Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer | |
|---|---|
 Grazer in 2011 | |
| Born | Brian Thomas Grazer July 12, 1951 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, Author |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouses | Corki Corman
(m. 1982; div. 1992)Veronica Smiley (m. 2016) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Jack Dylan Grazer (nephew) |
Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986, with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion.[1] Grazer was personally nominated for four Academy Awards for Splash (1984), Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Frost/Nixon (2008).[2][3] His films and TV series have been nominated for 43 Academy Awards and 198 Emmys.
In 2002, Grazer won an Oscar for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind (shared with Ron Howard). In 2007, he was named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World".[4]
Early life
Grazer was born in Los Angeles, California, to Arlene Becker Grazer and criminal defense attorney Thomas Grazer.[5][6] He is the older brother of Nora Beth Grazer (born 1952) and actor/director Gavin Grazer (born 1961).[7] He was raised in Sherman Oaks and Northridge, in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley.[6]
Grazer's father was Catholic and his mother is Jewish,[5][8] and he described himself in 2000 as "half-Jewish".[8] Raised secular, today Grazer is a practicing Christian.[9] His parents divorced when he was in high school.[10] Grazer said "My best buddy, the most important person in my growing up, was my little 4-foot-10 [147 cm] Jewish grandmother, and she'd say, 'In order to get it, you got to do it. No one's going to get it for you, Brian.'"[5]
Suffering from dyslexia, Grazer got through school by reading other students' papers and arguing his grades with his teachers.[11]
His nephew is actor Jack Dylan Grazer.[12][13]
Education
Grazer won a scholarship to the University of Southern California (USC) as a psychology major. He graduated from USC's School of Cinema-Television in 1974.[6][14] He then attended USC Law School for one year, but quit in 1975 to pursue a life in Hollywood.[5][6][10][15]
Career
Grazer began his career as a producer developing television projects. While executive-producing TV pilots at Paramount Pictures in the early 1980s, he met current long-time friend and business partner Ron Howard.[4]
He produced his first feature-film, Night Shift, in 1982, directed by Howard.[4] Grazer and Howard teamed up again for Splash in 1984, which Grazer produced and co-wrote. Splash earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay of 1984.[4]
In November 1985, Grazer and Howard co-founded Imagine Entertainment, which became one of Hollywood's most prolific and successful production companies. Over the years, Grazer's films and TV shows have been nominated for a total of 43 Academy Awards, and 198 Emmys. At the same time, his movies have generated over $15 billion in worldwide theatrical, music, and video grosses.[4]
Grazer's early film successes include Parenthood (1989) and Backdraft (1991).[4] He produced Apollo 13 (1995), for which he won the Producers Guild of America's Daryl F. Zanuck Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Picture of 1995.[4]
In 1998, he earned two major honors: he was given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and made a cameo appearance on the animated series The Simpsons.[16]
In 2001, Grazer won an Academy Award for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind, which also took home Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly), Best Director (Ron Howard), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman).
In 2002, Grazer's 8 Mile was released.[4] It proved not only to be a huge box office hit, but also the first film with a rap song to win a Best Original Song Oscar, for Eminem's "Lose Yourself".[17]
Grazer also produced the film adaptation of Peter Morgan's play Frost/Nixon (2008). Frost/Nixon was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.[4]
Grazer's productions span over a quarter-of-a-century, and almost the full spectrum of movie genres. His comedies include Boomerang (1992), The Nutty Professor (1996), Liar Liar (1997), Life (1999), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Intolerable Cruelty (2003) and The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018). He has also produced many dramatic thrillers including Inside Man (2006), The Da Vinci Code (2006), American Gangster (2007), Changeling (2008), Angels & Demons (2009), Robin Hood (2010), and Cowboys & Aliens (2011). His recently released films include J. Edgar, the Clint Eastwood-directed biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tower Heist, starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, and Restless, directed by Gus Van Sant.
Grazer's Imagine Entertainment's television series include Sports Night, Felicity, Arrested Development, 24 with Kiefer Sutherland, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Lie to Me, Empire, Genius: Einstein, Genius: Picasso and Wu-Tang: An American Saga.[4]
Grazer's recent productions includes Rebuilding Paradise, Dads, the 2017 Grammy awarding winning Best Music Film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016), American Made (2017), Rush (2013), directed by Ron Howard, and starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl,[18] and Made in America.
Grazer produced Get on Up, a biopic of the legendary "Godfather of Soul" James Brown, and In the Heart of the Sea, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, about the American whaleship the Essex.[19]
In 2015, Grazer published his book A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life, a #1 NY Times Bestseller, in which he discusses conversations with interesting people, many of whom inspired his work.[20] In 2019, Grazer released his second book Face To Face: The Art of Human Connection.
