r/MadeMeSmile • u/moonpies4everyone • 13d ago

This letter from Ron Howard to Newsweek after they grilled 9 year old Jake Lloyd’s performance in The Phantom Menace. Favorite People

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33.8k Upvotes

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u/54sharks40 13d ago

It's been a long, long time, but if I recall, the kid's performance was not the issue with that movie

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u/Feeling_Wheel_1612 13d ago

I rewatched it recently, and you are absolutely right.

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u/Copywrites 13d ago

Star wars fans went after him and the actor who played Jar Jar for absolutely batshit reasons

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/Richman1010 13d ago

He was a Jedi in the last season of Mandolorian.

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u/Terminator7786 13d ago

My favorite video of him is the one where he comes on stage and the whole crowd is cheering for him, same for Hayden Christensen. They didn't deserve the hate and to see them get the love they're owed is heartwarming every time.

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u/GiventoWanderlust 12d ago

Watching Hayden walk onto a stage at Star Wars Celebration and fans losing their shit and just watching his face makes me want to cry big happy tears.

Watching his appearance on Ahsoka makes it so painfully obvious how much work he put into the saber training, and interviews make it obvious how excited so many actors get just getting to be a part of Star Wars.

I watched an interview recently where Liam Neeson admitted that both he and Ewan kept making lightsaber noises with their mouths in their first takes. Or the interview with Sam Jackson geeking out over getting to pick his own lightsaber. It's just so gratifying knowing that the people playing the characters love the galaxy far, far away just like the rest of us.

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u/Deethreekay 12d ago

I may be misremembering, but I think I remember reading Sam approached George about having a purple sabre and George said no, sabres are blue or green if you're a jedi and red if you're a sith.

Then it came to watching the first screening later and George went up to him and said "guess what?"

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u/heyimric 12d ago

I dunno why but purple just works for Jackson. Wouldn't work for anyone else.

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u/creyes53115 12d ago

Also, in-universe, it also just fits perfectly as to how he embodies Mace as a character, always skirting a very fine middle.

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u/Jimbot88 12d ago

The full explanation is that he asks George for a purple saber to localize himself in the big battle scene

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u/Life-Significance-33 12d ago

Sam said he asked to just run across the screen as a storm trooper. He didn't know he was a Jedi until on set, per his interview.

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u/G37_is_numberletter 12d ago

It just goes to show… fandoms can be really cool at conventions and whatnot where they’re invested and paying to be there but the online fandoms can just be straight up evil. No disappointment in your favorite IP should be more important than showing respect and human decency for the amount of work and skill that go into something most people could never do.

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u/Plaid_Kaleidoscope 12d ago

I feel like the anonymity the internet provides has set back human communication and interactions a hundred years. Being able to say what you want, when you want, how you want with absolutely zero consequences turns people into monsters.

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u/Terminator7786 12d ago

Oh I absolutely cry every time I see that video of Hayden tearing up. It's just so fucking wholesome that I break every time. I'm crying thinking about it 😂

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u/LouSputhole94 12d ago edited 11d ago

Those movies are absolute magic to kids of a specific age. Us early 90s/late 80s kids were fucking hyped about these movies and not old enough to get they may not be the greatest, but nostalgia keeps them firmly planted in our hearts. Fuck anyone that decides to do that to anyone, especially a 9 year old kid that is just trying to act. That’s so shitty.

Edit: to clarify, a few people seem to think I meant Star Wars in general connected specifically to the late 80s/early 90s group, I meant the sequels and specifically Phantom Menace. I was just a little kid and had seen the OT with my dad and it was so cool that they were making new ones, Phantom Menace was mind blowing to me as a youngn’.

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u/wildcat- 12d ago

Lat 80's was pretty solidly on the Jar Jar hate train, but I agree with your sentiment. Same with how my nieces absofuckinglutely love Ren in the sequels and I will always respect them for providing a decent role model and lead female figure (sequel issues aside).

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

Rey. Kylo Ren was the bad boy.

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u/GameofPorcelainThron 12d ago

Even as an older Star Wars fan who didn't like the prequels, the absolute vitriol that some fans aimed at those poor actors was ridiculous. People who tie up their personal identity with pop culture brands that are outside of their own control are just absolutely toxic.

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u/ancrm114d 12d ago

Everyone was given shit to work with. Hayden just could not polish that turd as well as other actors.

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u/Gold-Stomach-4657 12d ago edited 12d ago

I love Star Wars but I only think 4 actors overcame the poor dialogue in the saga: Ewan McGregor, Harrison Ford, Ian MacDermid, and James Earl Jones.

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u/heliumneon 12d ago

Carrie Fisher

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u/Iohet 12d ago edited 12d ago

Absolutely. She was Ford's equal despite being so young in comparison, and came off as a capable leader and heroine without appearing awkward, wooden, or comical at the direction and dialogue

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u/ussrowe 12d ago

Sir Alec Guinness called the dialogue "appalling" though he found the script compelling and says he enjoyed doing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkrvs_b860

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u/Vark675 12d ago

Ewan McGregor somehow managed to make the sentence "You were supposed to be the chosen one!" actually work.

