Arrested Development: Ron Howard Explains the Situation

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 13, 2008

Over the past week or so buzz has continued to swell over the much talked about, but still unconfirmed Arrested Development movie. A few months ago Jason Bateman fueled the fire with comments that show creator Mitchell Hurwitz was interested in continuing the story of the Bluth family on the silver screen. Later, both Michael Cera and Will Arnett confirmed interest in the project, but could not confirm that it was actually happening. Then just a few days ago Jeffrey Tambor told Collider.com that it was a go. He added that he had spoken with Mitchell Hurwitz this past week and while there is no official start date, the fact that Hurwitz is making calls is a very good sign.

Of course this is all just the same runaround for Arrested fans, who can easily conclude at this point that most of the show’s original cast is interested, but still in the dark for the most part. But as anyone in the business can tell you, he who holds the money makes the decisions — a fact that led our friends at ComingSoon.net to corner Executive Producer and narrator Ron Howard at a junket for his most recent film Frost/Nixon over the weekend. When asked about the Arrested Development movie, Howard offered up the following explanation:

“I really hope we do it,” Howard enthused. “The reason there’s been so much back and forth is… well, for two reasons, is the business understanding coming from the studio side was not clear, so even though we were wanting to do it and said, ‘Yeah, maybe we could’ but things weren’t defined. I think that’s really come into focus in the last week or so. Mitch’s full-on commitment to not only write it but direct it is something he’s been wrestling with, he’s been launching a TV show at the same time, so he couldn’t let it really be at the forefront of his mind creatively. It is now. He seems very committed. We still don’t have a script. Yeah, he’s got some great ideas, and the cast seemed very excited about it and I certainly am. I’m very, very hopeful—more hopeful now than ever—that it’s really going to happen.”

So the reality for those on the outside who are interested in seeing this thing happen is that the gears have begun to turn on an Arrested Development movie — in a more official way than before. But it still isn’t officially official. No matter what we should all heed the advice of Jeffrey Tambor, who said in his interview with Collider, “Keep your hopes up. That’s what hopes are for.”

Are you still hopefully for an Arrested Development movie?

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