Personal life
Grazer has been married three times and divorced two times: Corki Corman (1982–92; they had two children; son Riley (born 1986) and daughter Sage (1988)), and novelist and screenwriter Gigi Levangie (1997–2007; they had two sons; Thomas (1999) and Patrick (2004)).[6][16] In April 2014, Grazer became engaged to Veronica Smiley, chief marketing officer of SBE, a hotel management company.[21][22] They married on February 20, 2016.[23]
Grazer currently resides in Santa Monica, California.[24] He also has a home in Hawaii on Sunset Beach, on the Banzai Pipeline on O'ahu's North Shore.[25][26] He is a keen user of jump ropes.[27]
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
- Music department
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | Executive music producer |
- Thanks
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Haunting of Pearson Place | Inspired by |
Television
|
Executive producer
|
Producer
|
- As an actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Simpsons | Himself | Voice role |
| 2007 | Entourage | ||
| 2013 | Arrested Development | ||
| 2017 | This Is Us |
- As writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985-86 | Shadow Chasers | Co-created with Kenneth Johnson Story with Johnson for episode "Pilot" |
- Thanks
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Clint Howard Variety Show | Special thanks |
Additional awards
- 1998 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries for From the Earth to the Moon
- 2001 – Producers Guild of America's David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures[4]
- 2003 – ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award[4]
- 2004 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for Arrested Development
- 2006 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for 24
- 2007 – Named one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World"[4]
- 2008 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program for Curious George
- 2009 – Producers Guild of America Milestone Award, together with Ron Howard[4]
- 2009 – New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Big Apple Award, together with Ron Howard[4]
- 2010 – Simon Wiesenthal Center Humanitarian Award, together with Ron Howard[4]
- 2010 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program for Curious George
- 2011 – MPSE 2011 Filmmaker Award[4]
- 2017 – Grammy Awards 2017 Best Music Film for The Beatles: Eight Days a Week
- 2019 – Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award
References
- ^ Orzeck, Kurt (January 10, 2012). "Universal Extends Imagine Deal Through 2016 – But Now It's First Look". Reuters. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ Mike Fleming Jr., "Q&A: Brian Grazer and Ron Howard on 25 Years Together as Imagine Partners" deadline.com June 21, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ "J. Edgar film and production crew". Telegraph. London. January 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Imagine Entertainment Brian Grazer Biography Archived December 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Michaelson, Judith (February 16, 1992). "MOVIES: Imagine That: Riddle: How can a person be in the spotlight and still be in the shadows? Answer: Check out producer Brian Grazer's career". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Brian Grazer Biography". Yahoo. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ "Slipstream and the Other Grazer Brother". Portfolio.com. October 26, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ a b Hammer, Joshua (December 24, 2000). "Periscope". Newsweek. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (December 8, 2011). "Jewish Stars". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved January 1, 2013. "Last week we mentioned that mega-producer Brian Grazer has taken over the job producing the Oscars telecast, but he isn't really a Jewish star. Even though he has a Jewish parent, he became a practicing Christian more than a decade ago."
- ^ a b "Huyền thoại Hollywood và cuộc tình với "cô dâu Việt" – XãLuận.com Tin Nóng" (in Vietnamese). Xaluan.com. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ Wallace, Jane. "Success Stories; Brian Grazer, Academy Award-Winning Producer". The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Yale University. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "What's new on traditional TV".
- ^ "Jack Dylan Grazer Talks 'Shazam'". ET Canada. March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "Brian Grazer: 5 Things to Know About Brett Ratner's Oscar Replacement". The Hollywood Reporter. November 10, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
- ^ Staff, Movieline (July 1, 1992). "Brian Grazer: The Life of Brian". Movieline. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ a b Encyclopedia of World Biography Brian Grazer. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
- ^ "Brian Grazer | Biography, Photos, Movies, TV, Credits". Hollywood.com. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ^ "Rush (2013)".
- ^ [1].
- ^ "A Curious Mind". Goodreads.
- ^ "Producer Brian Grazer engaged, but almost lost the ring". The New York Post. April 29, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
- ^ "Brian Grazer Engaged to SBE Exec Veronica Smiley". The Hollywood Reporter. April 30, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ https://www.etonline.com/news/182823_brian_grazer_marries_veronica_smiley_terrence_howard_tobey_maguire_attendance?amp
- ^ "Holiday Surprise: Hollywood is at Work," The New York Times, December 28, 2011
- ^ Anthony Rotunno & Dana Mathews. "Brian Grazer's Tips on Hawaii's Banzai Pipeline on Oahu". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ "Surfing Oahu's North Shore". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pvkgyNGx34&ab_channel=JumpRopeDudes
External links
- 1951 births
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- 21st-century American businesspeople
- American Christians
- Film producers from California
- American people of Jewish descent
- Christians of Jewish descent
- Television producers from California
- Businesspeople from Los Angeles
- Daytime Emmy Award winners
- Golden Globe Award-winning producers
- Grammy Award winners
- Living people
- People from Northridge, Los Angeles
- People from Oahu
- People from Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles
- Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award
- USC Gould School of Law alumni
- USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni