lot of really sweet, you know, reflection. from children throughout, and it'll just put a smile in your face, and we all could use that right now.

It's on Disney Plus. I encourage you to check it out. This conversation was taped at the 92nd Street Y. Always good to me and good to my guests. And it was also a really cool one because a lot of the participants in the Pets documentary, the real-life participants, the producers, folks behind the scenes, all came out to support Bryce on this night. You'll see that she comes out just as I'm starting to introduce her.

So you're not going to get the full, like, laundry list of what she's done. But we all know what Bryce Stalis Howard has done. So that's okay. And the other thing to mention I want to say is stick around because Ron Howard, her dad, one of the great filmmakers, surprised her on stage. I surprised her by bringing Ron out the last 10 or so minutes. And that's a really fun part of the conversation, too, to see them, you know, interact. That's all I think I have to say.

And, yeah, if you're a Star Wars fan, by the way, there's a lot of Star Wars fun conversation in this, too. So I hope you guys enjoy this. She's always a delight. Please enjoy me and Bryce, Dallas, Howard. How's it going? Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight. My name is Josh Horowitz. I host a podcast called Happy, Said, Confused,

and whether you know or not you're inside my podcast right now, this is a live taping of the show. And we have a returning champion, one of my favorites. It is the fantastic Bryce Dallas Howard. We know her. We love her. Oh, here she is. I was trying to give you an introduction.

Come on, Bryce, come back out. Bryce, come back out. I was going to toot your horn and do the whole thing. She's an amazing filmmaker, an actor, an extraordinary director of the new film, Pets. It's on Disney Plus. It's Bryce Dallas Howard. And Josh Horowitz. Yay.

It was my one job, Bryce. No, I think it was my one job. to walk out at the right time. This audience here has just had the opportunity to see this amazing film on the big screen. Congratulations. We need this in the world right now. Thank you.

Thank you so much. And thank you, everyone, for coming out and, you know, seeing it live in a theater like this, especially because it's already streaming. So I really, really, really appreciate it. And it's so wonderful to get to experience it on a big screen with everybody who made it, you know. It's very cool.

So we were just talking backstage. You kind of answered my own. question, but this has to be the best press store of your life, because basically, at every stop, you're cuddling kittens and puppies. You are surrounded by warmth and love. People are showing their pet photos. Has this been a bit of an unusual press store in the best possible way? It's the best. It's literally, I arrive at a place, and there are just, like, puppies and kittens, and they're like, which one do you want to hold Bryce? Like, it's just, it's, honestly, it's very, it's very heartwarming because in these scenarios in press you know you're going to talk shows

you get nervous like there's a little bit of pressure you don't want to mess up but the moment that you see these like innocent you know little like animals that are up for adoption it's just like nothing matters right like it's just you're just present and you're with them and so and that's really how it's been at all the places that I've that I've gone to like one of the one of the crew members from the view adopted one of the kittens and um and it's just like everyone is so excited so their animals are are definitely magical and they do magical things to people I do feel like this is this film's a good barometer it's like show this to a person and if you don't show some kind of human emotion you're a robot probably correct yeah so you've you've created a good

litmus test like a blade runner kind of tests going forward that's a bonus Well, yeah, yeah, in a sense. I mean, what's cool, what I'll just, like, add to that is, is that it's, um, my, my taste is not very niche. Like, I like stuff that a lot of people like. Like, I'm a big nerd and stuff like that. And, and so many people do love animals. Like you were saying, it would be weird for someone to not love an animal.

You're a sociopath. I'm sorry. Yeah. Yeah. So I just tried to lean into that, you know. Yeah. So talk to me a little bit about the derivation of this project. So we had talked when your feature doc dads came out. How does that one bleed into this one? Does this start at Imagine Documentaries with that team or is this your idea? Give me a sense of the origins of this. Yeah. So I very, I'm just going to go right back to the origin. So I was born in 1981.

Settle in. We have an hour. It's perfect. Yeah. dad would film everything. So basically I was, yes, we've got a lot of film movies and all that, but that did not come into play with this movie. But I was working with a lot of folks who then came and created Imagine Documentaries, like before Imagine Documentaries existed. I was getting to do a lot of short documentary films and actually did a film about Chrissy Beckles. who created the Sato project. Is Chrissy here? Oh my gosh, rock star.

