Arts & Entertainment

Story Inspiration: Case Studies

Lesson time 13:14 min

Ron works on an idea when he feels a flush of inspiration, which can come from the theme, his personal relationship with the idea, or its freshness. Learn how this approach has helped him create some of his most enduring and beloved films.

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Topics include: Splash • Cinderella Man • Cocoon • Apollo 13 • A Beautiful Mind • Rush

Ron Howard

Teaches Directing

Ron Howard teaches directing, editing, and storytelling in his exclusive video lessons.

Preview

You've got to feel that flush of inspiration around an idea. And sometimes, it's the themes. Sometimes, it's the freshness of the presentation combined with some traditional, familiar themes. Splash is an example of basically a '30s romantic comedy. It makes all the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, you know, all the obstacles. You know, they're right out of the screwball comedies, which I always adored. But you know, even there in the '80s, when we made Splash, it was already too tired to do it in a literal way. Yet adding the fantasy element of her being a mermaid, it made all of that OK. So it was sort of the traditional idea, the sort of quaint idea, was suddenly fresh, visual, funnier, and more interesting. Along the way, I also came up with this other theme that love is not perfect. And I think I actually got, you know, the John Candy character to say that line. And that became really important to me, that it was the idea that you're going to have that initial rush of romance and excitement, and then, you may discover there's some complications, there's some problems, there's some, you know, and yet, what are you going to do with that love? Is that going to be the thing that chases you away? Or are you going to accept it? And so that became a secondary theme that I became very passionate about. [MUSIC PLAYING] With Cinderella Man, there were a number of things that I liked about it. It wasn't really the boxing, even though I loved sports and my dad had memories of the Cinderella Man, James Braddock, and what he meant during the depression, you know, as a kind of a hero. But I was most interested in finding a way to convey to modern audiences what the abject poverty of the depression meant on the population. I thought it was particularly interesting that this story was about that kind of poverty, poverty that you now mostly see in urban areas, generally people of color. And that here is a story about an Irish, you know, Caucasian, All-American family that was going through that kind of suffering, winding up in a kind of a ghetto and struggling to get out of it. So I had always wanted to do something about the depression, an era that shaped my parents' lives. I had always been fascinated by it. In high school, I made a documentary about the depression. Instead of doing a written school project, I got to make a movie, and got an A, too. You know, that's why I was involved in it. And yet, the real center of it was this amazing, true story of James Braddock. And it carried a narrative that you couldn't ignore. But I was always the littlest bit concerned that it was sort of a familiar narrative. You know, was it too familiar? Well, I did my research. I put together reels of boxing scenes, going back to Wallace Beery as the champ in like 1930, '31. Of course, Raging Bull, but also Jim Braddock's footage and ...

About the Instructor

Ron Howard made his first film in 15 days with $300,000. Today, his movies have grossed over $1.8 billion. In his first-ever online directing class, the Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind decodes his craft like never before. In lessons and on-set workshops, you’ll learn how to evaluate ideas, work with actors, block scenes, and bring your vision to the screen whether it’s a laptop or an IMAX theater.

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Ron Howard

Ron Howard teaches directing, editing, and storytelling in his exclusive video lessons.

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