BACK TO THE LAUNCH PAD BRIAN GRAZER AND RON HOWARD HAVE PROVEN THEY HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF - WILL HISTORY REPEAT WITH 'THE ALAMO'?Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer Brian Grazer graze 1 v. grazed, graz·ing, graz·es v.intr. 1. To feed on growing grasses and herbage. 2. Informal a. To eat a variety of appetizers as a full meal. and Ron Howard met in 1980 on the set of ``Happy Days.'' Howard wanted to leave acting behind so he could direct movies full-time. Grazer, then developing pilots for Paramount's television division, encouraged him to follow his dream. Four billion dollars in worldwide box office later, it looks like pretty good advice. Howard and Grazer's partnership officially began 20 years ago with Howard's 1982 call-girl comedy ``Night Shift.'' This year, Hollywood gave them its seal of approval with best-picture and best-director Oscars for their latest collaboration, ``A Beautiful Mind.'' Not that they needed anyone's acceptance. Howard and Grazer's company, Imagine Entertainment, has been an industry giant for the past 15 years, responsible for all of Howard's films as well as hits such as ``Liar Liar - MIT Scheme Liar'' and ``The Nutty Professor'' and television triumphs like the 1998 HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy miniseries min·i·se·ries n. pl. miniseries 1. A televised dramatic production, as of a novel or film, shown in a number of episodes. 2. Sports A short series of performances or athletic contests. ``From the Earth to the Moon From the Earth to the Moon Verne tale of a group who have a monster gun cast to shoot them to the moon. [Fr. Lit.: WB 13:650] See : Astronautics .'' ``They both have great instincts at finding and telling interesting stories that have commercial appeal,'' says Tom Hanks Noun 1. Tom Hanks - United States film actor (born in 1956) Hanks, Thomas J. Hanks , who collaborated with Howard and Grazer on ``Splash'' (1984), ``Apollo 13'' (1995) and ``From the Earth to the Moon.'' ``And they're all over the map - comedies, drama, action. Their versatility speaks volumes about the curiosity with which they approach the world.'' With ``Apollo 13'' returning to theaters in an eye-popping new IMAX IMAX Noun a film projection process that produces an image ten times larger than standard version, we took the opportunity to talk with Grazer and Howard. The two have been in the news a lot lately, and not always for the best reasons. In the weeks leading up to the Academy Awards, they were frequently defending ``A Beautiful Mind'' against the charges of critics who said their movie soft-pedaled the life of mathematician John Nash. Then came news this summer that their next project, a retelling re·tell·ing n. A new account or an adaptation of a story: a retelling of a Roman myth. of ``The Alamo Alamo Eighteenth-century mission in San Antonio, Texas, site of a historic siege of a small group of Texans by a Mexican army (1836) during the Texas war for independence from Mexico. ,'' would be going ahead without Howard behind the camera. (He and Grazer will still produce.) Reports had Disney, the film's distributor, and Howard at odds over the budget, salaries and whether the film would be rated R or PG-13. It was one of the most public directorial exits in recent memory. Here Howard, 48, and Grazer, 51, share their memories of ``Apollo 13'' and the Oscars, explain what went wrong with ``The Alamo'' and discuss whether scrutiny from news media (and studio thriftiness thrift·y adj. trift·i·er, trift·i·est 1. Practicing or marked by the practice of thrift; wisely economical. See Synonyms at sparing. 2. Industrious and thriving; prosperous. 3. ) might have a chilling effect  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. on the future of
filmmaking film·mak·ing n. The making of movies. . Q: Where does ``Apollo 13'' rank in your respective bodies of work? Howard: It was a definite turning point in my career. I didn't make any button-pushing choices in the movie, which was something I might have done earlier in my career. I even wrote on top of my script: Just show it. And that scared me. I wasn't sure how audiences would respond without that extra stimulation, that extra underlining un·der·lin·ing n. 1. The act of drawing a line under; underscoring. 2. Emphasis or stress, as in instruction or argument. of the emotional points. But it really worked; audiences responded. And that was a lesson I learned from as a director. Grazer: When we started, Tom Hanks, Ron and myself thought if we could make a good movie, that would be great. But none of us thought it would make any money. Howard: Because ``The Right Stuff'' was a wonderful movie, and it didn't succeed commercially. Grazer: Right, so we felt, ```Wow, if the movie does $40 (million) to $60 million, we will have dodged a bullet.'' In truth, we were scared to death because we started wondering, ``OK, everyone knows the story, everyone knows how it ends. Will it be thrilling? Will it have emotional impact?'' Howard: ``Where's the villain VILLAIN., An epithet used to cast contempt and contumely on the person to whom it is applied. 2. To call a man a villain in a letter written to a third person, will entitle him to an action without proof of special damages. 1 Bos. & Pull. 331. ?'' Grazer: Right, that was supposed to be another negative. So we were really surprised by the financial success and then when we got invited into the Oscar race, that was another chapter. Everything so exceeded expectations. Q: Was it a different time to be telling a true story? No one in the media picked apart ``Apollo 13,'' whereas that was a virtual cottage industry cottage industry: see sweating system. with ``A Beautiful Mind.'' Grazer: It was probably a more innocent time as far as movie media goes. Howard: There has become sort of a journalistic jour·nal·is·tic adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of journalism or journalists. jour  nal·is genre that puts
every true story under a microscope, especially around Oscar time.