What an absolutely hamfisted, dumbass line. And it doesn't get nearly as much flak as it should, because he somehow nailed it. But the line is literally just "YOU WERE THE PLOT MCGUFFIN!"

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u/Rum____Ham 12d ago

I actually kinda like the line. They were basically best friends and father and son at the same time. After that relationship came to a horrific end, all Obi had left was the pain and confusion of being betrayed by a prophecy.

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u/Azn_Bwin 12d ago

IMO it's the emotion he put into that line. After the time spent together only to have Anakin turned to the dark side, Ewan could have just screamed with no line and I think I would have still brought the sadness and frustration he was trying to convey as Obi-Wan.

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u/DarthChimeran 12d ago

Yeah because Anakin turned out to not be the chosen one since the Sith were still around when Anakin died. In fact the emperor was still around because as he fell down the shaft at the end of Return of the Jedi he jumped over to his clone body. So when Anakin/Vader was dying in Luke's arms the emperor was still alive.

Another interesting point is when Obi-Wan and Darth Maul had their final duel Obi-Wan defeated Maul. When Maul was dying in Obi-Wans arms he asked Obi-Wan if Luke was the chosen one. Obi-Wan said he was. That also turned out to not be the case because the Sith and the emperor were still alive when Luke died.

It turns out that Rey is the chosen one because she was the one who destroyed the Sith and killed the emperor.

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u/RhysPeanutButterCups 12d ago

Mark Hamill did too, if only because he was able to convince George Lucas once that some line was just atrocious. And the thing is, he was completely right at the end given what happened in the prequel trilogy.

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u/iankenna 12d ago

Christopher Lee

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u/Adam_Sackler 12d ago

I always loved the look he gives Obi-Wan after the "it might be difficult to secure your release" line.

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u/raven00x 12d ago

Signature look of superiority.

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u/GTOdriver04 13d ago

He was also literally the one who saved Grogu from the 501st/Vader.

Man not only came back, but came back a hero! Cheers, Mr. Best!

Also, Jar Jar wasn’t that bad of a character. When I was a kid, I found him entertaining as hell, and awkward which I was myself around 9-10.

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u/Otherwise_Singer6043 12d ago

It was the fact that the gungans spoke like a certain group of people and were called unintelligent, which offended many.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/Fun_Albatross_2592 12d ago

You've never heard a black person say, "Meesa no care about da Naboo? Dey tink dey brain so beeg?" What sort of sheltered life have you been living up in that ivory tower?

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u/__-_-_--_--_-_---___ 12d ago

I (Asian American) grew up in a majority black city and had no idea Jar Jar was supposed to be a racist caricature. I just thought his mannerisms were funny.

Watching it as an adult, I see why adults thought Jar Jar was supposed to be a racist caricature, but as a kid, I had absolutely no frame of reference for why Jar Jar was offensive.

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u/Tallproley 12d ago

That was the thing, Jar Jar was included as a comedic relief to make the space fantasy entertaining, using slapstick humour and goofiness for the kids in the audience getting their introduction to Star wars, the adults forgot they aren't the only audience.

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u/windrider445 12d ago

That character comes from a kids game show called "Jedi Temple Challenge" (similar to 90s Legends of the Hidden Temple). Ahmed Best is the host of the show, in character as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq! He was a wonderful host on the show, and just seems like a really great guy. I loved seeing Best and his character get a cameo in The Mandalorian.

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u/llcdrewtaylor 13d ago

I saw an interview with Liam Neeson who said that Ahmed had to walk around in a heavy suit in the middle of a desert all day and never complained. He deserved so much better. I actually didn't hate Jar Jar as much as others did.

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u/Cronstintein 12d ago

I hated the character, but I didn’t blame the actor. It was written to be terrible (or at least aimed at kids)

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u/MisterMysterios 12d ago

Honestly, I would have retroactively loved him if the Darth Jar Jar theory had become reality. He would have been the mirror of Joda, who was first introduced as silly character, but became the wise mentor. The idea of Jar Jar hiding a Soth Lord behind his goofy mask would have made him interesting.

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u/whistlerbrk 12d ago

he's the most memorable part of those movies for me haha

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u/Ktoolz 12d ago

That movie was 25 yrs ago…. Fu…….ck

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u/UndeadBuggalo 12d ago

I saw something recently saying he was proud of his Star Wars performance. I’m glad he’s found peace after the utterly reprehensible response to his character. I don’t think there is many that say they like Jar Jar but the actor is not the issue with that character 😂

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u/RegularGuyAtHome 13d ago

I found Jar Jar kind of annoying, but in no way did I think that had anything to do with the acting or voice acting (knowing it’s the same guy). I remember being kind of annoyed they wrote the character that way.

Unfortunately a bunch of jerks thought the problem was the actor.

