The director of “Hillbilly Elegy,” the movie about Vice President JD Vance’s fraught upbringing, time as a Yale Law student and Appalachian hometown roots, said that he didn’t anticipate Vance’s rhetoric to be as “divisive” as it has become.

During a conversation with Vulture published Wednesday titled, “‘You’re Only As Good As Your Last Film’ Ron Howard has worked with everyone from Bette Davis to J.D. Vance. He has stories about all of them,” director Ron Howard was appeared perplexed by Vance’s public persona.

Howard also revealed the last time he texted Vance and the content of the message.

Bilge Ebiri, a film critic for “Vulture,” asked Vance, “You obviously spent a lot of time with J. D. Vance back then; you did press together. Are you able to reconcile the person you knew

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