Wayne agreed to rehearse dialogue with Howard, giving the aspiring director a close look at the legendary actor's creative process.
"He was perfectly friendly to me, and he said, 'Yeah, I'd like to run lines.'
And we had a lot of scenes together, heavy dialogue, and it was very interesting to see him take a scene and shape it into a John Wayne performance in the most positive ways," Howard said.
Analyzing how the conflict lingered, Howard concluded that addressing creative concerns immediately is essential to maintaining a healthy production environment.
"Don't let it become something that's petty and emotional when, in fact, it's a creative concern or a neurotic concern.
And if you shine a bright light on a neurotic concern, most people, even the most neurotic of them, say, 'Oh yeah, I guess I was a little insecure about that,'" Howard said.
