Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer opened up about his artistic philosophy when it comes to making films and TV shows. Grazer, who has nearly 270 producing credits, including for ‘Apollo 13,’ ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ ‘Arrested Development,’ and ’24,’ appeared alongside ‘Yellowstone’ director and cinematographer Christina Voros and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Joshua Seftel at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival in a discussion titled ‘Building Bridges at the Box Office.’
Grazer’s Approach to Storytelling
Grazer emphasized that his stories are not about politics, but rather about working on universal themes to create unity with other people. ‘None of my stories are left or right. I’m not political in any of my movies. ‘Frost/Nixon’ was just an account of an event. But I’m never political,’ Grazer said. ‘I’m only about working on universal themes to create unity with other people, so we demystify other people, other people’s problems.’
Grazer was asked by panel moderator Steven Olikara of Bridge Entertainment Labs whether Hollywood was still ‘curious’ as many in the industry have rejected viewpoint diversity. Grazer responded that the mechanics of the business of Hollywood has changed significantly in the last four years, which could cause artists to be disincentivized.
Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary
On the subject of how filmmakers should celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, Grazer insisted that the idea of the ‘American dream’ shouldn’t be political. ‘Be grateful to America, be kind to America. I think that’s what would be really nice if that lived in the fabric of our culture,’ Grazer said.
Voros, who described herself as being a Brooklyn liberal before moving to a small town in West Texas to work on shows like ‘Yellowstone,’ said she had ‘preconceived notions’ that were proven inaccurate based on the conversations she has had with the people there. ‘I think we as a culture need to be careful of the filters through which we are guided to perceive this country and the stories of this country, because you can get into an echo chamber pretty quickly, regardless of where you live or what you feel,’ Voros said.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