Q: Does that have a chilling effect on filmmakers? Grazer: Yes it does. It's really annoying. Howard: And it's a little dangerous. Grazer: OK, the fact that we won the Oscar was great. But I do remember thinking, ``God, I'm not going to do this. This is unfair. I'm really feeling victimized.'' Right or wrong, it's whining. Basically we were trying to do a movie about the mentally disabled mentally disabled See Cognitively impaired. , specifically the subset of schizophrenia schizophrenia (skĭt'səfrē`nēə), group of severe mental disorders characterized by reality distortions resulting in unusual thought patterns and behaviors. , and John Nash's story worked really well as a narrative and a vehicle to speak for the mentally disabled and to try to bring a more positive light on them ... Howard: And offer insight. Grazer: And it just felt like, ``Why do people have to go after this thing?'' It's like pushing a man in a wheelchair onto the 405. It was really, really maddening. And I felt, ``If we can't do this subject without being challenged so militantly and aggressively, maybe I should stay away from doing stories that are either autobiographical or about true events.'' Howard: In the throes throe n. 1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth. See Synonyms at pain. 2. throes A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: a country in the throes of economic collapse. of it, you say, ``I'm never going to do that again,'' but the fact of the matter is, we're doing other ones because we believe in the stories. Q: One of those stories is based on events at the Alamo, which is enormously controversial. Howard: It is. I spent a lot of time with historians and the thing you find out, of course, is that nobody knows exactly what happened. The thing they all said to me was, ``Be knowledgeable and then make decisions. And the academic community will accept that. Now, whether the media will or not ...'' Grazer: They won't. Howard: (Laughs) No, they won't. But John Lee Hancock, who's rewriting re·write v. re·wrote , re·writ·ten , re·writ·ing, re·writes v.tr. 1. To write again, especially in a different or improved form; revise. 2. and is going to direct it, is from Texas and he gets it. And he's just thrilled to be telling the story. And that's the spirit you want going into that movie, not trepidation trepidation /trep·i·da·tion/ (trep?i-da´shun) 1. tremor. 2. nervous anxiety and fear.trep´idant trep·i·da·tion n. 1. An involuntary trembling or quivering. . Q: So, Ron, why aren't you directing? Did it have anything to do with the controversy you faced over ``A Beautiful Mind''? Howard: I'd be lying if I said that while I tried to disregard it, that that particular factor kind of loomed. It was a very complicated set of issues, and I never fully committed (Law) committed to prison for trial, in distinction from being detained for examination. See also: Fully to it in the first place. Q: Reports had you and Disney at loggerheads log·ger·head n. 1. A loggerhead turtle. 2. An iron tool consisting of a long handle with a bulbous end, used when heated to melt tar or warm liquids. 3. over the film's budget and rating. Howard: I always felt the budget stuff could get sorted out. There was a lot of noise about it ... Grazer: He felt it was early enough in the process that we were all willing to take less money. We could have all taken less money and we would have. But then it became a critical issue of the tone of the movie, and given the atmosphere we just talked about in terms of scrutiny of our movies, we always felt it had to be a pretty rough movie. Howard: I wanted to do a pretty raw, intense look at this event. And I told them, ``It's probably an R movie.'' And suddenly it became very clear that that was something the studio really wasn't comfortable with. And I had final cut and rather than make it some kind of murky ongoing battle, I just at a certain point lined up the pros and the cons and backed away from it. Q: Does the economics of that decision worry you? Essentially, it's another chilling factor, preventing filmmakers from telling the stories they want to tell. Howard: What would have been surprising for me as a filmmaker was if I told the story and it was a little shocking. But take me out of the equation and the other approach is certainly valid. John Lee thinks he can do it. And from a producing