Ron Howard may be an Oscar-winning director, but that didn’t stop him from feeling nervous about tackling his latest film, “Eden.”
“This movie was a big creative risk,” he told Page Six at a Cinema Society screening in New York City Wednesday night, adding, “It was outside my comfort zone.”
Howard, 71, went on to explain that most of his movies are “celebratory,” while this project is a “cautionary tale.”
“It’s a true crime thriller and I’m so proud of it,” he said.
The movie — which stars Jude Law, Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas — tells the shocking true story of a group of European expats who settle on Floreana, a part of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.
Before long, they discover that the true threat to their survival isn’t the brutal climate and spartan conditions, but one another.
The “Da Vinci Code” director shared that he first learned about the improbable story — which involves themes of betrayal, murder, and sex — when he went on a family vacation to the Galápagos Islands about 15 years ago.
“We went to the Museum of the Galápagos, and one entire room was dedicated to this true crime thriller, and the story was so fascinating,” Howard recalled. “I started reading everything that I could; it’s all we talked about at dinner. I was so intrigued by it. I literally started thumbing out a movie outline on my BlackBerry.”
Aside from the release of “Eden,” it’s a big year for Howard.
“It’s my 50th wedding anniversary, the 40th anniversary of the formation of Imagine Entertainment with Brian Grazer, it’s the 30th anniversary of ‘Apollo 13’ … And I got an Emmy nomination in the guest actor category,” he boasted. “So it’s kind of been an amazing year.”
Howard, who charmed audiences as Opie in “The Andy Griffith Show” in the ’60s and co-starred in “Happy Days” in the ’70s and early ’80s before becoming an acclaimed director, credits his family and love of filmmaking for keeping him on the straight and narrow.
“I’ve been blessed in the fact that I’ve loved the process of working on shows, movies, telling stories,” he shared, adding that his parents, Rance and Jean Howard, were character actors. “I saw them struggle, and I recognized what a gift the opportunities that were coming to me were.”
The actor’s wife, Cheryl Howard, is also an actress, while their daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, followed in her both of her parent’s shoes as an actress and director.
Ron — who won two Oscars in 2002 for directing and producing “A Beautiful Mind” — said that he never “took that for granted,” explaining, “I loved it. I’m a lucky son of a bitch!”
Other notable names in attendance at the screening and afterparty at The Fulton by Jean-Georges included Gayle King, Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Toussaint, Christopher McDonald, Gina Gershon, Danny Strong and Richard Kind.