Ron Howard talks about casting options, rehearsing actors and directing children

Ron Howard (center) with an unrecognizable Glenn Close (right) on the set of “Hillbilly Elegy” —PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETFLIX

You can’t empathize with something you don’t identify with. Netflix’s star-studded family drama “Hillbilly Elegy” is certainly not something some people who grew up in urban communities can immediately relate to, from the seeming helplessness inherent in its mush to its maudlin sentimentality.

But as we told Oscar-winning director Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Apollo 13,” “Frost / Nixon,” “Splash,” “Cocoon”) during our recent interview with him and the film’s lead actor. , Gabriel “Gabe” Basso, we loved seeing the temperament and dynamics of the many dysfunctional Filipino families that we have come across over the years who brought us palpable life on screen.

The film transported us to what it was like to grow up with neighbors and playmates from cash-strapped families in a rustic third-class township in Davao del Sur.

Writer and critic Jorge Rivera Rubio of qiibo.com was right with his review of the film. In fact, “Hillbilly Elegy,” about Yale student JD Vance (Gabriel) who has been lured back to his hillbilly hometown to deal with his self-destructive mother Beverly (Amy Adams), may not be the best movie ever. Ron. But it’s probably the most emotional thing, spinning a fact-based thread that “will resonate strongly with people who have similar experiences.”

And getting Ron and Gabe to talk about the story, the selection process, and the making of the movie is very instructive for moviegoers as well as filmmakers and actors.

“I’ve had so many conversations with the Vance family, even before I was sure we could make a solid movie out of JD’s best-selling memoirs,” Ron told Asian press. “The biggest revelation for me was that JD felt that this was not a story about a strong man who somehow overcame difficulties and updated himself.

“To him, it was much more of a story about a man who feels like he was supported, even rescued in some way, by the women in his life who really made a difference, especially his grandmother Mamaw, played by Glenn Close. Mamaw is a remarkably charismatic and colorful character. So that’s what really piqued my curiosity about this particular family that I felt would be interesting, entertaining, and easy to identify for viewers, way beyond American.

“As for casting, I had worked with Glenn Close before. She is among the elite actresses of her generation, especially in the age range of our character Mamaw. She is a friend of mine and she told me that she had read the book and was in love with the character.

“Amy Adams, on the other hand, is someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time. I started to notice that Bev’s photos when she was younger looked a lot like Amy. But Amy was difficult to convince because the character goes through a lot of confusion and causes so much pain and suffering; it’s that part of Bev that she didn’t want to live. In the end, he felt it was a story that offered true understanding and healing.

“Then there is the adolescent JD and the young adult JD as a Yale student. He needed to find a credible combination. I had met Owen (Asztalos) along with a couple of other young candidates who were very interesting. But when I met Gabe, I felt like he was a perfect fit with Owen; they were alike enough to believe that Owen would become Gabe when he grew up.

“The challenge was for Owen and JD to create a cohesive character. So during rehearsal, I asked them to spend time together and read each other’s lines. He was trying to create an environment where they could study and understand each other. “

For his part, aside from the opportunity to perform alongside two of Tinseltown’s best actresses, Gabriel was beyond thrilled and grateful to fill his performance with the wisdom and voice of JD’s experience. In fact, meeting JD helped Gabe fit in and slip into his character like a second skin.

“I spent some time with JD,” Gabe revealed. “The information in the book and in the script was definitely there for me to take advantage of. But I really enjoyed my conversations with JD because of the things he didn’t put in the book, like the things that happened when he was in the Marine Corps. They were things that I really enjoyed hearing over a bottle of beer (laughs). “

From left to right: Haley Bennett, Gabriel Basso and Amy Adams

Here are the questions and answers from our video chat with Ron and Gabe:

Gabriel, for any relative newcomer, there is nothing better than having a great break like this role. Weren’t you intimidated by acting alongside Glenn and Amy, or by having Ron Howard as a director? You’ve practically stood your ground here.

Gabriel Basso (GB): Thank you for saying that. It was definitely a bit stressful at first. My first scene was cut for a reason (laughs).

I just remember coming back [to acting] because I hadn’t been in anything for seven years, so being a part of this was a great blessing. They definitely made me feel comfortable and respected me from start to finish, which really helped me jump into it.

Ron Howard (RH): Oh wow, I just want to add one thing. Gabriel is a smart and thoughtful guy, as well as talented. I spent a lot of time talking to him, not only to develop his understanding of the character, but also to be able to make this world as authentic and realistic as possible.

Both Gabe and Haley Bennett (playing her sister Lindsay, who begs JD to come home after her mother’s overdose) were invaluable to this production because versions of this family lived in working-class and blue-collar communities, which They are similar to, as you said, those of some Filipino families you know.

They had their own versions of these kinds of relationships and circumstances within their immediate or extended families, so they contributed a lot creatively beyond the characters they played and the performances they presented.

Both “Hillbilly Elegy” and his latest documentary “Rebuilding Paradise” (about the devastating wildfires in California in 2018) are about the people of small towns in America today. Is that the topic that interests you these days?

RH: It has interested me for a long time because those are my roots and the roots of my wife Cheryl. My family came from a small farm town in Oklahoma. My wife’s family is from farm towns in Wisconsin and Louisiana. So, among our families, I only recognized a voice, a sound, a sensitivity, a strength and some weaknesses that I felt I understood.

I was eager to find a story in which I could apply my understanding to a set of characters. Then I came across “Hillbilly Elegy” and simultaneously ended up making the documentary about Paradise, California and the wildfires, because my mother-in-law had lived there for the last four years of her life. I recognize those people and wanted to tell their stories.

Then all of a sudden, in this one and a half year period, I was telling two stories about this segment of American society, which is not usually the center of attention in contemporary storytelling. Some of them are plagued with specific economic hardships and patterns of trauma and dysfunction that are unique to their culture and deserve to be understood.

Howard gives instructions to Adams (left) and Owen Asztalos

Casting Owen Asztalos as young JD was a stroke of genius. Do you think your approach to directing children is based on your experiences as a former child actor?

RH: Definitely. I was very lucky [to have those experiences]. My father was an actor, but he was also a very natural and intuitive acting teacher. And the only thing it did, even when I was very young, was help me understand what the scenes were about, it wasn’t about a performance. It was about being part of a story. And I try to share that with young actors when I work with them.

People underestimate children. I have directed children ages 3 and up. Do you know what I have discovered? Around the ages of 5 and 6, a child who is interested in acting and who enjoys being on a set begins to understand fantasy and acting, and what it is to help tell a story. It understands the difference between what is real and what is for the camera, but it has to look real.

It’s not that hard to get young children to understand this, not just in a way where they grimace or pretend to cry. But, in situations where they actually live in those scenes, that’s very exciting to me.

Owen has worked a lot, but he never played a dramatic character like this. And he’s a good student … so interested and passionate about everything. I think he has a bright future ahead of him. But it was fun watching him grow as an artist through this process and of course he spends all of his time working with Glenn Close and Amy Adams, so he’s getting some good guidance. They are pretty good references.

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