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u/BodhingJay 13d ago

is that true? I thought the ire was directed entirely towards the character. I was horrified to learn the actor who played jar jar suffered a great deal as a result... but i figured it was because people were saying the jar jar character ruined the movie. I never heard of anything that was meant to be delivered towards the actor directly.. but I could be wrong

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u/Psychological_Pie_32 13d ago

He got threats on his life. He did an interview about it awhile back and it was pretty rough. He was legitimately thinking about giving up acting after that role.

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u/Cronstintein 12d ago

Man, why do fans have to be such dicks?

Just like it or don’t.

Complain about it on forums if you have to, but you don’t need to contact the people in the production to give them shit ffs.

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u/NoSignSaysNo 12d ago

Man, why do fans have to be such dicks?

You spelled 'utter moron' wrong.

How can you have so few braincells that you think the actor is responsible for the character's lines and actions?

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u/Lolamichigan 12d ago

Case in point little house on the prairie had a child actress who played the mean girl Nellie against Laura Ingalls quite well. Kid was publicly attacked. Dumb people can’t differentiate the role from the person.

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u/SWBFThree2020 13d ago

Same thing happened to the Asian character in the Rian Johnson starwars film

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u/TheOtherWhiteCastle 12d ago

Pretty much every actor save for Oscar Isaac got mercilessly attacked for the sequel trilogy

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u/Spare-Mousse3311 12d ago

Blame the incel neckbeards that used the nascent internet to track down the guy. The internet has always been a tool for those losers

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u/RegularGuyAtHome 13d ago

It was both. It was directed at the character, and then by association the actor.

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u/misguidedsadist1 12d ago

I was the target audience when the movie came out, as an 11 year old. The character was badly written and executed, but never once did I blame an actor. I just figured whoever made the movie invented a shitty character lol. He was CGI for gods sake how could any of it be his fault???

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u/Pumpnethyl 12d ago

Same. The problem with The Phantom Menace was the director. Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, etc. are all great actors, and were horrible in TPM. It was lazy direction.

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u/tritonice 12d ago

Jar Jar was a terrible attempt at humor and adding an element for younger kids to connect to the movie and sell sweet, sweet merch. He was terribly written and did not fit the story at all.

However, the actor himself (Mr. Best) did an excellent job with the material he was given and sold it well. He deserved zero criticism.

Lucas tried to recreate Ewok Magic and failed, utterly. He deserves all the blame for Ep 1’s bad writing and horrible dialogue.

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u/Jimid41 12d ago

Weird since the Ewoks were one of the worst received things in the whole original trilogy.

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u/JerikkaDawn 12d ago

They can take away "Yub Nub" when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

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u/land8844 12d ago

I liked Jar Jar. But I also subscribe heavily to the "Darth Jar Jar" theory.

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u/Skatcatla 13d ago

They’ll put the blame absolutely anywhere but where it belongs: on the fact that George Lucas is a shitty writer.

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u/GiraffesAndGin 13d ago

George Lucas is your typical sci-fi writer. He can build an intricate and intriguing world with plenty of moving parts and factions, but he can't write good dialogue, and he introduces way too many characters that end up hurting the development of the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s).

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u/mjacksongt 13d ago

Basically, George Lucas - like nearly every writer ever - needs an editor who will actually challenge them.

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u/AccomplishedRush3723 12d ago

"George, you can type this shit, but you sure can't say it!" - Harrison Ford

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u/Volgyi2000 12d ago

This is hearsay on my part, but I had a friend who had a friend on the Prequel sets and what he told me is that George has no idea how to direct actors. Like he's actually terrible at giving direction.

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u/JaesopPop 12d ago

People absolutely blamed George Lucas lol

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u/TheConnASSeur 12d ago edited 12d ago

Hey, just popping in here with the uncomfortable fact that despite general attitudes about Jar Jar as a character, and the well-earned reputation for bastardry that older Star Wars fans have, it wasn't actually Star Wars fans that hounded Ahmed Best to near suicide. It was members of the black community who accused Best of playing an offensive racial stereotype and harming the black community.

Jar Jar Binks, from his folksy presentation to his well-meaning bumbling fool persona, resembles a popular racist caricature known as a Stepin Fetchin, named after the first successful black film actor, whose stage name was Steppin Fetchit. As you might imagine, a Steplin Fetchit is extremely subservient, foolish, and uneducated, often but not always in the role of servant.

It's tough for a lot of people to understand, especially white people in America, but there is a sort of imposter syndrome that takes hold when a person belonging to a cultural minority leaves those spaces for mainstream, predominantly white, spaces. You just start to feel separated from your people, and they start to judge you for the small mannerisms and habits you may have picked up from the mainstream culture. It's weirdly othering. You start to feel truly displaced. To the new group, you're an outsider, but to your old group, you're also an outsider. It's a vulnerable place.

Now, don't get me wrong, Star Wars fans suck, but I have to think that having black actors and community members that you admire and respect calling you an Uncle Tom, and attacking your racial and spiritual identity just because you got a staring role in one of the biggest film franchises in history, well, that's got to hurt on an entirely different level.

