Why Howard wouldn’t make ‘The Help’ today
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the public has been given a rare glimpse inside the homes of news anchors, politicians and “Saturday Night Live” comedians. So knowing that her Zoom appearance had the potential to be judged widely, Bryce Dallas Howard was prepared. Before a round of virtual interviews to promote her feature directorial debut, a documentary about modern fatherhood called “Dads,” she had distributor Apple TV+ send her a fabric photography backdrop. Her makeup artist, Vivian Baker, mailed her a professional lighting kit and then taught her how to apply faux eyelashes via FaceTime.
But soon the actress will be flying to the United Kingdom to quarantine for two weeks and then resume filming on Universal Pictures’ sequel “Jurassic World: Dominion.” The film will become one of the first major Hollywood studio projects to attempt filming during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Howard, 39, recently spoke about her comfort level in returning to production and how she feels about the hit race drama “The Help.”
Universal is reportedly preparing the U.K. set of “Jurassic World” with measures like extensive testing, on-site doctors and 150 hand sanitizer stations. Is it enough to make you feel safe returning to work?
That’s not even the half of it. It’s really extensive, and I feel so relieved. It’s really, really, really thought-out, which is a big deal. To me, it’s just about hearing the science and hearing from doctors, as opposed to it being about my own comfort level. And even though we’re going and we’re doing this, we are taking it a day at a time.
Your dad, the director Ron Howard, is in “Dads.” Were you at all leery about him appearing in your first featurelength movie?
I was insecure about that when I was younger. But I realized pretty quickly that my parents were exceptional people and stand-up parents. For me to be weird about something that honestly, really doesn’t have anything to do with me — I just realized, that’s just shortsighted.
Did you learn a lot from him, growing up on his sets?
I went to set with my dad every single day when I was a child. Getting to be privy to that process and seeing how much failure and rejection is baked into that — when I started working as an actor, I realized that many of my peers didn’t have that experience and were really tough on themselves when they didn’t get a part or messed up on the day.
You recently posted on Instagram about the fact that “The Help” was No. 1 on Netflix, saying you’d made great friends on set but encouraging your fans to watch Black stories made by Black creators instead. What prompted you to post that?
Being around movie sets, I know what goes into a production. So when I’m watching a movie, I know when I see the director’s name that they were really, really involved and it’s largely their opinions and the writer’s opinion. The actors, I don’t want to say we’re props — we can be more than props. But the final decision is not ours. I know who has the power. And so right now, in this time, stories are going to play a crucial role in our ability to empathize and to be inspired into action. And the storytellers who we must listen to right now and look to and learn from — there’s an extraordinary body of work that centers on Black characters from Black creators.
Would you still make “The Help” today?
No. But what I will say is: What I’ve seen is that folks have the courage to say that. “With all due respect, I love this project, I do not think you could be the filmmaker.” That’s a really powerful thing to say. That’s an important stance to take in order to make room for the true authentic storytellers. In this transformation that’s happening, there’s a new freedom of expression. I’m seeing from others — and feeling from myself — that it is less about worrying about offending people and looking within and saying, “Why? What really am I scared of, and what is that reinforcing?” And so I posted it and didn’t look back.