Brian Grazer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brian Grazer
Grazer in 2011
Born	Brian Thomas Grazer (1951-07-12) July 12, 1951 (age 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Producer, writer
Years active	1978–present
Spouse(s)	Corki Corman ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1992)​ Gigi Levangie ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2007)​ Veronica Smiley ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	4
Relatives	Jack Dylan Grazer (nephew)
Awards	Academy Award for Best Picture A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is a very successful American film and television producer. He is known for creating many popular movies and TV shows. In 1986, he started a company called Imagine Entertainment with his friend and partner, Ron Howard.

Together, their films have earned billions of dollars around the world. Brian Grazer has been nominated for four Academy Awards (Oscars) for movies like Splash (1984), Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Frost/Nixon (2008).

His movies and TV series have received a huge number of nominations: 47 Academy Awards and 217 Emmy Awards. In 2002, Brian Grazer won an Oscar for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind, sharing the award with Ron Howard. In 2007, Time magazine recognized him as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World."

Brian Grazer's Early Life

Brian Grazer was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents divorced when he was in high school. He grew up in areas of Los Angeles like Sherman Oaks and Northridge.

Brian has shared that his grandmother was a very important person in his life. She taught him a valuable lesson: "In order to get it, you got to do it. No one's going to get it for you, Brian." This advice helped him work hard to achieve his goals.

While he was in school, Brian Grazer faced challenges because he had dyslexia. This made reading and writing difficult for him. However, he found ways to succeed, like reading other students' papers and discussing his grades with teachers. His nephew, Jack Dylan Grazer, is also an actor.

How Brian Grazer Got His Start

Brian Grazer received a scholarship to the University of Southern California (USC). He studied psychology there. In 1974, he graduated from USC's School of Cinema-Television, where he learned about making movies and TV.

He even went to USC Law School for a year. But in 1975, he decided to leave law school. He wanted to follow his dream of working in Hollywood.

Brian Grazer's Amazing Career

Brian Grazer started his career by creating TV shows. In the early 1980s, while working on TV pilots (test episodes for new shows) at Paramount Pictures, he met Ron Howard. They quickly became good friends and business partners.

First Big Movies

Brian Grazer produced his first full-length movie, Night Shift, in 1982. Ron Howard directed this film. They worked together again on the movie Splash in 1984. Brian Grazer produced Splash and also helped write the story.

Splash was a big hit and earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. After this success, Brian Grazer became an independent producer. He worked with major studios like TriStar Pictures and The Walt Disney Studios.

Starting Imagine Entertainment

In November 1985, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard officially started their own company, Imagine Entertainment. This company grew to become one of the most successful production companies in Hollywood. Over the years, Imagine Entertainment has created many films and TV shows that have been nominated for a total of 43 Academy Awards and 198 Emmys. Their movies have made over $15 billion worldwide.

Award-Winning Films

Some of Brian Grazer's early successful films include Parenthood (1989) and Backdraft (1991). He produced Apollo 13 (1995), a movie about the real-life space mission. For Apollo 13, he won an award from the Producers Guild of America and received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

In 1998, Brian Grazer was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He even made a small appearance as himself in an episode of the animated series The Simpsons.

A major highlight of his career was in 2001 when he won an Academy Award for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind. This movie also won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly), Best Director (Ron Howard), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

In 2002, Grazer produced 8 Mile. This movie was a huge box office success. It also made history as the first film with a rap song to win an Oscar for Best Original Song, which was Eminem's "Lose Yourself."

He also produced the movie Frost/Nixon (2008), which was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

A Wide Range of Movies

Brian Grazer has produced movies across many different movie genres for over 25 years. His comedies include Boomerang (1992), The Nutty Professor (1996), Liar Liar (1997), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

He has also produced many exciting dramatic thrillers. These include Inside Man (2006), The Da Vinci Code (2006), American Gangster (2007), and Angels & Demons (2009).

Some of his more recent films include J. Edgar, a true story about J. Edgar Hoover starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tower Heist, a comedy with Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. He also produced Rush (2013), directed by Ron Howard, and Get on Up, a movie about the famous singer James Brown.

Popular TV Shows

Imagine Entertainment has also created many well-known television series. These include Sports Night, Felicity, Arrested Development, and 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland. Other popular shows are Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Empire, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga.

Books by Brian Grazer

In 2015, Brian Grazer wrote a book called A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. This book became a #1 New York Times Bestseller. In it, he talks about having interesting conversations with many different people, and how these talks often inspired his work. In 2019, he released his second book, Face To Face: The Art of Human Connection.

In January 2024, it was announced that Brian Grazer will help produce a movie based on Scar Tissue, the autobiography of Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Brian Grazer's Personal Life

Brian Grazer has been married three times and has four children. He first married Corki Corman (from 1982 to 1992), and they had two children. Later, he married novelist and screenwriter Gigi Levangie (from 1997 to 2007), and they had two sons. In 2014, he became engaged to Veronica Smiley, and they got married on February 20, 2016.

Brian Grazer lives in Santa Monica, California. He also has a home in Hawaii on Sunset Beach, which is famous for surfing. He enjoys using jump ropes for exercise.

Filmography

Film

Producer

Executive producer

Story writer

Television

Awards and Honors

Brian Grazer has won many important awards for his work in film and television:

• 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
• 2003 – ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award
• 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"
• 2008 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program for Curious George
• 2009 – Producers Guild of America Milestone Award, with Ron Howard
• 2009 – New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Big Apple Award, with Ron Howard
• 2010 – Simon Wiesenthal Center Humanitarian Award, with Ron Howard
• 2010 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program for Curious George
• 2011 – MPSE 2011 Filmmaker Award
• 2017 – Grammy Award for Best Music Film for The Beatles: Eight Days a Week
• 2019 – Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award
• 2022 – Honorary degree from USC

Images for kids

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  Grazer in 2011

See also

In Spanish: Brian Grazer para niños