Oh, and the Gungans? They're Space Hawaiians. Their land, as well as a separate colony of settlers who belong to Space United States, are besieged by Space Japan. It's one of those things that gets really obvious the moment you learn about Hawaiian history.

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u/Herself99900 12d ago

TIL. I was a young adult when the prequels came out, a devoted Star Wars fan. I didn't like the character of Jar Jar because I thought he was overused; a little went a long way and his voice was irritating. I had no idea he resembled a racist character, never heard that buzz at all. But I'm a white woman from Vermont, so there you go. I'm glad to be learning about this now, at least.

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u/AccomplishedRush3723 12d ago

There is no group on earth that hates Star Wars and everybody involved with more psychotic vitriol than Star Wars fans

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u/enfuego138 12d ago

Anyone remember how flat the entire cast was? Talented actors, none of them did well. It was poor direction, crap dialog and the fact that most of the move was filmed on an empty sounds stage in front of a green screen. Why would anyone be shocked the kid struggled when his adult peers couldn’t figure it out?

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u/Odd_Sheepherder_3369 12d ago

Even friggin Liam Neeson was awful in that movie.

Say what you will about some of the roles he takes, but if Liam Neeson is terrible in your movie, it's probably the fault of terrible directing and/or editing.

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u/PPP1737 12d ago

Even if he hadn’t been good in the role… it’s a 9 year old. being critical of their performance is not the same as being critical of an adult actor.

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u/agumonkey 12d ago

Exactly, don't blame it on kids, it's absurd.

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u/Sepof 13d ago

Fuck all the haters, that movie was what got me into Star Wars... I couldn't appreciate the older films til I was older, but this movie came out when I was like 8. I remember the lightsaber battles friends and I had and all the darth maul costumes that halloween.

Was it a cinematic masterpiece? No, but it ignited a love for the genre and the principal story in many kids. The movies today certainly aren't catching the attention of kids, but this one did. Ironic that it gets all the hate, when the prequels are a big reason I think we even got to see more content. Those things made $ and proved it wasn't a niche genre.

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u/majornerd 13d ago

This is lovely. It’s the 25th anniversary and the movie is back at the theater. You should go see it and be a kid again. There aren’t many opportunities to do that as we get older. Try to grab one when you can.

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u/thaddeus423 12d ago

Me and the fam did last night. Little decked out in her Star Wars dress (a dress!)

I was grinning ear to ear.

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u/_dontjimthecamera 12d ago

TPM came out when I was 8 and I was completely enthralled. Today I put it on with my 3yo daughter and she freakin loved it. Queen Amidala and Jar Jar were her favorite characters and she was entranced by the pod racing.

Even though I grew up with the prequels as a kid, it made me appreciate even more that they made and continue to make Star Wars accessible to kids.

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u/AsheLucia 13d ago

I still love that movie. I love all of Star Wars. Not every movie needs to be a masterpiece. Sometimes a movie just needs to be fun and entertaining, which these movies are.

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u/EGGlNTHlSTRYlNGTlME 13d ago

I mean yeah but people buy (bought) magazines like Newsweek to read critical film reviews.  It’s how harsh they were on a 9yo actor that’s the problem, not that they were harsh on a movie that other 9yos liked lol

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u/dumb_commenter 13d ago

I loved that movie. I remember the surprise I felt to learn years later the amount of hate it gets. I watched it the first time at a young age and still get excited for the pod racing scene

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u/Loofa_of_Doom 13d ago

No, but people who desire to be mean will go after the weak/small. There were many problems with that movie, the child was not one of them.

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u/CTeam19 12d ago

In most cases it comes down to the Director and the Producers sucking ass.

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u/Pope_Squirrely 13d ago

Watched it today, his acting was not the worst, it wasn’t good by any means, but it wasn’t the worst.

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u/HomsarWasRight 13d ago

Exactly, he wasn’t good enough to overcome the abysmal writing, that’s his only “sin”.

Keep in mind, the original cast talked about how hard it was to make Lucas’ writing work, so it’s basically an impossible job for a 9 year old.

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u/Lord_Emperor 12d ago

Harrison Ford: "You can write this, but you can't say it!"

Did a pretty good job of saying it himself though.

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u/djc6535 12d ago

It was also not his fault. Natalie Portman was also wooden and awkward.

Unless a child is spectacular in a role there's really no call to attack their performance. If it doesn't play well it's likely directing. For a recent example consider Multiverse of Madness's Ice Cream Song.

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u/Glottis_Bonewagon 12d ago

Everyone was giving career worse performances in it, except for maybe Liam Neeson, it wasn't the actors fault. If Natalie Portman and Ewen McGregor can't make it work, wtf do they want from little Jake Lloyd? People really were assholes

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u/yun-harla 13d ago

That’s true, but on the other hand…I don’t care how good he was, nobody can say “I’ll try spinning! That’s a good trick!” without sounding like a mediocre, annoying child actor. You could be Sir Patrick Stewart and you still couldn’t pull it off with dignity.

