Brian Grazer talks ‘Splash’, ‘8 Mile’ and how he uses AI

As a young producer, Brian Grazer kept selling his mermaid movie no matter how many times he heard “no.” It turned out to be the hit – 1984’s “Splash” – that launched his career.

He wasn’t sure if he would make ‘8 Mile’ with Eminem in 2002. A dinner conversation with Tom Hanks gave Grazer the confidence to continue the film that won an Oscar for best song.

The Imagine Entertainment chief shared stories from his early career and observations about the future of film and television during a wide-ranging conversation Feb. 19 in Beverly Hills by the Paley Center for Media as part of the Paley Media Council series. Mary Parent, president of global production for Legendary Entertainment, moderated the question-and-answer session with her longtime industry colleague. (Parent, a Universal Pictures alumnus, reminded Grazer that the first Imagine project she worked on was as film director of 1999’s “Bowfinger.”)

Grazer, who has worked in Imagine Entertainment with director Ron Howard for forty years, attributes his longevity to his natural curiosity and drive to learn more about the world.

“This engine of curiosity drives a lot of the films, television shows and documentaries that I make. The engine of curiosity drives me to find ways to be in all different genres and in all sizes, shapes and forms,” ​​Grazer told Parent during the early evening meeting at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. “And so it’s helped quite a bit. I like to wake up every day wanting to solve a puzzle. Movies are puzzles. For me, they’re cinematic puzzles, and documentaries are like that. But for me, they’re more like comparisons. And you postulate a point of view, and then you try to see if that comparison works, and if it doesn’t, you adjust it.”

The fate of a producer depends on the strength of the material and the creative partners chosen. After decades of experience, Grazer has developed clear guidelines for itself.

“Can the idea be summed up in a sentence, and is it sexy? Is it provocative? Does it make you curious? Does it activate you? And for me, it’s usually a character I can get behind, because they’re pursuing something that’s noble in it. There’s a noble purpose” at the end, Grazer says, referencing titles like 1991’s “Backdraft” and “8 Mile.”

Parent pressed Grazer on how he has adapted to new technologies and platforms. He was candid about his experiments with AI tools to facilitate brainstorming and pre-visualization development.

“It’s a very, very, very useful tool. It’s essential. It’s very, very useful to me because you can collaborate with AI. I often just lie on my couch in my office, I put it on my phone, on my chest, and I just have long conversations, just where I do endless ‘what ifs’ and just build stories,” Grazer said. “And you get to test them and model them, and it’s spectacular. And there are efficiencies in AI, because it’s very good at pre-production. It’s very good at pre-visualization. It’s great, it’s very useful. The things I don’t want it to do — or the things that everyone doesn’t want to do — is replace people.”

Grazer and Parent compared their comments on the massive changes in the film and TV landscape in recent years, especially when it comes to how creative talent is compensated for success. The shifts in dealmaking have taken the jackpot potential away from a huge windfall for writers, directors, actors, producers and others if a movie or TV show becomes a bona fide hit. Now, even pop culture buzz doesn’t translate into syndication and international licensing revenue, because those rights are often bought upfront by the streaming platform. Artists, Grazer claimed, tend to thrive on the element of risk.

“Artists get a fixed salary in streaming. Now the salary can be really great [but]I find it very discouraging. Artists are special people who do strange special things that go beyond just the art form itself. They like to bet on themselves, because most artists come from a really tough place where they’re nobody, and they feel the nobody-ness, and that’s indelible,” Grazer said. “So they want to be extra special. And so to be extra special is to bet on yourself. So you can walk on that tight high wire. And if you come across and it works, you get a lot of money, a lot of love and a lot of appreciation. And if you don’t, you’ll fall, but that’s the fun of it, I think. It really motivates you.”