Apollo 13

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation’s most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas Un homme d’exception (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Portrait craché d’une famille modèle (1989) and Splash (1984), he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films.

Howard made his directorial debut in 1978 with the comedy Lâchez les bolides (1977). He began his career in film as an actor. He first appeared in Le voyage (1959) and Le marchand de fanfares (1962), then as Opie on the long-running television series The Andy Griffith Show (1960). Howard later starred in the popular series Happy Days – Les jours heureux (1974) and drew favorable reviews for his performances in American Graffiti (1973) and Le dernier des géants (1976).

Howard and long-time producing partner Brian Grazer first collaborated on the hit comedies “Night Shift” and “Splash“. The pair co-founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 to create independently produced feature films.

Howard’s portfolio includes some of the most popular films of the past 20 years. In 1991, Howard created the acclaimed drama “Backdraft“, starring Robert De Niro, Kurt Russell and William Baldwin. He followed it with the historical epic Horizons lointains (1992), starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Howard directed Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise and Delroy Lindo in the 1996 suspense thriller La rançon (1996). Howard worked with Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise and Kathleen Quinlan on “Apollo 13“, which was re-released recently in the IMAX format.

Howard’s skill as a director has long been recognized. In 1995, he received his first Best Director of the Year award from the DGA for “Apollo 13“. The true-life drama also garnered nine Academy Award nominations, winning Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. It also received Best Ensemble Cast and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Screen Actor’s Guild. Many of Howard’s past films have received nods from the Academy, including the popular hits Backdraft (1991), “Parenthood” and Cocoon (1985), the last of which took home two Oscars.

Howard directed and produced De l’ombre à la lumière (2005) starring Oscar winner Russell Crowe, with whom he previously collaborated on “A Beautiful Mind”, for which Howard earned an Oscar for Best Director and which also won awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. The film garnered four Golden Globes as well, including the award for Best Motion Picture Drama. Additionally, Howard won Best Director of the Year from the Directors Guild of America. Howard and producer Brian Grazer received the first annual Awareness Award from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign for their work on the film.

Howard also produced and directed the film adaptation of Peter Morgan’s critically acclaimed play Frost/Nixon, l’heure de vérité (2008). The film was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and was also nominated for The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures by the PGA.

Howard has also served as an executive producer on a number of award-winning films and television shows, such as the HBO miniseries De la terre à la lune (1998), Fox’s Emmy Award winner for Best Comedy, Arrested development – Les nouveaux pauvres (2003), a series which he also narrated, Netflix’s release of new episodes of “Arrested Development”, and NBC’s “Parenthood”.