With just weeks remaining on production of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, Lucasfilm fired Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and replaced them with Ron Howard. We've heard this story about a million times since it happened, but every so often, a fresh batch of details emerge which begin to explain just what went wrong on the film. Vulture spoke with an actor who worked on SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY under both directors, and although he was "not one of the film's marquee stars," the anonymous actor was still able to provide a detailed description of both sides of the production.
Vulture's source alleges that while "Phil and Chris are good directors," the pair just "weren't prepared for Star Wars," and were typically demanding more than 30 takes of any given scene. As there are plenty of great directors who frequently push for many takes per scene, this isn't a reflection on ability, but the source added that Lord and Miller were seemingly unsure of what they wanted, saying that, "After the 25th take, the actors are looking at each other like, ‘This is getting weird.’ [Lord and Miller] seemed a bit out of control. They definitely felt the pressure; with one of these movies, there are so many people on top of you all the time. The first assistant director was really experienced and had to step in to help them direct a lot of scenes," A spokesperson for Lord and Miller has said that "this information is completely inaccurate." Once Ron Howard took over, production jumped into high gear. "When he came on, he took control and you could feel it," the actor said. "He got respect immediately. He’s really confident. A really easy guy to work with."
Vulture's source also touched upon the news that Lucasfilm had hired an acting couch to assist Alden Ehrenreich in his performance. "Trying to mimic Harrison Ford is really tough," the source said. "Lucasfilm wanted something very specific: copying someone else. Alden’s not a bad actor — just not good enough." However, the coaching apparently made an immediate impact as Ehrenreich's acting became more relaxed and "Harrison-like." Although it's juicy stuff, I probably don't need to remind you to take anonymous sources with a grain of salt, but I'd imagine that someday, the full story will be revealed.
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY will hit theaters on May 25, 2018.