Ron Howard reacts to 'mixed bag' legacy of Hillbilly Elegy and JD Vance's political pivot: 'I'm n...

&34;I would not have seen it coming, and I wouldn't have expected his rhetoric to be as divisive as it sometimes is,&34; Howard says. Ron Howard reacts to 'mixe

"I would not have seen it coming, and I wouldn't have expected his rhetoric to be as divisive as it sometimes is," Howard says.

Ron Howard reacts to 'mixed bag' legacy of Hillbilly Elegy and JD Vance's political pivot: 'I'm not following him'

"I would not have seen it coming, and I wouldn't have expected his rhetoric to be as divisive as it sometimes is," Howard says.

By Mekishana Pierre

Published on August 13, 2025 04:05PM EDT

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Ron Howard; JD Vance. Credit:

Jerod Harris/Getty; Jeff Swensen/Getty

Ron Howard can admit that he never would have expected JD Vance's vice presidency after directing the 2020 film adaptation of Vance's 2016 memoir, *Hillbilly Elegy.*

While promoting his latest film *Eden*, Howard told Vulture that he actively doesn't think about the legacy of his adaptation. "I know it's a mixed bag and probably quite culturally divided," Howard said. "I also know that reviews were bad and the audience-reaction rating was pretty good."**

Haley Bennett, Gabriel Basso, and Amy Adams in 'Hillbilly Elegy'.

Lacey Terrell/NETFLIX

And when asked whether he's been able to "reconcile" the Vance he came to know during filming with the politician he is today, Howard responded, "Well, it's happened, so I know what I've observed."

"It remains a bit of a surprise to me. 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 added. "By the way, I'm not following him or listening to every word."

Howard's adaptation of the book starred Gabriel Basso and Owen Asztalos as Vance at different ages, while Amy Adams played the future politician's mother and Glenn Close portrayed his grandmother Mamaw, receiving both Oscar and Razzie nominations for her prosthetics-heavy work in the movie.

It followed Vance as a former Marine from southern Ohio and current Yale Law student who's on the verge of landing a prestigious job when a family crisis coaxes him back to the homeland he's long tried to purge from his life. There, he's forced back into a harsh dynamic of grappling with his mother Bev's drug addiction and the memories of the whip-smart grandmother who raised him.

'HillBilly Elegy' star Glenn Close takes a subtle jab at J.D. Vance

Glenn Close bags Oscar and Razzie nods for her 'Hillbilly Elegy' performance

While Vance's 2016 book became a *New York Times* best-seller and was praised, primarily by conservatives, as a window into the difficulties of life in the Rust Belt, the film received largely negative reviews. ** described the project as "two movies, one laughably bad and one boringly bad… stitched together with the kind of flashback structure that makes you think it's time to cancel flashbacks."

Howard recalled how Vance was frustrated by the film's negative reception, which Vulture said some thought turned the vice president even more to the right. "He loved Glenn Close's performance and Amy Adams's performance and liked the film," Howard said. "And he felt that, just as reviews had kind of turned on the book, his involvement was in some way tainting or coloring the critical response, and he resented it."**

Amy Adams and Gabriel Basso in 'Hillbilly Elegy'.

Lacey Terrell/NETFLIX

"When I was working with him, all his quotes about the administration were very public," Howard added of Vance's political pivot. "He was trying to run an investment fund. So the run for Senate and the strategy he's chosen to follow are not what I would've expected."

The Oscar-winning director previously shared similar sentiments when Vance was announced as Donald Trump's running mate.

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"I have been surprised and concerned by a lot of the rhetoric coming out of that campaign," Howard said in an interview with *Variety* in September.

The *Splash* filmmaker asserted that Vance's candidacy didn't affect his stance on the then-Republican nominee for president. "There's no version of me voting for Donald Trump to be president again, whoever the vice president was," he added. "Look, we gotta get out and vote, for whomever. But be thoughtful. Listen to what the candidates are saying today — that's what's really relevant. It's who they are today. And make a decision — an informed one."

Vice President JD Vance.

Leon Neal/Getty

While Howard hasn't spoken with Vance since they made and promoted *Hillbilly Elegy* together, the director told Vulture that he did text the politician after Trump won re-relection. "I did one text, after the election, which was just sort of, 'Godspeed. Try to serve us well,'" he said.**

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Source: "AOL Movies"

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