Filmmaker Ron Howard shares his thoughts on JD Vance’s VP bid, four years after adapting Vance’s memoir, Mountain elegy, into the Netflix film of the same name.
In an interview with Deadline at the Toronto International Film Festival, Howard, 70, revealed he was “surprised” by the author-turned-Republican politician’s often far-right political beliefs.
“Well, we didn’t talk much about politics while we were making the movie because I was interested in him growing up and that story of survival,” Howard told Deadline. “That’s what we focused on the most.”
“However, based on the conversations we’ve had over that time, I just have to say that I’m very surprised and disappointed by much of the rhetoric I’m reading and hearing,” he continued. “People change, and I suppose that is the case.
Owen Asztalos as JD Vance and Amy Adams as Bev in the ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ scene.
Lacey Terrell/NETFLIX
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Although Howard told the paper that he and Vance did not discuss his political views, the director said “that was then,” and the current Ohio senator has changed his tune since they first met.
“When we spoke around the time I knew him, he wasn’t involved in politics or claimed to be particularly interested,” Howard said before taking a moment to encourage people to vote in the upcoming election.
“I think it’s important to recognize what’s happening today and vote. And that’s my answer,” happy days the alum said. “It’s not really about a movie made five or six years ago. It is, but we need to respond to what we see, hear, feel now and vote responsibly, whatever it is. We need to participate. That’s my response.”
Howard directed the 2020 Netflix film, starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close, based on Vance’s 2016 book. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis.
Why Ron Howard’s Mountain elegybased on Trump Vice President Pick JD Vance’s memoir, Divide Critics?
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Ron Howard at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024.
Emma McIntyre/WireImage
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And Vance, 40, i Mountain elegy it has been the subject of criticism since its publication in 2016, with many writers and critics arguing that it inaccurately portrayed the culture.
“Elegy of a Highlander cast as ‘privileged’ Hollywood outsiders looking in with pity to assuage their white liberal guilt. By ignoring the very specific politics and personal observations that supposedly made the book valuable as a memoir, the film negates its very raison d’être,” wrote film reporter Scott Mendelson for Forbes review at that time.
Despite these criticisms, the book and film were commercial successes, with the former taking first place at the The New York Times list of best-selling films and a film that topped Netflix’s most-watched lists upon release.
On July 15, it was revealed that Vance would run against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. He will face Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in an Oct. 1 vice presidential debate moderated by CBS News’ Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education