'Solo: A Star Wars Story' actor says they were doing 30 takes per scene before the original directors were fired and Ron Howard took over
Jason Guerrasio
"Solo: A Star Wars Story."
An actor who worked on "Solo: A Star Wars Story" revealed to Vulture some of the drama behind-the-scenes that led to the movie's original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, being fired.
The source said the directors seemed unsure of what they were doing on set and would demand 30 takes or more per-scene.
The source also claimed the first assistant director stepped in and helped direct "a lot of the scenes."
Ron Howard took over the film once Lord and Miller were fired and the source said he was much faster and basically reshot everything Lord and Miller did.
We are starting to get more details on what it was like on the set of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" before original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired by Lucasfilm over creative differences, and Ron Howard took over.
An actor on the movie spoke to Vulture anonymously about the experience of working with Lord and Miller and then Howard, and painted a picture of a set that didn't find its footing until Howard came on board.
The Vulture source said that Lord and Miller ("The Lego Movie," "21 Jump Street") were out of their element. The duo would typically demanded 30 takes or more per-scene and seemed unsure what they wanted at times.
"Phil and Chris are good directors, but they weren't prepared for 'Star Wars,'" the source said. "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."
Phil Lord and Chris Miller with the cast of "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
The source also said that the more experienced first assistant director stepped in and helped Lord and Miller direct "a lot of the scenes." (A spokesperson for Lord and Miller told Vulture, "This information is completely inaccurate.")
Once the veteran Howard took over the film, the production became much smoother and the director worked fast only needing two to three takes, according to the source.
And though the source confirmed reports that Howard reshot the majority of the movie, it seems the director didn't add a lot of new material. According to the source, Howard redid most of the scenes that Lord and Miller shot.
"It's exactly the same script," the source said. "They're filming exactly the same things. There's nothing new. [Lord and Miller] used whole sets. But Ron is just using parts from those sets. I guess they're not shooting wide angle. Maybe to save money."
On Friday, Lord and Miller announced at the GLAS Animation Festival that they were taking an executive producer credit on the movie.
"We were really proud of the many contributions we made to that film," Miller told the audience, according to Variety. "In light of the creative differences, we elected to take an executive producer credit."
"Solo: A Star Wars Story" opens in theaters on May 25.
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Phil Lord and Chris Miller