Brian Grazer: Artists, whether they're Tom Cruise or John Waters or Ro...

My creative is curiosity conversations...All conversations reveal some inner truth, and the information we get from a computer is different than something that becomes a biochemical event, like a real conversation.

Brian Grazer

curiosity creative real

WE ARE ALL TRAPPED in our own way of thinking, trapped in our own way of relating to people. We get so used to seeing the world our way that we come to think that the world is the way we see it.

Brian Grazer

people world thinking

They say that life is tough enough. But I guess I like to make things difficult on myself, because I do that all the time. Every day and on purpose. That's because I believe in disrupting my comfort zone.

Brian Grazer

purpose comfort believe

"No" is just a moment in time.

Brian Grazer

moments-in-time moments

I believe in disrupting my comfort zone.

Brian Grazer

zone comfort believe

The Porsche was just a vehicle to get to another place. I used it to change people's perceptions of me. I had grown up really middle class. USC was filled with elitists, richies who would go skiing every weekend. So I pretended like I was part of that world - to be accepted.

Brian Grazer

weekend class people

I wanted other people who have curiosity to understand they can kick it up a notch and it's a superpower.

Brian Grazer

notches curiosity people

I like learning stuff. The more information you can get about a person or a subject, the more you can pour into a potential project. I made a decision to do different things. I want to do things that have a better chance of being thought of as original. I do everything I can to disrupt my comfort zone.

Brian Grazer

different decision comfort

We're interested in complex characters and he's a complex character, [J. Edgar] Hoover. I like these types of dramas. I've made a few of them and I'm also interested in power structures so it just has elements that fascinate me, and the more you learn about Hoover, the more polarizing you realize he is.

Brian Grazer

elements character drama

I like BBC news, I like some London news because you can get it earlier then anywhere else. I like Charlie Rose a lot.

Brian Grazer

news london rose

I started in TV movies and then had success in my move to features with Night Shift and Splash.

Brian Grazer

tvs night moving

I only make movies that are interesting to me.

Brian Grazer

interesting

I was 45 years old when I decided to learn how to surf.

Brian Grazer

surf decided years

Nothing to me is unexpected. No disappointment is unexpected - whether it's movies or people or relationships. I'm always ready for the punch directly between the eyes. So I get hurt, but I never get hurt. Happens all the time.

Brian Grazer

eye disappointment hurt

Cynthia Erivo blew me away. Not only is Cynthia Erivo an incredible and bona fide star, but Cynthia Erivo is soulful and has tremendous depth as a musical artist, cynthia Erivo is the perfect person to portray the profoundly human story behind the genius that is Aretha.

Brian Grazer

entertainment

A Beautiful Mind, what we're trying to do is expose people to the unique qualities of this band.

Brian Grazer

entertainment

What we're trying to do is expose people to the unique qualities of this band, they were all sort of disparate felons and they found a way to get together and be successful, and they never sold themselves out.

Brian Grazer

entertainment

Curiosity at work isn't a matter of style. It's much more powerful than that. If you're the boss, and you manage by asking questions, you're laying the foundation for the culture of your company or your group. You're letting people know that the boss is willing to listen.

Brian Grazer

you style work culture

Curiosity is the process of asking questions, genuine questions, that are not leading to an ask for something in return.

Brian Grazer

questions genuine curiosity process

I think that we all absolutely have curiosity. It brings about knowledge. It's energizing. It's spiritually empowering. It makes us more interesting as people.

Brian Grazer

think curiosity people knowledge

Artists, whether they're Tom Cruise or John Waters or Ron Howard or Oliver Stone, you can empower them to become a better version of themselves, but you cannot change them 180 degrees to be someone they are not.