Actor and director Ron Howard is best known for critically acclaimed movies such as “American Graffiti,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and “Apollo 13,” but “Baby Driver” director Edgar Wright has reminded us that the “Splash” filmmaker also has roots in the automobile action genre.
After Howard congratulated Wright for his “original and excellent” car film on its one-year anniversary in a tweet on Friday, Wright responded with a throwback to one of the earliest films of Howard’s career: a little-known action comedy from 1976 called “Eat My Dust!”
In the film, Howard played the son of a local sheriff who steals a racing car with his girlfriend and then faces a pursuit from his father and the car’s owner and professional racer. According to PopMatters, Howard’s role in the movie was the result of a deal with director Roger Corman: If Howard acted in “Eat My Dust!,” Corman would let him direct its pseudo-sequel “Grand Theft Auto.”
It would be Howard’s first feature-length directing gig.
Wright shared the trailer to the movie, which shows Howard in the car with his girlfriend Darlene, played by Christopher Norris. The film appears painfully dated, particularly in the #MeToo era, with Howard grabbing Darlene’s rear end.
While Wright may be a fan of this long-forgotten movie from Hoaward, “Eat My Dust!” is a far cry from “Baby Driver,” which hit theaters last summer to critical and commercial success, earning several Academy Award nominations and grossing $226 million worldwide.
See the exchange between Howard and Wright below.
Thank you boss. Although you did beat me to it… https://t.co/dpaKnv2Jqa
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) June 29, 2018