Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard slams 'disappointing' JD Vance

Filmmaker says author and Ohio Senate candidate mischaracterized his involvement in movie

Ron Howard has hit out at JD Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy, labelling his comments about the filmmaker's involvement in the movie adaptation as "disappointing".

Vance, who is now running for the US Senate in Ohio, has claimed that Howard ignored his input on the film and made significant changes to the story without his consent.

However, Howard has refuted these claims, saying that Vance was "heavily involved" in the development of the film and that he "welcomed" his feedback.

'Disappointing' comments

"I was disappointed to read JD's recent comments about the film," Howard said in a statement.

"He was heavily involved in the development of the film and we welcomed his feedback throughout the process," he added.

Howard also said that he believes the film is a "faithful adaptation" of Vance's memoir and that he is "proud" of the work that he and his team did.

Vance's criticisms

Vance has been critical of the film since its release in 2020, saying that it "misrepresented" his story and that it was "not a true adaptation" of his book.

In a recent interview, Vance claimed that Howard had made significant changes to the story without his consent, including adding a scene in which his character is shown snorting heroin.

Vance also said that he was not consulted about the casting of the film and that he was "unhappy" with the way his character was portrayed.

Howard's response

Howard has denied Vance's claims, saying that the scene in which his character is shown snorting heroin was actually based on an incident that Vance described in his book.

He also said that he had consulted with Vance about the casting of the film and that he was "happy" with the way his character was portrayed.

Howard's statement concluded: "I am proud of the film that we made and I believe that it is a faithful adaptation of JD's memoir. I wish him all the best in his Senate campaign."