Film Director Ron Howard Reportedly Enchanted by Princess Diana During 1995 Meeting
Ron Howard is one of those rare Hollywood directors who seems to have a truly magical touch. Decade after decade, he has created films that delight audiences and engage critics.
Indeed, Howard’s work has won multiple Academy Awards. He has also worked with top-notch actors such as Steve Martin, Kurt Russell, Tom Cruise, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Russell Crowe — and the list goes on.
According to People, though, one of Howard’s most memorable meetings involved someone who didn’t have anything to do with acting. It was 1995, and Howard was premiering “Apollo 13” in London.
The film starred Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton. It would go on to receive multiple award nominations and even win two Oscars.
But what Howard would remember that night was meeting Princess Diana. “She was remarkable,” he recalled in a recent interview.
“We not only met her in the reception line, but we sat at a banquet table. She was talking a lot about her philanthropic projects, but in a very comfortable, casual, passionate way,” he said.
“She seemed to enjoy our company and it was very mutual.” Like so many who met her, Howard seemed to feel that his encounter with the Princess had left a real mark on his life.
The director’s remembrance of Diana hasn’t simply come out of the blue. Howard has created a documentary named “Pavarotti.”
Having opened on June 7, the documentary chronicles the life of the world’s most famous tenor. And one of his most famous moments, a moment that the film chronicles, involved Diana herself.
USA Today reported that the year was 1991 when the event occurred. The tenor was scheduled to perform in the “Pavarotti at Hyde Park” show.
However, torrential rain was pouring down the morning of the event. Pavarotti himself was so concerned that he wondered if organizers should cancel it.
But the show went on, although it faced some difficulties. For one thing, most of the crowd had brought umbrellas, which blocked line of sight to the stage.
Show promoter Harvey Goldsmith urged concertgoers to simply endure the dampness. To his (and everyone else’s amazement), Princess Diana was one of the first to put her umbrella away.
“You could see it on the screen as Diana proceeded to get completely soaked,” Dickon Stainer, then an up-and-coming music executive, said.
“It played right to her ‘People’s Princess’ image, Diana not bothered about the buckets of rain.”
Moved by the gesture, Pavarotti dedicated his next song, “Donna Non Vidi Mai,” to her. The title’s meaning? “I Have Never Seen a Woman Like That.”
Stainer said, “That romantic image of Pavarotti addressing a princess has gone down in history as an iconic moment in our popular culture. He allowed everyone to dream a little.”
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