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u/DuchessOfAquitaine 13d ago

An eloquent fuck-you on behalf of a little kid. Big respect.

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u/houseyourdaygoing 12d ago

Even if Jake acted badly, he was just nine.

Any kid with the courage to give public performances deserves better.

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u/frenziedmythology 13d ago

Dang. I never really gave Ron Howard too much thought (seems to be a fine director and actor) but this just made me respect him a thousand times more and want to rewatch his filmography in this new light lol.

Good for him, and fuck everyone who hated on Jake Lloyd for acting like a nine year old kid.

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u/Ladyhappy 13d ago

He was recently quoted to saying he wouldn’t let his own daughter act until she got older and that makes a lot of sense

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u/frenziedmythology 13d ago

I hadn't heard that, but again my respect for him is just going up. It makes sense, since he started young he'd want to take care of others who may find themselves in that situation.

The Hollywood system is rigged against children, so it's good to hear that people like Ron Howard try in some capacity to stand up for them.

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u/aabicus 12d ago edited 12d ago

It blew my mind when I learned he was the little kid from The Music Man, that is a very old film and it shows just how long he's been in this game. Makes perfect sense he'd go to bat for a fellow child actor, and it's very heartening to see

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u/jmspinafore 12d ago

Yep, he was also Opie in the Andy Griffith Show, which started in 1960 when he was 6. Then played in Happy Days as well. Man grew up in front of a camera in Old Hollywood and had the nation's eyes on him during his formative years.

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u/weirdestgeekever25 13d ago

He also moved the family from the west to east coast after people working at his kids school started sneaking scripts in their backpacks…..they were in like kindergarten. He was like nope and I respect him so much for it

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u/ADubs62 12d ago

That is fucking insane.

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u/TransBrandi 12d ago

It's pretty cutthroat... and a lot of people that think their masterpiece just needs to get in front of someone important to make it happen.

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u/pagerunner-j 12d ago

His parents clearly did a good job of looking after him and his brother when they were child actors, and I'm sure he would have done the same, but the pressures and public scrutiny are so much worse now that I'm also sure he knew his kids would have been under a really crappy microscope from day 1. Waiting was probably the best thing they could have done.

(Side note, but I'm still tickled that Ron cast his brother and his parents in Apollo 13 -- and then left his dad's dialogue on the cutting room floor. Merciless.)

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u/hobbes_shot_first 13d ago

Also history's greatest narrator.

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u/tinyahjumma 13d ago

Narrator: he was not.

Just kidding. I love his pithy narration.

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u/peepopowitz67 12d ago

Still my favorite meta moment"

Jessie: "Daddy lost his shot at happy, and it's all your fault, Opie."

Narrator: "Jessie had gone too far ... and she had best watch her mouth."

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u/neon_meate 13d ago

Jeez. I mean I love three seasons of Arrested Development, but honestly he's fourth. Keith David, Peter Coyote, and Werner Herzog are all better. Ron is funnier though.

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u/MonsterMashSixtyNine 13d ago

I would pay good money for the first three seasons of Arrested Development with Werner Herzog as the narrator

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u/kimputer7 13d ago

May I suggest you take a peek at HBO Max's new show : Conan Must Go?

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u/danimal6000 12d ago

Is that him? There’s been no official confirmation that I know of.

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u/reddit_sucks_clit 12d ago

Of course it's him. He and Conan have a long history together and he was recently on Conan's podcast like 6 months ago, which is very likely because he was already in the studio doing the voice work for the show that came out recently, and they killed 2 birds with one stone.

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u/The_Erlenmeyer_Flask 12d ago

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/4/18/24133428/conan-obrien-must-go-travel-show-max-hot-ones

To quote this article - "While Conan O’Brien Must Go doesn’t rely on celebrity cameos, every episode opens with Werner Herzog voice-over narration about the grandeur of Mother Earth and how, to fully appreciate its natural wonders, we must sometimes “defile it.”

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u/DESTRUCTI0NAT0R 13d ago

Peter Coyote has a phenomenal narrator voice. Half the reason I love all those Ken Burns documentaries.

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u/CitizenCue 13d ago

Yeah this wasn’t his project and yet he went out of his way and put his own reputation on the line to defend a kid he doesn’t even know. Class act.

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u/Jef_Wheaton 13d ago

He himself was a young child actor, so he understands how it feels to be attacked the way Jake was.

Casting a 9-year-old was a mistake, since his character would have made sense if he were 13 or 14, but that absolutely isn't Jake's fault. He did his best.

I just watched all 9 movies last week. I'll watch The Phantom Menace three times instead of the Last Jedi once.

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u/Historical-Pie-5052 13d ago

Jake was too young to be Anakin. Lucas was told this numerous times by others. He was hell bent on making Anakin a "kid" to make the turn into Vader as shocking as possible. However, Leonardo Dicaprio wanted the roll very badly. He had even talked to Lucas. He told Leo he was too old. Well, Mark Hamill was 24 and 25 while filming the first SW movie. Guess how old Leo was ? He would have been 23 and 24 during the filming of Phantom Menace. It would have been the perfect mirror of the original trilogy. And when the Jedi Council would have told Qui Gon that Anakin was too old to train it would have made a lot more sense.

