Ron Howard: Valuing Creativity and Empowerment

Ron Howard was born with an aptitude to be in the entertainment business, but he doesn’t love the spotlight. But from the very first time he acted, he loved the idea of sharing and connecting through art.

In his keynote on Wednesday afternoon, Howard discussed the lessons, struggles and triumphs of a 60+-year career, as well as the role of creativity and problem-solving in moviemaking and in life.

Over the years, creativity was something that Howard witnessed over and over again, and he realized that the more you practice creativity, the better you get at it—and your problem-solving skills increase as well. In particular, Andy Griffith created a very creative environment on the set—the actors were allowed to participate in script rewrites, and Howard remembered how that camaraderie and participation empowered the actors.

From the very beginning, it was clear that Howard wanted to direct. He noticed that great actors and directors had a defining characteristic—they outworked everyone else—and he tried to apply that when he started directing. Howard told the story of working with a difficult Oscar-winning actress—Bette Davis. He got the best advice from his dad, who said: “Do your job, be prepared, show up—and don’t have a showdown.” Howard followed that advice, and gained Davis's respect.

When Howard starts working on a movie, he tries to find an intersection between what he's fascinated by and what audiences want to see, considering what would be memorable in the story, and what collaborators can be brought on board, as a great team means everything.

According to Howard, experience makes you better under duress. He talked about the compromises that need to be made while making movies, and the benefit of hearing other people’s ideas.­­ The relationships made in these experiences last a lifetime.