Ron Howard: A Life On TV
Ron Howard's latest project is one he could really get into. The movie is a romantic comedy, EDtv, which explores the nature of fame when one man agrees to let cameras follow him around 24 hours a day and broadcast his life nationwide.
And he wants you to know: This movie is not The Truman Show.
"That's frustrating for me," says Howard. "And I like The Truman Show. [But] the movies are barely related. EDtv is contemporary. It's reality-based, and it's very funny. At least, I think it is, and the audiences have been laughing hard. The Truman Show is more of a drama, and almost science fiction."
Howard tells CBS This Morning Co-Anchor Mark McEwen it had been a long time since he had directed a comedy, and he chose EDtv because it incorporates romance as well as physical, edgier comedy.
"Also," he says, "this idea, I could relate to. A guy consciously makes this decision: 'I want to get on TV.' It's like, so many people that you see today are dying to be famous somehow."
Ed is played by Matthew McConaughey and his brother, by Woody Harrelson. Ed also has a mother (Sally Kirkland) and a stepfather (Martin Landau).
"His life is turned upside down," Howard explains. "People know him, and he doesn't know them back. And that's something I can relate toÂ…living your life in a public way."
Even more complications arise when Ed falls in love (with a character played by Jenna Elfman). "It's tough enough to date and fall in love and sort things outÂ…in private," Howard says. "But when it's all broadcast every second on TV, it'sÂ…hellishly comic."
Richie Cunningham and Opie Taylor live on, thanks to reruns on cable TV, so viewers can see Howard practically grow up on the tube. Will he ever go back to a career in front of the camera?
"Every once in a while, somebody will offer me something, and it's flattering," he says. "I really love directing movies. I love working with actors. This EDtv cast was spectacular for me. It was like a treat. Like a vacation, practically, because they're so funny. I loveÂ…being at the center of that creative experience."
Howard, 45, evolved from a popular child and teen-age actor (in The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days) into one of the industry's most successful filmmakers. His credits as a director include Ed TV(1999), Ransom (1996), Apollo 13 (1995), The Paper (1994), Far and Away (1992), Backdraft (1991), Parenthood (1989), Cocoon (1985), and Splash (1984).
Next up for Howard: Directing Jim Carrey in a live-action big-screen adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, set for release on Thanksgiving 2000. He produced Carrey's 1997 hit film Liar Liar.
Howard still keeps his hand in television as executive producer of two programs: Sports Night and Felicit.
He left his handprints and footprints Tuesday at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, becoming part of a Hollywood tradition that dates back to the early days of movie-making.
He has been married for nearly 25 years to his high-school sweetheart, Cheryl. They have four children.
Howard recently was awarded $605,000 by a jury who found that the filmmaker and his family had to flee a house because of rats, flooding, broken plumbing, and rampant mildew. The jury found that real estate investor Jeff Greene, who leased the home to Howard and his family during filming of Edtv, was liable for breach of contract and fraud, said lawyer Amy Blum.