By Jazz Tangcay
Courtesy of Disney
Plus
The late lyricist Howard Ashman gave us the gift of many of the
most-loved Disney songs of the modern era, teaming with composer Alan Menken to
write “Beauty and the Beast’s” “Be Our Guest,” “The Little Mermaid’s” “Part of
Your World” and “Aladdin’s” “Friend Like Me.” In the new documentary “Howard,”
streaming on Disney Plus from August 7, director Don Hahn — who knew his
subject well, having produced the original animated version of “Beauty and the
Beast” — goes in for a look at Ashman’s life behind the music.
Hahn talks with Variety about the importance of remembering Ashman
(pictured above working on “Little Mermaid” with actress Paige O’Hara) and
making a documentary about his life, the art and his music with the people who
knew him best, such as his sister and life partner.
What made you want to finally tell Howard’s story?
It hadn’t been told and I was a little afraid it would get lost.
His sister runs a blog, but I felt there’s not been a biography, a book, or a
film. I wanted to dig into it, and I knew the players and I knew him and the
people who have been in his life. I started to pull together the elements to
see if there was a movie there — and in the end, there was, and it was more
compelling than I thought it would be. It’s the same thing where you think you
know somebody that you work with, and you don’t until you dig into their lives
and you see their struggles.
You open with a behind-the-scenes look inside the studio during the
making of “Beauty and the Beast.” What
made that the perfect opening to tell Howard’s story?
We tried a lot of different things, including Howard telling
stories to his little sister. We recreated the fantasy that might have been in
his mind, but it wasn’t gripping enough. The real headline of Howard’s story is
a brilliant life too short. So that opening was a way to show, in shorthand,
“Here’s a guy at the top of his career doing some of his best work — and the
hidden secret that nobody knew except for Howard.” And in that shot, he wasn’t
going to be around for very long after. That’s the sad truth about the story,
and that intro seemed the right hook into the rest of the story. [Ashman died
of AIDS three days before “Beauty and the Beast” opened in 1991.]
You didn’t fill it with every hit — instead, it’s a family story and
this person growing up. How did you carve the narrative?
The most interesting media that I was
collecting was Howard. I’d find tape recordings of a lecture he gave or a talk that he
gave at the 92Y or a radio interview that he did. He was so clever, interesting and emotional. The more I listened to him the
more I thought I needed to stay out of the way of his story. That was my
marching order, to let Howard (tell his own tale), which meant no narrator and
no talking heads. I didn’t want to do a fluff piece, either, with a bunch of
old guys reminiscing about how great he was. It was more interesting to know
about the man and the art. He’s the man that gave us “Part of Your World” and
“Be Our Guest,” but here’s what went into that and this is the person. His joy
and struggles all became part of the story that I wanted to tell.
What were some of the toughest moments to
leave out when you were editing?
I came across a tape of Howard and Tina
Turner; I wish everybody could hear it. It’s two hours long and Tina is making
Howard lunch while he’s asking her about her life. He was writing a
screenplay about her life at that point. But it wasn’t central to his career
because that never got made. His close friend Kyle Rennick had some tapes when
Howard was sick, talking about his life in the theater. I should probably do a
podcast on it, but you have to stick to the key moments of emotion and stick to
what’s essential to the story and what’s not. But those were some of the
fascinating moments.
How did his family react to the documentary when you showed it to
them?
I was terrified. But rather than surprising them at the end, I sent
them sections of the documentary. I finished the first act and sent it their
way. They would never send back notes, so I asked for faction notes and if
anything was wrong. They were supportive, but sitting down to interview them
was tough, especially when I had to sit down with Bill, Howard’s partner. I had
to ask him about being a partner and caregiver. He had given a lot of years of his life taking care of this man. I wanted him to talk about being in a gay relationship at a time when that
was difficult. He was unbelievably honest to be able to talk about that.
I was speaking to Alan Menken the other day
and he did the score for your film. How did that come about?
I wanted to show to Alan because he’s a part
of the family, just about. I showed it to him right before Christmas time in
2017-18 and he called me back saying, “I have to do the score for this.” I told
him I couldn’t afford him! But he didn’t care. He ended up writing the score
over the holidays. It was a huge gift and his way of paying tribute to his
working partner.
https://variety.com/2020/music/news/howard-ashman-documentary-don-hahn-1234727250/
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