Brian Grazer

Brian Grazer was born Brian Thomas Grazer on July 12, 1951, in Los Angeles, California, United States.⁠[1]

After a weak high school record, Grazer attended the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California (USC) is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, planned by a group led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney and opened to students in 1880.Open the full entry, where, he recalled, he learned “how to study.”⁠[2][1]

In the late 1970s he joined the production company of producer Edgar J. Scherick. In the early 1980s he worked in the legal department of Warner Bros., which he used to meet people across Hollywood; in the same period he studied law before dropping out of law school, and then worked as a script reader and talent agent.⁠[1][2]

While working on the Paramount lot he met his future partner Ron Howard.⁠[2]

Grazer produced the 1982 film Night Shift. The 1984 film Splash, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, was based on his story idea and developed by other screenwriters; its screenplay received an Academy Award nomination when Grazer was 30.⁠[1][2]

In 1986 Grazer and Ron Howard co-founded Imagine Films Entertainment, where Grazer served as co-chief executive. The company became Imagine Entertainment, which Grazer and Howard went on to lead as co-chairmen.⁠[1][2][3]

On May 25, 2015, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry published the podcast episode “a16z Podcast: The Future of Entertainment — and What We Can All Learn from General David Petraeus and the Olsen Twins,” a conversation between a16z co-founder Marc AndreessenMarc AndreessenMarc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, a co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). While in college he helped develop the graphical web browser Mosaic, then co-founded Netscape and Loudcloud (later renamed Opsware), and has long served as a director of Meta; he has also published essays such as “Why Software Is Eating the World.”Open the full entry and Grazer recorded at the launch of Grazer’s book. The episode page introduces Grazer as the producer of works including Empire, 24 and A Beautiful Mind.⁠[4]

In the conversation Andreessen argued that Hollywood is an even wilder business than Silicon Valley; the two discussed where the entertainment industry is heading, why Grazer believes television is in a strong creative period, and whether technology and the stories he produces can help each other. The episode also describes the “curiosity conversations” Grazer has held over about 35 years with artists, scientists, politicians, technologists and others. The episode was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on January 1, 2019.⁠[4][5]

Films Grazer produced include Parenthood (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), The Doors (1991), Apollo 13 (1995), The Nutty Professor (1996), Liar Liar (1997), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), 8 Mile (2002), Cinderella Man (2005) and The Da Vinci Code (2006).⁠[1]

He also produced the films American Gangster, Frost/Nixon and J. Edgar, and served as a producer or executive producer of television series including Felicity, Sports Night, Friday Night Lights and Empire.⁠[2][6][1]

Films and television shows he produced have received 43 Academy Award nominations and 149 Emmy nominations.⁠[6]

Grazer shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Ron Howard for A Beautiful Mind. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, and in 2007 Time named him one of its 100 Most Influential People in the World.⁠[1][6]

Grazer co-wrote A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life with Charles Fishman, which became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller; the book recounts his conversations with experts in many fields.⁠[6][2]

Imagine Entertainment: Official website: https://imagine-entertainment.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]