Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Ron Howard Reveals The Best Advice He Ever Received!

Episode Date: December 13, 2022

Ron Howard is a director, actor, screenwriter and producer. From dramas like A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1984), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his new movie "Thirteen Lives" and tells CVV the best advice he was given as an actor that he now applies to directing. For more information about Chris Van Vliet and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are going. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Bleas! Greetings and salutations, my friends. Welcome back to another audio adventure on Insight. I'm Chris Van Fleet. So good to see you here as we sit down with an absolute legend. I mean, think of the movies that Ron Howard has directed. This will obviously be an abridged list, but, I mean, come on.

The Grinch You Stole Christmas. Backdraft. Apollo 13. Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, the list goes on and on and on and on. And his new movie called 13 Lives is available to stream right now on Amazon Prime. And it's a true story. You may remember that news story back, I think it was 2018,

about that soccer team with 12 boys and their coach who got trapped in a cave in Thailand. Well, this movie is the story of the rescue efforts of getting them out of there, and it's so good. So if you're looking for something to stream tonight, might I suggest that you add 13 lives to that list? Thank you to everyone who's been leaving these reviews on Apple Podcasts. We brought back the reviews like two weeks ago, and we've had like 20 reviews since then.

So I'm going to do my best to get to all of them. But if you have a few seconds today and you're listening on your iPhone, please leave a few words on Apple Podcasts and we'll read them out here. My very small way of saying, thank you. Thanks for being on this journey with me. This one's from T. Thomas Zero. who says, just amazing. I recently found out about this show,

and I've been listening to almost every episode. Really enjoyed every episode so far. Host and guests are both amazing. Thank you for the kind words. And I know you hear a lot of podcast hosts talk about, like, hey, subscribe to the show, follow the show, leave a review, leave a rating on Spotify. And it's because it really helps.

It's one of the most important things to help get the show out there. You know, on YouTube, you can be watching a video about one thing, and then there's, like, all those recommendations. on the side there or below the video if you're watching your phone. That doesn't really happen on podcasts. So the more that you can help to leave those ratings and reviews and follow the show, it really helps to get the show out there. So just thank you. Now, I really wish that this interview was longer, but look, I will take a mini view with Ron Howard. Yeah, that's what I call it mini interviews. A mini view with Ron Howard over not being able to chat

with him at all. And I interviewed him for the first time a few years ago when he directed solo, a Star Wars story. It was such a pleasure then, such a pleasure to do it again here. So, ladies and gentlemen, it's Ron Howard. Mr. Howard, congratulations on another great film. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm proud of it.

You're so good at creating tension in all of the movies that you direct, and you've done it again here. What's the key to creating tension in a scene? You know, in journalism, they sometimes call them human interest stories, or TikToks, when you combine these two things with sort of beat for beat, what does it feel like to be involved in something that's so pressurized? And even if you might have a broad sense of what the outcome is, you don't know what people endured to try to achieve what was achieved.

In this case, I thought it was like exponentially dense with heroism, acts of heroism, a large and small. There was so much volunteerism here. These weren't like trained firefighters doing their thing or astronauts managing to, you know, rescue themselves and get home, soldiers, you know, in battle. These were people who did not have to be there. There was no guarantee that there was going to be a celebration at the end of this. In fact, it was most likely it was going to be heartbreak. And yet they did it.

They engaged, 5,000 of them because they knew it was the right thing. And I admired that and I wanted to celebrate it, but not in a sentimental way. I wanted to just let audiences know, this is kind of what a miracle looks like. This is the practical side of what it takes to create the possibility of a miraculous outcome. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Klinberg. And now we're giving people an in. inside look at the World Cup.

Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claim, and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer Podcast, presented by Hencoe, follow and listen on your favorite platform. I'm curious, Mr. Howard, if you had advice given to you when you were an actor by a director that you now employ as a director.

Truth. Always build on the truth. Understand the logic of it. Even if you're going to turn it into a comedy moment or have to have to manipulate it in some way to make it, you know, achieve some goal in the story, in the narrative, start with the truth and build some link between your head, your psyche, and what the character is doing.

You might not agree with what the character does, but if you understand it and can connect enough of yourself to it, then you know, you're offering audience to something the most relatable. In this case, when our Thai cast members started arriving, I realized how vitally important it was to get it right that this was their story. And I was an outsider. And I was helping to tell their story. And I wound up having a great creative experience and an artistic one working with these very talented people, some highly experienced, some newbies, and yet trying to find that truth and share it with audiences. 13 lives, Apollo 13. 13 seems to be a pretty lucky number for you. I'm looking. I'm looking for another story with 13 attached because it does seem to work for me. Me and Wilk Chamberlain.

Well, congratulations on this. It's such an incredible film. Thank you very much. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. There we go. What other kind of 13 movies could he be working on? Big thank you to Ron for joining us here. We were just calling Ron.

What was I doing? Mr. Howard. Big, big thank you, Mr. Howard, Ron Howard, for joining us for this. Thank you to you for always being with us on every single episode. 13 Lives is streaming now on Amazon Prime. And do you follow John Cena on Twitter? because he leaves just these great little quotes, annotations about life, insights,

whatever you want to call them, every single day. They're so good. And chances are he might follow you back. He follows a lot of people on Twitter. So I'll leave you with a quote from John Sina. And also, if you enjoyed this episode, speaking of Twitter, please take a screenshot, share this out, tag me at Chris Van Fleet, tag 13 lives. That's all spelled out.

So, you know, the word 13 lives. But this quote from John Cena is so good. The best time to correct past mistakes is in the past before they happen. The second best time is right now. Be great. Be grateful. We'll see you on the next one for some more insight. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock.

But there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley. How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them?

To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.