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u/ButDidYouCry 12d ago

And it would have made him and Padme far less creepy a romantic couple.

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u/dftaylor 12d ago

That never stopped Leo.

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u/petty_cash 12d ago

He’s a solid director and has a few classic films, but I always love hearing his interviews. He always comes off as very thoughtful and smart. This letter makes me respect him even more

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u/JonJonJonnyBoy 12d ago

He also helped his brother overcome substance abuse issues when they were younger.

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u/--2021-- 12d ago

Yeah, he's pretty low key most of the time. I love that he told them to fuck off.

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u/TrlyDirect 13d ago

That is a very elegant way of telling an entire company they have the moral compass of Jeffrey Dahmer and to be more professional.

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u/AtillaTehPun 13d ago

Not company, 'industry'.

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u/Chemical_Run_8758 12d ago

In the late 90's/early 00's Newsweek was a trash entertainment tabloid one step above the National Enquirer. This was not a bastion of journalistic integrity.

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u/XandertheWriter 12d ago

In the 2010s/2020s, they're still a trash entertainment tabloid! Debatable whether they're above the Inquirer.

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u/NecessaryChildhood93 13d ago

Ouch. Hate to be that person who the note was sent to.

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u/qalpi 13d ago

She was an editor back then — she’s now the editor in chief of Newsweek

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u/frolicndetour 13d ago

Newsweek isn't even real journalism any more. It used to be a decent quality news weekly but now it's just trash reposts of stuff found on Reddit. So being the EIC doesn't have the cachet it once did.

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u/CoffeePooPoo 12d ago

Reposter in Chief

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u/UnicornFarts1111 13d ago

Of course she is....the world is just not fair at times.

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u/IrukandjiPirate 13d ago

It’s Newsweek. It’s nothing today, just clickbait. She’s just where she deserves.

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u/transformers03 13d ago

The big thing I thought of after re-watching The Phantom Menace in theaters again was "Why did people give so much hate to Jake Lloyd?"

I've seen worse child performances, heck, he wasn't even the worst performance in The Phantom Menace.

Did fans just see him as an easy target and just slurred out insults at him because they knew he wouldn't fight back? Was there a deep-seated hatred towards children that people had at the time? Was it people who were jealous that he was playing an iconic character and felt he didn't do justice to the role?

More people should've stuck up for him, and publications like Newsweek shouldn't have published what they did at the time, especially since it was before the film's release.

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u/ForensicPathology 12d ago

Because edgelords only liked Darth Vader because he was dark.  They were upset he was a happy-go-lucky child who said "woohoo".

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u/DilatedPoreOfLara 12d ago

I’m a Star Wars fan and saw The Phantom Menace in the cinema with my friends when it was first released. From memory, I think the issue was that the hype for the movie was insane - probably the most hype for any film I’ve ever seen.

The Phantom Menace had (what seemed to me as a teenager anyway) amazing marketing behind it too. The trailer(s) looked incredible - especially with the Duel of the Fates music being so good. The famous poster of Anakin with the Darth Vader shadow too was ubiquitous on high streets. There was literally no movie George Lucas could have made that would have met with the levels of hype for the film.

What he made, my friends and I felt at the time, was boring and ‘cheesy’ (again, we were teenagers). We didn’t understand any of the trade chat in the film, but also we had been so blinded by hype we had forgotten that Star Wars movies are for families. Much like Indiana Jones movies, they are high adventure films with some laughs. The backlash against Jar-Jar Binks and to a lesser extent Jake Lloyd was because all of us who grew up watching Star Wars movies as children were in our teens/20s - we weren’t the right audience for them any longer.

Which is why you see so much love for the prequels now, because actual kids who watched those movies loved them. Whereas those of us who were kids when the originals came out (or shortly after as the vhs were extremely popular too) could not appreciate the prequels because we were the wrong age for them.

I do think criticising Jake Lloyd was absolutely wrong in hindsight, he didn’t deserve any of the disappointment the older fan base felt about those films. And I’m not excusing any of the vitriol aimed at him or Jar Jar Binks, but many of us were just incredibly disappointed it didn’t match up to the hype (for us). I do wonder why no one pointed the blame at George Lucas, but I think we still all felt that the guy who made the originals could do no wrong.

I’ve waffled on for far too long, but I just wanted to make one more point. When I was a kid I thought Return of the Jedi was the best Star Wars film. I was born in 1982 but I do remember seeing it in the cinema (a rerun when I was older rather than going on the release date). I absolutely loved the Ewoks and thought they were so cool. I had some Star Wars toys - but specifically the good guys, and the Ewoks. As an adult I can see that the Ewoks beating stormtroopers is silly, but I still love it because of nostalgia. When we watched The Phantom Menace, we just didn’t have that same nostalgia at all, we’d forgotten really what Star Wars movies were really all about.