So, Chrissy is a professional boxer and puts all of her winnings into saving dogs, rescuing dogs, off of Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico. How about that? And that's where Blue came from. That's where a beautiful Blue came from. So years and years ago,

I got to collaborate with a lot of the people who ended up, you know, working on this movie on the short that we did about Chrissy and and then learned about the Sato project. And as we were then working on dads, I just kept thinking. I was like, God, we have to do this with pets. Like, we have to do this with pets. And I pitched it to Justin Wilkes, one of the producers. And he was like, that sounds bad for my allergies. Cut two, he now has a dog who is adorable and he's totally obsessed with that dog and I'm sure he takes a lot of clareton. But I, he, you know, everyone was, was, was into it and we were just trying to kind of get through dads, but, but I would sort of talk about it

nonstop. And then, and then from there, it, it, I was having a lot of conversations, like I was saying with the folks that imagined documentaries and just being like, okay, how can this happen? And started working with a woman named Elizabeth Jameson, who is here, who is the producer of this documentary and is incredibly passionate about, you know, animal rescue has four cats, brave woman. That's a producer.

And I'd worked with Elizabeth in the past in particular with casting for documentaries. And so she just knew where to go. and who to find. So was the approach kind of self-evident? I mean, it shares, like, you know, a stylistic attributes with dads, and it's, like, a really fascinating kind of way

you've approached this. So, like, you obviously choose these five or six deep-dive stories, and yet kind of the through-line, the interstitials, I mean, you're essentially having children narrate this beautiful story about this relationship between pets and humans.

Does that come right at the beginning? Do you go through different ideas, or, like, was it self-evident of, like, how you wanted to tackle the actual structure? Yeah, that, structurally I'm a little bit of a one-trick pony because way before dad's even this is sort of what I would do like I just I love using the interrotron the interatron is the rig that goes on on the camera so that it

looks like people are talking to cameras created by a gentleman named Aero Morris one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of all time and for since I've how long have I been doing documentary stuff Sarah Lynn Critchlow is was here in the audience and has been doing it since then, but like, 12 years or something? I remember 10 years ago you were on the podcast for Soulmates, that short. Yes, that was a doc.

Yes, and this was right before that. Okay. So it was, so, yeah, so I've been loving doing these kind of like full-body interviews. I've worked with the same DP, Andre La Scaris, who's incredible, and with, you know, folks talking directly to camera. And then also was doing a lot of just kind of, just kind of, going out into the field and getting to profile individuals. And kind of just that simple formula, verite, an interview style,

but something that feels a little bit more like you can go into humor because it's full body. It just makes space for it. So, yeah, and then I love viral videos. Checks all the boxes. So, I mean, you alluded to this a little bit in the casting of these stories. I mean, you're spanning the entire world. Like, I guess, like, is it about checking?

Boxes, it's like, we need a pig story. We need a falconer. We need like, I mean, like, how does that work in terms of even figuring out where to go, what kind of stories you're looking for? Because there are a billion pet stories out there. Yeah, I mean, it's unbelievably complex because it really is about so many things. It's making sure that there's, you know, the right balance of animals. You know, we wanted to be really mindful of not featuring, like, exotic animals as pets. This isn't the Tiger King sequel. Exactly, exactly. And then as well, you know, it's a project and there's a budget. And so you need to be kind of aware of, okay, so we would love to go to Japan. Can we go anywhere else? Like, it was sort of that thing.

And Elizabeth just so early on was figuring all of this out. And I, like, the first kind of sort of dossiers that I would receive with all these, like, faces and all these stories and everything, I was like, oh, man, this is cool. How are we going to narrow this down? And, and yeah, so it's sort of, it's sort of kind of just figuring out, like, what's the team? Who are the, you know, the heroes that are going to ultimately, like, represent this idea? that you know it's a story of mutual rescue so yeah and what about casting the kids do do I have it are your kids in this in this movie Bryce are your children in it they might be I looked at the credits pretty closely they might be okay they might be in

there I needed kids looked around wait there two no I honestly that's that's how it usually is so a lot of again kids Elizabeth Jameson and And just sort of like everyone in a way, you know, everyone was like asking like the friends of their friends or like Goldie is the daughter of a childhood friend of Dave Rios, someone who was, you know, very, very involved, worked with him on dads as well, a producer. And so, you know, it's just, yeah, it was like,

I know a lot of the kids were like Elizabeth knew them and stuff, But what was important is that it was, like, the kids weren't actors or performers, you know, that it was all very real. That was the whole reason to interview kids, that there wasn't going to be any artifice. And so I was just, I was really, I just loved because all the kids were totally themselves. They came in their outfits. And I was like, I think I know what you're like. And it was just awesome, really awesome. What I also find interesting is, like, there is a throughline between your narrative directing and this.

I mean, there's a different version of this movie that a different documentary maker could make. That's more like a scientific approach. Like, what's the linkage between man and pet? And this is an emotional story. This is about emotions and connection and warmth. And that shines through, I think, in all of your directing work. Is that, I don't know, is that fair to say that that's kind of something that's emerged as kind of a guiding force in all the films that you're tackling? Yeah, I think I've realized that I don't like talking heads.

