Before he became an Oscar winning director, Ron Howard was a student of the Roger Corman Film Production School. After decades on TV as the lovable son Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie on Happy Days, Ron Howard wanted to beef up his image. He realized the normal studios weren’t going to give him a break so went to New World. Corman made a perfect package deal. Ron starred in two car chase films including a chance to direct the second. They became drive-in blockbusters and Ron Howard proved he was more than Opie or Richie. He was a filmmaker. The latest entry in the Roger Corman’s Cult Classic series is the double feature DVD The Ron Howard Action Pack: Eat My Dust! / Grand Theft Auto. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory that includes the bonus features:
IN STORES NATIONWIDE MAY 24, 2011 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY
“Grand Theft Auto is a nonstop orgy of comic destructiveness.” —Variety
Put the pedal to the metal and burn rubber with the clutch-popping excitement of this new special edition of Eat My Dust! Young Hoover Niebold is dying to impress Darlene. She’s into going fast, he’s into Darlene — but when they both get into a red-hot race car, the reckless fun accelerates into a wild ride. They’re off on the open road for a tire-squealing, fender-bending adventure to who-knows-where — and all Smokey can do is EAT THEIR DUST! Starring Ron Howard, Christopher Norris (Airport 1975), Dave Madden (The Partridge Family) and Ron’s brother and father — Clint Howard and Rance Howard.
Cross Romeo & Juliet with a demolition derby and you have Grand Theft Auto, Ron Howard’s directorial debut. Can Sam and Paula — a young runaway couple traveling in her father’s stolen Rolls-Royce — get hitched in Vegas before their parents, a jealous boyfriend, a private detective and a mob of bounty hunters catch them? The race is on! Starring Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan (The Nest), Marion Ross (Happy Days) and Ron’s brother and father — Clint Howard and Rance Howard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCOPlk_73C0
About the films, Roger Corman says “Eat My Dust! [was] one of my biggest moneymakers during the ’70s — due to a combination of action and comedy and a teenage leading man, Ron Howard, who was a superpopular star due to Happy Days. . . . Plus lots and lots of car crashes! I had thought Ron would be too expensive for my budget, but was pleasantly surprised when he agreed to star. Ron reasoned he’d work once as an actor for me and then come back as a director. And he did! Ron made his directorial debut for me on Grand Theft Auto. After Eat My Dust! opened to really huge figures, Ron said he’d do a sequel for exactly the same money, plus he’d do another job for free. . . . He’d direct the film for nothing! Ron and his father Rance came up with a winning idea for Grand Theft Auto, a chase movie where Ron could be the legitimate lead but not be in every scene, so he could concentrate on his directing. Ron has gone on to direct a series of critically and financially successful films, including the Oscar®-winning A Beautiful Mind. I’m proud to have been a vehicle to launch Ron Howard on his esteemed directorial career.”
Shout! Factory will continue to present Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment releases in 2011. Upcoming highlights include Action-Packed Collection, The Ron Howard Action Pack, The Women in Cages Collection, Battle Beyond the Stars, Black Oak Conspiracy, Savage!, and many others.
Independent filmmaker-producer Roger Corman’s illustrious career ranks as one of Hollywood’s most amazing and legendary success stories. Having produced more than 350 films and directed 50 others, his influence on American film goes far beyond his own energetic, creative low-budget movies. He is arguably one of Hollywood’s most gifted and masterful filmmakers, and he chronicled his incredible true-life story in the best-selling, award-winning autobiography How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime, written with Jim Jerome in 1998. In 2009 he was the recipient of an honorary Academy Award® for his contribution to the medium of film.
Noted for his keen ability to spot young talent, Corman’s most lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the legion of producers, directors, writers and actors he has fostered, among them: Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Robert Towne, Gale Anne Hurd, Diane Ladd, Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Talia Shire, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich, Dennis Hopper, Bill Paxton, Monte Hellman, Carl Franklin and Sally Kirkland.
EAT MY DUST! Special Features:
* New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.78:1)
* New Interview With Star Ron Howard
* How To Crash On A Dime – The making of Eat My Dust!
* Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman
* The Illustrated Man – A Conversation With Corman Poster Artist John Solie
* Theatrical Trailer And TV Spot
GRAND THEFT AUTO Special Features:
* New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.78:1)
* Introduction By Roger Corman
* Audio Commentary With Ron Howard And Roger Corman
* Audio Commentary With Actor/Cowriter Rance Howard, Second Unit Director Allan Arkush, Editor Joe Dante And Key Grip Ben Haller
* A Family Affair – An Interview With Rance And Clint Howard
* Interview With Ron Howard And Roger Corman
* Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman
* Theatrical Trailer And TV Spots