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u/Emotional-Price-4401 13d ago

The fanbase has its toxicity just like any others… the guy playing Jar Jar was also treated horribly.

They both did admirably in their roles and haters just live miserable lives.

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u/transformers03 13d ago

Yeah, I know, but it just feels weird to target that at Jake Lloyd, you know?

It's especially weird for someone like me, who went to see The Phantom Menace at 4, wanting to be like Anakin in the movie, and thinking it was the greatest thing ever.

Fans' toxicity legitimately made me feel bad for liking The Phantom Menace, that's how bad Star Wars fans can be.

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u/MakingItElsewhere 13d ago

I'm not a star wars fan. I'm a star trek fan. We often don't get along. But the one thing we mostly agree on is that kid deserved no hate for that movie. He did a great job with what he was given.

Some fans really are just toxic.

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u/Micu451 13d ago

The greatest actor in the world can sound like a hack when they have to work with George Lucas dialogue.

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u/zadtheinhaler 13d ago edited 12d ago

Not only did no less than Sir Alec* Guiness call his dialogue "ropey", even Harrison Ford thought his dialogue was atrocious.

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u/MadRaymer 12d ago

Which is why he changed it up at times. His famous, "I know" line in ESB wasn't scripted. He was supposed to say, "I love you too" but Lucas didn't direct ESB (he gave the job his film school teacher, Irvin Kershner) and after dozens of different takes that didn't feel right, Harrison Ford tried that line instead. Kershner thought it fit better than the other takes they did, so he went with it.

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u/zadtheinhaler 12d ago

That tracks. I imagine a little bit of improv would have massively improved the dialog in the prequel trilogy.

Here's a hint folks - do NOT let nerds write love scenes. Just...don't.

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u/MikeArrow 12d ago

Anakin: You're so... beautiful.

Padme: It's only because I'm so in love.

Anakin: No. No, it's because I'm so in love with you.

Padme: So love has blinded you?

🤮

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u/zadtheinhaler 12d ago

EXHIBIT A, YOUR HONOUR

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u/The_Autarch 12d ago

A direct quote from Ford: "George, you can type this shit, but you can't say it!"

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u/zadtheinhaler 12d ago

That's the one!

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u/MakingItElsewhere 13d ago

That's the thing. Sci-Fi fans WANT TO BELIEVE premises we're given. We're susceptible to the crazy. We WANT crazy, unhinged, off-the-wall things thrown at us, as long as they make some semblance of sense.

Bad writers keep trying to lead us down dark roads, lit only by the fires of past writers mistakes. We smell smoke, and we're out.

If you told me Barbie would be a better story than Matrix 4 twenty years ago, I'd have scoffed at you. But here we are. Barbie makes sense. Matrix 4 doesn't. So I recommend Barbie over Matrix 4.

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u/ConfusedAndCurious17 12d ago

I believe I heard matrix 4 was intentionally bombed by one of the creators because they didn’t want to make it but the studio said it was being made with or without them

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u/Illustrious-Egg-561 12d ago

For those who haven't watched it, a character literally says that in the movie, specifically mentioning warner brothers.

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u/Excellent_Key_2035 12d ago

Can confirm I read this too. It was a big fuck you statement.

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u/Lazy_Experience_8754 13d ago

Jar jar killed that movie for me. The kid did a decent job

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u/Oseirus 12d ago

George Lucas may not have had a hand in the Sequel Trilogy, but they definitely had the same issue: good actors subjected to mediocre writing. John Boyega got especially fucked over.

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u/PeterJuncqui 12d ago

Daniel Day-Lewis would look like a half ass actor with that script in hands.

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u/DrunkOctopUs91 12d ago

They did the same to Will Wheaton. I believe he now runs a recovery support group for child actors. He paved the way for a lot of the stuff we are finding out about Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. It’s fucked how they treat children in Hollywood.

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u/Sportsfanman2 13d ago

Interesting, because Ron Howard's brother, Clint, was also a child actor, and was on an episode of Star Trek.

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u/WeAreGray 13d ago

Two episodes. He was also in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

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u/misterpatient 13d ago

Also in Discovery and Strange New Worlds.

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u/N8theGrape 13d ago

Ron Howard, legend

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u/hat-TF2 12d ago

He directed a movie in my city a few years ago, and every morning him and his wife would come to a café I was working at. The staff were all young (and none of them westerners) so nobody knew who he was except me. I accidentally called him Mr. Cunningham once.

He came again, a bit more recently, although I don't think it was for work this time. He had a bit more of his family with him.. I think a son and a whole heap of red-headed grandchildren.

Anyway, I don't have much of a point with this, but I just thought it was cool.

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u/DeficiencyWomb 13d ago

Damn. You know you fucked up when you piss off Opie.

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u/Brennain- 13d ago

What a classy gentleman

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u/bumpacius 13d ago

Ron Howard's midichlorian count must be way off the scale

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u/Donut131313 13d ago

Ron Howard is a stand up person and nothing but respect for him.