Like I have a really hard time with experts talking expertly. I don't know. It just takes me out of it. Like I don't, I'm like, what does this cost you to say this? You know? Like, really. And so I, it isn't really, I haven't made stuff about things where you really need to understand the facts or reveal the real truth is this. It's more kind of just trying to poke at a universal

truism that we all start nodding our heads when one person says it. And so I think that was the goal. Yeah, it does feel like, okay, so you do like dads, you do pets, it's like food, sex, like these elemental kind of things that we all share. This is like... Love, like, you know, human relationship. seniors, moms, hello. Sarah Bernstein, you've been all over that forever. We just got a peek at the development slate, I think, right? All right, where do you stand on these controversial topics?

Dressing a pet in human clothing? I, to be perfectly honest, I don't personally do that because I haven't seen a pet for myself, one of my pets be like, ooh, that's what I want. But I have seen, and I do know that there are pets who, like, you know, there's, they accessorized, and it seems like they really like it. But for me, I don't judge it, you know, but for me, that's not, that's not a thing that I've really done.

Maybe, like, a lion's sort of head for, like, Halloween or something. Right. You're too aware that you don't want them to feel any discomfort. That you're in their head. You're like, you want them to feel. Yeah, I just, I don't know. I don't know. I just, yeah, I just get a little nervous. I get a little nervous because I know that they didn't choose to put on the clothes themselves.

You haven't talked to my dog, Lucy, that likes the dress up as Chuckie, the horror figure for Halloween. I'm sure she does, Josh. Yeah, she did. She asked for that. And it was adorable. But, like, in all seriousness, though, you can feel it. Like, I'm sure you would have felt it if Lucy wasn't down with it. You'd be like, no, no, no, no, let's do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you, generally speaking, when you encountered a cute.

pet. Is it baby talk or human talk? Like, how do you speak to pets? Yeah, it's baby talk. Yeah. It's out of control. It's like, oh, but you want the baby. Look at the bubble. Like, it's like, what is happening? What is happening inside? And it's all of us. We have these little like love monsters inside of us. I learned this could be not true, but I heard this once and I've since told everybody so hopefully it's true um that the the part of your brain when you see something that's cute the part of your brain that is like associated with cuteness lights up it's right next to the violence part of your brain and so when you see something really cute you're like oh it's so cute i just want to smush it and crush it and eat it like it's this makes sense yeah yeah and so

it's that's where the like you know that's where the violence comes from And that's what the voice is, I think. I think the voice is, like, you're managing your, like, love and passion with, like, the, like, I don't know, there's, like, a demon that's like, oh, the dog, like, it's just, anyway. But that's just me, I suppose. Do you like a good talking animal movie? Where do you stand on, like, the Babe movies, the... I love Babe. It's great.

I love Babe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there, I, I love... Loved Milo and Otis. It's a good one. Love that a lot.

There are a lot of great movies, for sure. What's your experience with animals in your own career as an actor? Not much. Yeah. Not much. More children. More children. And they always say, you know, never work with children or animals.

Yeah. And I was like, but how about both? Simultaneously. But, you know what, there's actually, it's, it's very, very different doing a documentary than shooting something narrative that has a script that you need to follow. And so working with kids and working with animals are tricky when you have an objective that may or may not be the same objective of that child or that animal. And it is a scenario where you need to respect the free will of that child and the animal and still in your

head, you're like, but I really want them to stand there. You know, and so I think that with a documentary and what's wonderful is that there are no expectations it's just you just truly you're there to sort of see what folks say see what they do observe um and I think that that's I mean that's a very fun feeling as opposed to the tense feeling of being on set and being like oh they miss the mark you know we're losing the light and I have to get this child this eight year old to say this line in this way yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah no there's something freeing of I would imagine documentaries of like surrendering to the process and the story you know the story to a degree but you're wetting it guide you i'll just say really quickly um ravi the lead of skeleton crews in the

audience ravi you and all the other kids were perfect and i never had to deal with anything but like actually like actually um i'm gonna name one of your characters you tell me if you think they were a dog cat pet person at all okay um hilly and the help no hilly's evil He'll at least one of those sociopaths that would be like, I don't like animals. Like, you know. Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man. Oh, yeah. She's, I mean, I think, oh, God, is she a dog person or a cat person?

I feel like she would be down with both. I think Gwen is game. Yeah? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Sure. Yeah.

Claire, Jurassic, feels like there's some trauma related to animals. I don't know. You tell me. I don't think that Claire had a very healthy relationship. relationship with animals ever I'm realizing ever no because that's kind of her journey Claire's character in Jurassic world and she sort of starts as this like sea level executive who's just sort of crunching numbers and seeing dinosaurs as assets rather than the animals that they are and then she goes on a whole journey over the course of three

movies. But maybe by the end, she's ready for... A velociraptor. Yeah. Correct. During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. In September, Lisa 2026 X-E-90 plug-in hybrid from $599 bi-weekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. This episode is brought to you by Square.

