Ron Howard, the Oscar-winning director behind the 2020 Hillbilly Elegy adaptation, has weighed in on the “mixed bag” legacy of the film and the unexpected political trajectory of its author, J.D. Vance, now serving as vice president, saying he hasn’t been following Vance’s politics and was surprised by how divisive his rhetoric has become.
While promoting his new film Eden, Howard acknowledged that he didn’t foresee Vance’s vice presidential role or his shift into high-stakes politics after working closely with him during the making of Hillbilly Elegy. “I would not have seen it coming, and I wouldn’t have expected his rhetoric to be as divisive as it sometimes is,” the director told Vulture, adding that he’s simply not following him or listening to every word Vance says.
Howard said he actively doesn’t dwell on the legacy of Hillbilly Elegy, noting that the film continues to be culturally divided in its reception with critical reviews largely negative while audience response leaned more positive and that he focused more on adapting Vance’s personal story than on broader political implications.
The 2020 movie, based on Vance’s 2016 memoir about his upbringing in Ohio’s Rust Belt and the challenges of his family’s life, starred Amy Adams and Glenn Close and was both critically panned and a subject of controversy upon release. Since then, Vance’s rise in politics, including his position as the running mate of a high-profile presidential campaign, has only complicated how people view the work and its themes.
Asked whether he’s been able to reconcile the Vance he knew during filming with the public political figure he is now, Howard said he recognizes the evolution but hasn’t aligned himself with Vance’s current direction. He noted that Vance was once focused on a different path prior to entering the Senate and national stage, and that the strategy he pursued politically was not what Howard would have expected based on their earlier interactions.
Howard has previously spoken candidly about being surprised and concerned by some of the rhetoric coming out of the campaign in which Vance took part, emphasizing that his own views on the subject stem from watching and listening to what candidates actually say today rather than holding onto past impressions.
