Posted by 
Ron Howard has the kind of face that some people want to punch. No matter how much hair he loses, or how much facial hair he grows, he will always be known as Opie Taylor, or as Richie Cunningham. At age six, he was already an accomplished television veteran, picked to play Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” where he stayed on for eight years. In 1973, Howard became a bona fide star with the success of the movie “American Graffiti.” He played Steve Bolander in the George Lucas-directed film, which helped kick-start a 1950s revival. Due to Howard’s stardom (and the nostalgia boom), ABC brought “Happy Days” to the air where Howard starred as Richie Cunningham, the innocently charming boy next door. After directing several episodes of Happy Days, Howard could still not find any major studio to entrust a feature film to the 23-year-old. That is, until Roger Corman came along and struck a deal in which he would let Ron Howard direct a film with the agreement that he also star in it. The eventual film, “Grand Theft Auto,” was a first of many he would go on to direct. From “Happy Days” to “Apollo 13,” from “Splash” to “A Beautiful Mind,” Ron Howard, love him or hate him, is the poster boy for the Academy Awards. He has earned several nominations as well as winning Best Director and Best Picture citations. He has forever stamped his gigantic forehead and ridiculous beard on the A-list of Hollywood film makers.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download the show in a separate window
[...] Posted by Mariko McDonald in Writer’s Corner at 10:25 AM PDT This week’s Sound on Sight podcast is a looks at some of Ron Howard’s films both as a director and an actor. Ricky, Simon and Ali discuss The DaVinci Code, Splash, Cocoon, Angels and Demons and American Graffiti. Episode 119: Ron “Richie Cunningham” Howard [...]
Listeners may also be interested in this article. I highly recommend it.
http://www.cracked.com/topic/222-ron-howard/
It’s working now, thanks to whoever fixed it.
Your welcome and thank you!
The “Download the show in a separate window” link isn’t working for me, I can hear the show in the player but I can’t download it. What to do? Thanks.
In most browsers, you should be able to right click on the link, and then select ’save link as’ to download the show.
Thanks Marcio. Sorry about that but it works now!
i would consider it a hidden gem becase these two brothers produced, directed, edited, filmed, wrote, edited and did the effects for the film all on thier own. No it is not in the same league of enjoyment as Dead Alive but these guys really impressed me with what they were able to do without any major studio backing. I was under the impression that Peter Jackson helped get them a distribution deal but I guess I am wrong.
Hi all, great show as always.
But regarding Trailer Talk: Jackson did not back Undead, which is not really a hidden gem imho… it just tries to hard and can in no way be compared to Brain Dead (Dead Alive). It’s more in the line of Evil Aliens – which itself is way better than Undead.
Cheers,
Angelus
I also wasn’t impressed by Undead. Perhaps it was because I’d heard so many good things about it my expectations were too high.
Well I saw it before any hype and I thought it was great. You should go back and revisit the film keeping in mind two brothers did it all on thier own. Very impressive if you ask me.
[...] Recent Podcasts [...]