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which of your film productions would have made for the best documentary, the behind-the-scenes making of? I don't know, Manderlay, probably. Oh, wow, Lars Muntur. That's always interesting. But, okay, but no, but what's, you know what my, my, gosh, there's a lot. There's a lot. Everything is pretty wild, isn't it, Josh?

It's not what it looks like. Everything is, is pretty, pretty insane. And that's, that's actually, like, in many ways it's much easier to make a documentary because you don't have to come up with incredible things. Incredible things are happening all the time in the world. Human beings are extraordinary and magical. and full of pain and humor and wrongheadedness and, and, and, right? So there's so much drama that's really happening in the world.

And if you can find your way in with a documentary, it's really, you just, like, you just get to witness it. Whereas, you know, good story well told that's made up, you have to make all of that stuff up and sometimes people won't believe things because they'll be like oh no well that's too crazy like someone would never do that but then when you go back to the true story you're like no but the true story was even crazier like when my dad was doing Apollo 13 he had to during the screenings people would give feedback being like no that's not possible they would never be able to that he's like they literally did that like that's actually what it took to bring them

back to Earth and needed to sort of manage that with the audience. And so that's why I kind of like leaning into true stories and all of that, there's a sort of gift that comes with endeavoring upon making a documentary. Don't look at me. This is what happened. Okay. I'm not the crazy person. Exactly.

Yeah. On the narrative side, so you have these amazing early experiences as an actor in film, right? So it's the Lars von Treers, then Night Shyamalan's. Are you, in those early experiences, soaking it all up with a mind towards, I'm going to be a director? How early on were you thinking seriously about that? Well, I was directing theater by then. So John Watts, actually, who is an incredible director and the showrunner for skeleton crew. He recently, we went to college together, and he still has a playbill from a play that I directed.

This is our use. to see it when I was like 19 years old so I was sort of known I was in the in the drama program but I was always directing outside of school and like I put on a production of no exit in the subway station which was really fun and we only got broken up by the cops like three times but it was great I was like meet at the Columbus Street exit and so it was it was wild And so that was definitely, that was, that was something that was, that I loved. Mostly those circumstances were about that there were actors that I was like,

oh, these actors are so good. I want to see them do their thing. It's ridiculous. They're not being cast. You know, it was that kind of thing. And then as I've always, as an actor, I've always been very director focused. And because it's, you know, it's ultimately as an actor, you need to be of service to their vision. And even if you don't think like that, you will, you will, because you leave and

they cut together your performance. So I definitely, as I was starting to work with directors, I was just, I mean, everyone does it so differently. And it was amazing to get to observe that and learn that. And something that my dad has shared many times is because he started as an actor and and then transitioned into directing in his early 20s. And he really misses being on other people's sets because it's like it's so cool to see how people solve problems differently. And obviously, look, by virtue of the fact that he was your dad, you spent a lot of time on sets as a kid too.

And then we get into the Star Wars side of things, and this I didn't actually realize until I was reading another interview you mentioned, not only you got into Star Wars and I know you shadowed your dad on solo but prior to that you were friends with Natalie Portman you were on the set of some of the prequels right yeah yeah yeah what was your experience like were you there a lot like

were you witnessing those George do his thing? Yeah yeah it was really cool George he he's extraordinary as I'm sure we all know and he gives this great direction where he's like say that

faster with more intensity and so I'm always thinking that when I'm directing. I'm like, oh, if George came in here, he'd be like, say that faster with more intensity. But I went to summer camp with Natalie Portman and we became buddies. And when she was shooting the prequels, I got to come and visit and stuff. And she was 15 and like turned 16 on the set. And it was unbelievable to get to get to see that kind of like I remember Kira Knightley on the set because she was Natalie's. double, yeah, yeah.

And just being like, oh, my gosh, this girl looks so much like you, Natalie. Wild. So, yeah. Crazy. And then, so then flashing forward, you know, your dad, you know, through circumstances, ends up directing solo. And I guess you saw that as an exciting, like, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yeah.

And I was like, I'm calling it in. I'm calling the favor in. I have, I think it's important to just say this. I'm a third generation actor and director. My dad was incredibly privileged, my dad and uncle to be raised in a household with parents who worked in the industry. I, in turn, have been enormously privileged to be raised in a home where my dad is doing the work that he's doing.

My mom is also a novelist, and it's absolutely incredible. And so it's just, it's a, it's a joy to get to, to get to do the stuff that we do. And, but it's also, it's a very rare thing. And so I just want to, like, I talk about all these things in ways that are very, you know, it's very fun and it's a part of my life, but I just want to acknowledge for a moment that this is a very unique way to be raised. and I've been very, very lucky. And I've tried my hardest to put everything

that I've learned into my work. And so I've, you know, that's kind of been my ethos. And then my dad got this opportunity to direct a Star Wars movie. And I was like, I don't know, I just want to be on the set. Just give me this chance. Like, I just want to be on this set. Like, it was, I was manic about it.

