Acclaimed Hollywood Producer Brian Grazer Discusses a Career Driven by Curiosity

Bridgewater’s Distinguished Speaker Series welcomed Hollywood producer Brian Grazer. Named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” Grazer co-founded Imagine Entertainment with cinema legend Ron Howard in 1986 and is responsible for iconic titles like Splash, Apollo 13, and A Beautiful Mind.

In an intimate conversation with friend and Bridgewater CEO David McCormick, the prolific producer recounted his start in the industry — a combination of curiosity, serendipity, determination, and charisma. A lifelong discipline of seeking out new ideas has led Grazer to conversations with everyone from physicists to Fidel Castro, all of which inform his ability to tell fresh stories with unexpected perspectives. “Curiosity leads to the birth of new ideas, broader perspectives and, frankly in a very competitive business, it gave me a competitive advantage,” he told David, recalling how his creativity helped him stand out to Hollywood executives in his early career. “The only way to have something, for a kid that had nothing, was to manufacture and create ideas.”

Grazer’s films have racked up 43 Academy Award nominations and over $13 billion in revenue. But Grazer isn’t resting on his laurels. At a time when streaming has disrupted content and the new normal will certainly affect the future of moviemaking, Grazer is laser-focused on continuing to produce entertainment.

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