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u/OnwardTowardTheNorth 13d ago

Class act Ron Howard is.

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u/AnastasiaNo70 13d ago

Ron Howard has always been a good guy.

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u/dvjeanderson 12d ago

I’m pretty sure that if Ron Howard thinks you’re an asshole, you’re probably an asshole. Just sayin’.

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u/speak-to-me-3428 13d ago

Movie critics are a dime a dozen. Ron Howard's a good man

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u/Jacobizreal 13d ago

Insiders got sent outside real quick

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u/moonkittiecat 13d ago

Ron Howard, that sexy, red headed bastard! 😉

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u/Lost_Serve_7717 13d ago

Howard is a solid dude.

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u/cantwaitforthis 12d ago

I’ve loved Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams, and Don Most since watching reruns growing up in the 90s.

None of them have let me down for being good people. And they continue to amaze me.

Thank you Ron Howard for stepping up to protect young performers!

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u/azwethinkweizm 13d ago

Kind of related but the New York Times did a long video about one of the 3 finalists to play Anakin. It's part of their "Almost Famous" series and it's pretty good. Goes into how tough child acting can be.

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u/rowdymowdy 13d ago

I remember the day it came out it was a circus in Portland Oregon at the Tigard cinema I hid in the bushes and got really stoned and fought my way through all the costumes and what not into a fully packed theatre All in all a good day

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u/nsfwaccount3209 12d ago

I always forget that Ron Howard and Ron Howard are the same person

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u/docjonel 13d ago

Having watched the first three Star Wars movies as they debuted in the theaters, the three prequels simply never drew me in or felt like they merited a real emotional attachment on my part. I think they just weren't well written.

Having said that, I love Ron Howard's letter and wonder if he ever received an answer.

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u/Same-Entry8035 13d ago

“Generally snide and insipid” ouch

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u/Whywouldanyonedothat 12d ago

Ron Howard always comes across as such an allround nice person to me

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u/Silly-Stuff-9344 13d ago

You go. Opie!!

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u/I-am-Chubbasaurus 13d ago

My opinion has always been it's the writing that failed, not the performances, and I've enjoyed every single Star Wars movie from when I was introduced to the unedited original trilogy at 7 years old. None of the actors deserve the vileness they had to put up with. They did the best with what they were given.

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u/johnnyf619 13d ago

Ron Howard is a class act...

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u/buzzlightyear77777 12d ago

am i the only one who liked that movie? no idea why people are so mad

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u/hateboresme 12d ago

Not bad to have one of the most celebrated child actors in history who become one of the most celebrated directors in history come to your defense.

No one speaks to this from more experience.

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u/renathena 12d ago

Poor kid. To attack a child for a movie role, how pathetic

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u/IronSkyRanger 13d ago

It had Duel of the Fates which is amazing! Love the movie.

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u/Hpfanguy 12d ago

Ron Howard is a class act as usual, good on him. Jake Lloyd was great.

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u/bionicbhangra 12d ago

That’s cool of Ron.

At the time I didn’t realize there was a backlash against PM.

I liked PM and was so hyped for the sequel with the clone wars. The Lucas written romance in Attack of the Clones is what made the movies a joke to me. I don’t know if it’s fair to blame the actors. Some of those lines are just….

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

Always loved Anakin’s story when I was a kid. Jake Lloyd did great

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u/Coffee4Life613 12d ago

It takes a child actor to know what a child actor goes through. Kudos to Ron Howard for protecting the young actors.

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u/theycutmeofffromwrit 13d ago

Somehow this woman went to become the lead editor of Newsweek and become prestigious. Wonder how she feels knowing she ridiculed a child with schizophrenia and aided with the crowd hatred to the point it haunts him still as an adult.

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u/0verstim 13d ago

Lucas set out to make a kids movie, and kids loved it. They loved Anakin. They loved POD racing. They even loved, yes, Jar Jar. The only haters at the time were the red pill 40 year old virgins who unilaterally declared themselves the gatekeepers of Star Wars fandom. Fuck em.

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u/Rum____Ham 12d ago

I was 12 when it came out and absolutely obsessed with it. Watched that movie so many times. The very last Lego set I got was on my 13th birthday and was the droid carrier thingy. The big brown one.

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u/Difficult-Set-3151 12d ago

Most people hated it. You don't have to deny reality.

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u/ManderPander_1028 13d ago

Love that. The original “OP” Taylor

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u/samusfan21 12d ago

I didn’t like the movie at all but I’m not about to drag a 9 year old kid through the mud and act like he’s the reason the movie sucked. That’s just plain wrong.

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u/montanagrizfan 12d ago

Good for him. People deserve to be called out for crap like that.

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u/Jaded_Heat9875 12d ago

Well done Mr. Howard. No one really needs to go at a child harshly. The “Jar-Jar “movie was weak, however I will always love Star Wars films period.

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u/Deven1003 12d ago

It was my first cinematic experience. Went there as young boy with my mom. Watched all 3 episodes and then only later in my high school age did I watch rest of thr 456. Loved them all.