And he at first was just like, no, no. Like, you can't, like, it's a close. like you can't come on set and so I I just I really I really begged and I was like I just I want to see how this is how this is done you know how how a movie like this at this kind of stage is how everybody does it and and I was very lucky to get to do that and and from that I met my now producing partner John Swartz and he asked me to to write a short that I ended up writing with my husband that we were developing at Lucas Film.

And so that's how I then, then I was kind of like in that path and gotten getting to know folks through that, which was really, really, really, really cool. And then you get the call and you start to get into the mix to actually direct... Star Wars. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

So, I mean, Star Wars is obviously such a unique piece for a number of reasons. I mean, literally everything you see on screen has to be manufactured, created. You can't just be like, oh, let me pull this, rotary phone over here, like from, whatever. This is, this requires a lot of detail and a lot of restrictions in a way. I mean, do you, how do you feel it's creatively satisfying for you to work within the

parameters of Star Wars, where there's so much lore, there's so many, you know, strictures to abide by? Yeah. Well, I mean, Star Wars is awesome. Like, it's so fun. It's really, really fun. The tone is fun. the vibe is fun.

Everyone who's working on it has their heart in the right place. It's a little bit like pets in that sense of where it's just like, oh, I love pets. It's like, oh, I love Star Wars. You know, it's kind of like that. And it's been an amazing journey because there is a significant learning curve every single season. And so it's something before I worked in. In kind of, you know, with John Favreau and Dave Filoni and all of that, I was testing cameras and kind of working sort of like secretly in emerging tech with Canon camera. And I was like I was kind of like a gearhead a little bit, like kind of into all that stuff.

And so John Favro identified that early. He's he's he's a super dork. I love him. And so he would sort of give me opportunities to test the technology or to push the animatronic further. And that was very, very, very exciting. And I don't get embarrassed easily. Like, if I, like, I know that things aren't going to work out.

Like, I know that things are going to fail. It's just that you have to try. And so I think that that's a little bit, like a lot of folks who come into Star Wars, or any sort of like large production, it seems very intimidating. But I think what folks don't realize is that every single time, every person who's involved is learning something new because the industry is developing. It's very technical and has a scientific component to it.

And like, you know, a scientific field, there are going to be new things that come up. So that's just my long-winded way of saying, like, it's really fun, and you learn new things, and no one should be intimidated. I mean, obviously, yeah, the innovation is baked into the DNA of Star Wars, whether it's the stuff he was doing on a new hope to doing digital filmmaking, the volume now. I mean, it's just part and parcel to push the envelope. Yeah. And that must be invigorating as a filmmaker to kind of be the first one to test out the new toys. Yeah, it's really fun. It's really, really fun. And in a way, it almost feels like live theater, someone else here who is a producer on the movie, Nia Farrell, who I've been able to work with for many years, has been involved in all the Mandalorian stuff and everything. And Nia comes from a background with devised theater. And it's so fun on these sets because it's like sort of, you almost have.

have a stage and you need to figure out how you're going to use the space so that, you know, it's like a small space so that it can feel epic and so it can feel like Star Wars. And it ends up being, it sort of ends up being like you're putting on a show. There's so much more prep. It's more like the rehearsal period of time that you would have for like a Broadway show or something. And so when you're actually doing it, It goes kind of like this, but it's because at that point, you're ready for the performance. And so it's a joy. So when do you get your turn at bat for a Star Wars feature?

Have you raised your hand? That has been a discussion. I refuse to believe that you, Filoni, Favreau, Kathy Kennedy, have not said maybe at some point. No? I would always say yes. I would always say yes. You're not the one saying no. you would be up for it.

I mean, honestly, it's, how many Star Wars features are there, right? Right. I mean, I'm excited to see The Mandalorian and Groku with John Favro. I got to visit set. It's awesome. It's going to be fantastic. And I think seeing that as much as sort of, I think, I mean, a lot of filmmakers, like people dream of like winning Oscars and directing Star Wars movies.

Like, it's a little bit like that. And getting to watch John Favre do his thing and sort of elevate everything that he did within Mandalorian as a show to something that is worthy of a theatrical experience is thrilling. So what I'll say is I'm still learning. And I've loved everything that I've gotten to do

with Lucasfilm. And if I ever get a chance to do more, you know, they know that I'm, that I would do anything. Yeah. So is there anything in the, this is my last Star Wars? Is there anything that you've directed for them that I haven't seen yet? Because as I thought, a stowa?