standpoint, I'm delighted he thinks he can make a PG-13 version. The economics of that make a lot of sense. But it didn't make sense for me as a filmmaker. Grazer: We saw our movie having a similar tone as ``The Wild Bunch.'' Different movies, but similar tone. Howard: That was our one-sentence way into the story. I wanted to do ``The Wild Bunch'' version of the Alamo. But ultimately, that wasn't what Disney willing to do. Could I have twisted their arm? Could I have pushed them and cajoled them? Maybe. But at the end of the day, I didn't feel like making that fight for a year and a half. Q: What do you guys remember about Oscar night? Grazer: I love that Tom Hanks gave us the best-picture award. He said, ``I love this'' on the way out. There was a real joy. Howard: That was fantastic. And Mel Gibson Noun 1. Mel Gibson - Australian actor (born in the United States in 1956) Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Gibson U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. (whom Howard directed in ``Ransom'') gave me best director. It was funny because the day before, I saw him at a party and he said, ``I'm giving the directors award out this year. I'm giving you your award.'' And I said, ``Oh Mel, c'mon.'' He said, ``Hey, if I open it up and it says the wrong name, I'm saying your name, pal.'' Q: Did that put any doubt in your mind? Because he'd do it. Howard: He is just wild enough that he would, yeah. So I win, he gives me the award, I give him a hug and I said, ``You predicted it.'' I turn around, I give my speech and on my way out, I said to him, ``I've got to see the card. You've got to show me the card.'' Q: And it said, ``Peter Jackson.'' Howard: (Laughs) No, no. It has my name on it and I made him sign it on the back. We had such luck. That was a fantastic night. Grazer/Howard productions While Ron Howard and Brian Grazer have worked on projects apart during their 20-year relationship, more often than not they have worked together. Here are some of the projects on which they have collaborated: FILMS ``A Beautiful Mind'' (2001) - producers, Howard directed ``How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) - producers, Howard directed ``Beyond the Mat'' (1999) - producers ``EdTV'' (1999) - producers, Howard directed ``Inventing the Abbotts'' (1997) - producers ``Ransom'' (1996) - producers, Howard directed ``The Chamber'' (1996) - producers ``Apollo 13'' (1995) - producers, Howard directed ``The Paper'' (1994) - producers, Howard directed ``Far and Away'' (1992) - producers, Howard directed ``Closet Land'' (1991) - producers ``Backdraft'' (1991) - producers, Howard directed ``Parenthood'' (1989) - producers, Howard directed ``Splash'' (1984) - producers, Howard directed ``Night Shift'' (1982) - producers, Howard directed TELEVISION (as producers) ``24'' (2001) ``The Beast'' (2001) ``Wonderland'' (2000) ``Student Affairs'' (1999) ``The PJ's'' (1999) ``Felicity'' (1998) ``Sports Night'' (1998) ``From the Earth to the Moon''(miniseries) (1998) ``Hiller and Diller'' (1997) CAPTION(S): 6 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Imagine an ideal partnership ... Brian Grazer & Ron Howard reflect on 20 years of film, TV production (2) Brian Grazer and Ron Howard take a break while shooting ``A Beautiful Mind.'' (3) ``Apollo 13'' with Kevin Bacon, left, and Tom Hanks (4) ``Night Shift'' with Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (b. October 30, 1945) is a Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, director, producer and author. He is perhaps most famous for his role as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the popular sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984). , left, and Michael Keaton (5) ``The Nutty Professor'' with Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and singer. She is married to actor/rapper Will Smith. Biography Early life Jada was born September 18 Jada Koren Pinkett in Baltimore, Maryland to Robsol Pinkett, Jr. and Eddie Murphy Edward "Eddie" Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and comedian. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. . (6) Howard, left, and Grazer accept the best-picture Oscar for ``A Beautiful Mind'' at this year's Academy Awards. Howard also won best director. Box: Grazer/Howard productions (see text) |
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