Ron Howard could have starred alongside John Wayne one more time
Paramount Pictures
Long before he starred alongside John Wayne in “The Shootist,” Ron Howard made his name as a child star, most notably by playing Opie Taylor on the 1960s TV series “The Andy Griffith Show.” After playing a lead role in George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” in 1973, Howard boosted his profile even further by playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom “Happy Days.” He debuted on the series in 1974, playing a the nice but boring counterpart to Henry Winkler’s Arthur Fonzarelli. The young actor stayed with the hugely-popular series right up until the start of season 8 in 1980 (though he returned as a guest later in the show’s run). It was during his time on “Happy Days,” then, that Howard first worked with John Wayne, learning how much of an artist the Duke really was on “The Shootist” and seemingly making enough of an impression on the man that he developed plans for another collaboration.
In a 2023 interview with Graham Bensinger, Howard recalled how he ran into Wayne after “The Shootist” had been released. “We crossed paths at an AFI dinner honoring Henry Fonda,” he explained. “I saw him and he said, ‘I found a book. I want to make it into a movie and it’s you and me or it’s nobody.'” Howard went on to explain how Wayne’s illness and declining health was known at the time, adding “It was really poignant at first to see that he still had that drive, but also to know that he wanted to work together again, which meant a lot to me.”
Howard didn’t elaborate on the project during this interview, but at the time of his death, the Duke had already bought the rights to Buddy Atkinson’s novel “Beau John.” The former “Beverly Hillbillies” writer had finished his novel and before it was even published Wayne’s production company, Batjac Productions, snapped up the rights. The story revolved around a family in small town Kentucky during the 1920s, and would have seen the Duke playing the patriarch in what was a more lighthearted project that the actor was typically known for. It would also have featured several generations of the family, including a son, son-in-law, and grandson, and Wayne had Howard in mind for one of these roles. In Scott Eyman’s book “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” however, Howard is quoted as saying the adaptation “never got past the verbal stage,” adding, “At that point, [Wayne] was showing signs of not being well. I was a little doubtful.”
Ron Howard won over John Wayne early on
Paramount Pictures
Just how well John Wayne’s “Beau John” adaptation would have fared will forever remain a mystery, but at least Ron Howard will always know the Duke had a soft spot for him. Howard discussed his relationship with the late actor during a 2014 Tribeca Film Festival panel (via The Huffington Post) where he explained how things started out a tad rocky on “The Shootist” — which remains one of John Wayne’s best films — but he eventually won over the veteran star by asking him to run lines.
According to Howard, Wayne responded to the request by saying, “Nobody ever asks me to do that.” From that point on it seemed the two got along, with Howard also claiming that his television background appealed to Wayne. The actor-turned-director told UPI, “It turned out my television background was something he really related to because those Westerns were sort of his version of being a television actor. He felt like with that kind of background, a person would know how to get it done.” Whatever the case, Wayne was clearly impressed with his younger counterpart, as evidenced by the fact he planned to make another film with him. Considering “The Shootist” was well-received by critics, however, it might be for the best that this was the duo’s one and only collaboration.
by admin | Jul 21, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles
Adria Arjona is set to star alongside Michael B. Jordan in The Thomas Crown Affair for Amazon MGM Studios.
Jordan directs and stars in the feature reimagining that is currently in production in London and follows Norman Jewison‘s 1968 original of the same name starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. Kenneth Branagh, Lily Gladstone, Danai Gurira, Pilou Asbæk and Aiysha Hart round out the cast for the new project that hits theaters March 5, 2027.
Taylor Russell was previously set to star opposite Jordan in the film. The Hollywood Reporter reported last week that the Bones and All actress exited the movie amid creative differences.
Drew Pearce (The Fall Guy) wrote the script for the new movie after Wes Tooke and Justin Britt-Gibson penned a previous draft. Producers include Jordan and Elizabeth Raposo for Outlier Society and Charles Roven for Atlas Entertainment. Patrick McCormick and Toberoff Productions’ Marc Toberoff also produce. Alan Trustman, who wrote the original film, serves as an executive producer.
The original Thomas Crown Affair landed two Oscar nominations and tells the story of an insurance investigator working to track down the perpetrator of a bank heist. It was remade in 1999, with the updated version starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.
Arjona is known for such series work as Disney+’s Star Wars show Andor and for features including Blink Twice and Hit Man. She can next be seen opposite Dakota Johnson in Neon and Topic Studio’s comedy Splitsville.
The Thomas Crown Affair reunites Jordan with the studio that released his 2023 directorial debut, Creed III.
Jordan teased his take on The Thomas Crown Affair during a video segment at CinemaCon in April, telling the crowd that his movie “isn’t just another remake.”
Arjona is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Stone Genow.
Variety was first to report on Arjona’s casting.
by admin | Jul 21, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
suffer the misfire that was “M3GAN 2.0,” which isn’t going to make a third of what the original “M3GAN” did. But while it’s not nearly as bad in the early going for Sony Pictures, the studio’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer” legacy sequel opened in theaters over the weekend and, sad to say, it fell pretty far short of expectations as well.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” opened to an estimated $13 million domestically over the weekend, coupled with $11.6 million overseas. That gives it a $24.6 million global start against a reported $18 million budget. That’s by no means a disaster but considering that pre-release estimates had “Last Summer” taking in between $16 and $25 million in North America, that’s a disappointment. The re-introduction of the once-popular ’90s slasher film series was directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (“Do Revenge”).
While Sony probably won’t lose a lot of money on this movie due to its relatively thrifty budget, any hopes that this would revive the franchise on a longer term basis have gone out the window. Audiences had previously demonstrated a willingness to show up for long-awaited revamps of once-popular horror properties this year, with “28 Years Later” ($145 million worldwide) and “Final Destination Bloodlines” ($285 million worldwide) both doing big business. Sorry to say, though, this one couldn’t catch a similar wave.
There’s no reason to believe word of mouth will help here, either, as the fourth movie in the “Last Summer” franchise holds a poor 38% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a lousy C+ CinemaScore. It’s also perhaps worth pointing out that Amazon Prime Video’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer” TV show was canceled after just one season in 2022. The interest just doesn’t seem to be there in any meaningful way to keep this enterprise alive.