I can't say anything. Okay, okay, I don't want to get you in trouble. I can't say anything. I can't say anything. I can, I can read minds. I feel like I know. Okay. Tim's new scrambled egg loaded croissant.

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A cabana? That's a no, but a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan. Sorry. Nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details. You kind of alluded to some of the documentary projects that you have on your mind. So you're going to be continuing down, I guess there are a sense of a three different paths. There's acting, there's the docs, and they're going to be narrow. Is that sort of like, how do you prioritize? Is it like, I want it all and however they fit together, they'll fit together? I mean... Well, it's literally in my entire career, which is at this point been like 24, almost 25 years.

I've only had a conflict once between two projects. And one was a directing project and one was an acting project. and so usually it's honestly it's like oh thank god i'm like working thank god that there's like more things that i do because if i only sort of like it's like diversifying the portfolio or something and so i mean i absolutely love acting um and acting for me is an opportunity to learn from filmmakers so i'm always seeking out those kinds of opportunities and then i i love yeah i i i I love directing too. So if I'm lucky enough to do more of anything,

that would be awesome. We've got a bunch of audience questions. Before we get to that, I have a very random question that I promised my editor, who's the biggest Spider-Man fan on the planet to ask you. Ready? What was your perspective on a kind of infamously iconic scene, the Jazz Club scene in Spider-Man 3?

I want your perspective on this. It's not usual for a Spider-Man film to have an extended dance sequence in a jazz club. What was Bryce's perspective on that? my perspective was that it took a lot of rehearsals for Toby and I to do something that was not ultimately incredibly impressive but no I mean it was fun it was cool because Sam Ramey for me Spider-Man 2 was like like blew my mind because it was taking sort of taking the piss out of out of Marvel in a way

before Marvel was even Marvel it sort of established that tone and that playfulness and irreverence is just delicious and so fun to film so yeah so Toby and I

Toby and I practiced that dance a lot and you know it was it was one of those really fun situations where you're shooting all night and everyone is delirious and you know It was fun. We're talking about it to this day.

So that means you made something special. Well, he was wearing eyeliner. That was emo Peter Parker, famously. He was emo Peter Parker. Yeah. So, okay, inevitably when you do, the directing career continues, you direct a narrative feature, are there actors on the list? You've worked with some of the best.

What's an actor? Who's an actor you are dying to work with, dying to direct? Oh, my gosh, that's so fun. That's such a fun question. Oh, my God, all of them. All of them. Oh, actors are so great.

Honestly, I mean, it's, I would love to direct Chris Pratt. He's very funny. He's, like, a very funny person. Sam Jackson has been incredibly supportive of me and has told me many times that he would act in something that I directed, which has been, like, I'm like, I'm not worthy, basically.

And then I, like, went straight, to Dave Flonnie and I was like, so let's just talk about Mace Windu and where he is. We just talk about this. Because is he dead? Is he? He said on this very stage he wants back in, Mace Windu still has one arm running around the galaxy.

Correct. Right? Yeah. You also have some great actors in the family. Might I recommend dragging your dad fully out of retirement? Yes. Yes. Yeah.

Oh. It's Ron Miller. Have a seat. I'm going to stand over here. Have a seat. Oh, fun, fun, fun, fun. This is an intervention. We have to talk, Bryce.

Ron, thanks for joining us. Talk to me about what it's like seeing your daughter center stage talking about her amazing directing career. It's kind of an out-of-body experience, and I thought I had seen the final cut, and yet you were still at it. It was even funnier and more emotional than the last time that I had seen. Thanks, Dad.

He's not biased at all. I'm going to tell a quick story, though, about being proud of Bryce sitting in the audience. She was doing Tartouf. It was her first, she was just out of NYU, and it's Broadway, and it's opening night, and Cheryl and I have to help her get to the theater because she has a fever, and yet it's opening night, and she's great. going to go on, and she does. Food poisoning because of what you brought over to the house page, my sister.

And so we're, you know, we're going there, and it's, you know, it's Broadway. I've never been on Broadway, but, you know, I, and here she is. She's got a terrific role in the, in, in, just prior to intermission, she's got this scene where she's crying at her father's feet. And, you know, it's, and I'm close enough that I can see real tears, real emotion. It's kind of incredible. And I'm just beaming with, I'm just feeling this pride, this emotion myself. And I look over, and my wife, Cheryl, who's here tonight, is kind of like this.

And I'm surprised that she's a very emotional audience member in person. I'm surprised she's not swept up by this. And so then intermission comes and I said, weren't you just knocked out by, Bryce, wasn't that amazing? She said, yeah, she was great. And I said, yeah, but she was so emotional and, you know, real tears. I looked over at you, and I thought you'd be more into it, you know, and she said, are you kidding me? She, she did that every day of her life when she was 17. She can, that's a light switch for her. But, but so I've, I've been a very lucky father, and Cheryl would attest to this,

many times whether it's a premiere and a great performance or something that she's made as a director and yeah here's another great one. Thanks, Dad.

Bryce, can I ask you what's the most implicit or explicit advice you've gotten from watching your dad work over the years? Whether it's being on his sets, seeing his films, or directly talking to him, what's has informed your work as a director, seeing how he does what he does? I would say his confidence within collaboration.

A lot of folks I've seen hesitate to collaborate because they're afraid that other people will not then see them as the leader. Or they're afraid that folks will think that they don't have the answers. And I've just observed my whole life. You know, he's an unbelievably bright, creative, experienced individual, and yet he still will always, always, always listen to feedback, pay attention to how people are responding, ask people, you know, what they're thinking, how it could be better, empowering, you know, the crew and department heads to, like one time I remember hearing him say about the folks that he was working with, he was like, yeah, it's important to me that. that people are not guessing what I would want. I want them to be doing what they think is best, not guessing what they think I want.

And so I think there's an integrity within that that I really respect. And beyond integrity, it's effective. It's the best way to engage in collaborative storytelling. You know, it's, it's, like, there's a reason for me, this is not a diss on anyone who has this title, but I like directed by and then my name rather than a film by, because it's not a film by me.

It's like a film by everyone who worked on it and the editor and the DP and the producers and and and. And so I think that he really modeled for me, me sort of how to navigate a career like this without an ego with that mission of good story well told, knowing that the way to do that is by assembling an incredible team of people from all different skill sets, all different backgrounds, and to empower them to do their very best. With a good crew, everybody is a filmmaker. Everybody there is a filmmaker.

And the first time I went to see Bryce directing a narrative piece, I think I came on day two. It was only a three or four-day shoot, but I came on day two. And it had a crew, and I recognized some faces from people that I had worked with. And she was so relaxed and so on top of it. And it was just fluid. It was just amazing. And one guy came over to me, a grip, who I'd worked with a number of times, and he said,

he said, duck off a water's back. She's just taken to it from day one. It seems like she's been directing for 10 years. But I think that Bryce approaches it, and I think a lot of really, you know, really intelligent actors who choose to direct can almost always pick up on the rhythms of the process very easily and comfortably. But I think one of the reasons that Bryce moves easily back and forth between scripted and documentaries is she's so driven by curiosity and kind of what is what's at the essence of a potential moment and how do we get there.

And she just loves being at the center of that of that discuss. you know, and whether that's discovering what's been found in an interview or, you know, a piece of archival footage or whatever it is you might be looking for, or what can be discovered out of a moment that's scripted that perhaps was never thought about before. So it's really fun to see her develop. And it's even more fun to be the beneficiary as founder of a imagine entertainment. so Brian Grazer and I appreciate all you've brought to the team thanks dad so Bryce looking at your my chance to gloat a little give me a break looking at your dad tonight we've green with the Mace Windu series what are we going to cast Rana's in the Mace Windus series he's so good he's so good so has everyone seen the studio

so good I was so nervous for him because he hasn't acted he's done some stuff like in arrested development he's done some cameos here and there but like a real part with like dialogue and they're shooting it

all with oneers so you cannot mess up and I was just I was I was very nervous for him so I went with him I was like a momager like I went with him to set and I liked what he was wearing. I approved of that. She'd acted with Seth Rogen, so she thought she could pay for the way.

It was okay. And made sure he was hydrated. And then he went and he did the rehearsal. And honestly, I was like, oh my God, he was so good. He was so on point. And everyone was just sort of like baffled by it, frankly. And, you know, I guess you have learned a bit from Tom Hanks over the years. I mean, and you were great before Tom Hanks, but, you know, he's like, he definitely rubbed off on you.

You know, you were talking about pets, animals that you worked with as an actor and a director versus, you know, the pets in our lives. And Cheryl loves animals and grew up with animals. And we've always had, you know, at one point we had 14 cats living in our barn. And it was like Andrew Lloyd-Weber in there. But it is so different. And I thought, as you were talking about that, I just tell the Lassie story. Okay, that's what I was going to tell.

Okay, so I had left the Andy Griffith Show and was kind of in-between series. Happy Days had not started yet. How old were you? 15. Gawkey, 15. and during an Easter break from high school, I had an opportunity to actually do a guest shot on Lassie,

which, okay, that sounds like a decent job. Sure. Now, this was when Lassie was no longer living with a family. Lassie was an existential hero roaming America, solving problems. like Route 66 or something, you know, or Kung Fu. And so the storyline was there was this boy who rode horses, loved horses, and a horse got sick, and the father was a problem, and I can't even really remember the plot.

But at one point, I'm supposed to be standing there next to Lassie, holding Lassie, and my dog, not my dog, my horse is very sick and dying. And I'm emotional. Now, Lassie was shot super fast, really fast, one take, one take only. And no matter what you did, if you got through the lines and said them, they were moving on, print, going on. So we do this wide shot where, you know, I'm supposed to be emotional. I'm holding Lassie here by the collar, Lassie's sitting, and I'm supposed to. supposed to be kind of crying and saying something, and it wasn't very good, but they printed it,

take one. Now they didn't, they did my close-up. I tried to sort of get the emotion right and everything, but it wasn't good at all. But print, moving on, and I said to the director, sir, please, maybe just one more take. I just feel like I could just do that better. He said, oh, no, no, no, we got that. We got that. We got that. We're fine. Good. Moving on. Close-up of Lassie. So now they move in for a close-up of Lassie, and I'm thinking, well, I didn't do very well in mind, but you know what? My hand happens to be holding Lassie's collar. So maybe at that moment where I'm emotional, I'll just kind of do, I'll like tense my hand around Lassie's collar and, you know, maybe that'll just, and maybe add to the

emotion. So they're rolling cameras. He's doing that thing and I'm getting to that emotional point, reading my off-camera dialogue, and I sort of tense my hand on Lassie's collar. and all of a sudden I hear, cut, cut! And the director comes up to me and says, kid, don't you ever freaking try to steal Lassie's close-up again? Okay, take two, let's do it. So I've held my hand still, so... There are children in the audience, right?

It wasn't fricking. It wasn't fricking. You don't mess with number one on the call sheet, ever, even if it's a dog. Wasn't it don't ever F with Lassie's close-up? Isn't it that? Don't try to steal it. Don't try to steal lassies close up.

But later, Cheryl surprised me, and I got a collie. Cooper. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're almost out of time. So we're going to do the happy, say, I confused, profoundly random questions for you, Bryce. Ron, you're welcome to jump in with any answers that occur to you. But Bryce, you're front and center for this. And the first question is very appropriate.

We ask this of all guests, dogs or cats. But I can't choose. I understand. I'm a both. I get it. I'm a both person. Okay. That's fair.

It's like saying, like, do you want to act or direct? Or, like, narrative or, you know, documentary. Like, I can't. Do you collect anything? What do you collect? In childhood, porcelain dolls. Yeah. Do you have a favorite video game of all time?

Time girl, time gal. There was, like, yeah, there was like a time travel shape. Wasn't really allowed to play video. I wasn't allowed to play. I wasn't. No, but I would go to Alice Levitt's house, and I would play TimeGal, and I liked that one because you would, it was, you know, there was a story.

Yeah. Wallpaper on your phone. What's the wallpaper on your phone? Oh, it's usually either a pet or an animal, or just I have a very, when I'm overstimulated, I have just a neutral background of like a splotch painting that I made. I paint, and so it was just like a neutral thing. Last actor you were mistaken for?

Oh, I think it was, God, what is her name? I swear, Jessica Chastay. Like literally two days ago. Which is always a compliment. I was made up, and so it's like when I look really good, sometimes people think I look like Jess. What's the worst note a director has ever given you? 500% less

Wow Wow Wow Thanks Lars That checks out And in the spirit of happy Say I confused Who's an actor who always makes you happy

You see them on screen You're immediately in a better mood Oh my God I mean David O' Yellowow Like I mean But there's so many Great.

He just, he's like, like, no matter what happens, he's, he makes everything great, so. A movie that makes you sad. A movie that makes me sad. Forrest Gump. Yeah. I cry a lot with that one, yeah. And finally, a food that makes you confused. You don't get it.

Food that makes me confused? Why do people eat that? Yeah. Oh my God, like all of it. You're anti-food? I'm the worst eater. What? I can't...

You're picky? I eat like a four-year-old. Don't I, Dad? She won't eat her vegetables. She still won't eat her vegetables. No. I never eat vegetables. Give me the list.

Give me the list. What are the don'ts? What are the... I mean, honestly, I want to be like almost anything. Like, I've never had anything that is, like, exciting in any way. Like, I just stick to the very basics. And nothing is touching. Anything else?

and there might be some coordinating colors, and I might be a little neurospeicy when it comes to food. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a good note to end on. Congratulations on this fantastic film. I was saying before the world needs a bright, beautiful story like this in the universe right now.

I know this audience is going to spread the good word of pets. Thank you so much for having us and for, you know, for hosting us here and letting us watch it on the big screen and celebrating. you know, all the work that everyone did. It's very, very fun. So thank you. Thanks, everybody, for making this a very special night. Thanks to Ron for sharing the stage.

And most of all, thanks to Bryce Dallas Howard, the director of pets. Thanks, Bryce. Appreciate it. Thanks, everybody. Thanks for coming out. So ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show

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