Brian Grazer Movies
In Hollywood, producer Brian Grazer garners respect for his creativity and for his knack for picking box-office winners. He also possesses a rare gift for spotting raw talent. He was the one who helped Ron Howard move from juvenile actor to major director and he helped struggling actors such as Meg Ryan, Michael Keaton, Tom Hanks, and John Candy become major stars. Beginning his film career as a story reader and talent agent, Grazer earned his first production credits for television movies, such as Zuma Beach, while working for Edgar J. Scherick Associates in the late '70s. He had his first feature-film production credit on Howard's black comedy Night Shift (1980). In 1984, Grazer received an Oscar nomination for the story for Howard's blockbuster Splash. Shortly thereafter, he and Howard co-founded Imagine Films Entertainment; the company became one of Hollywood's most successful production companies with such popular films as Parenthood (1989) and Kindergarten Cop (1990).Throughout the 1990s, Grazer was responsible for some of the more memorable audience pleasers, producing numerous successful films across a wide spectrum of genres. From dramatic thrillers (Backdraft [1991], Ransom [1996]) to madcap comedy (Nutty Professor [1996], Bowfinger [1999], Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas [2000]) to drama (the widely praised real-life story of the Apollo 13 [1995] lunar mission crisis), Grazer consistently produced quality films that continually captivated the imaginations of filmgoing audiences. In 1998, he re-teamed with Apollo 13 partner Tom Hanks to create the highly acclaimed HBO miniseries From Earth to the Moon, for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries. Grazer continued his successful work in television into the new millennium, gaining 17 Emmy nominations for producing such shows as The PJ's, Sports Night, and Felicity. In 2001, Grazer was honored as the recipient of the Producers Guild of America's David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures. As if the honors of that award weren't enough, the following year found the frequent Ron Howard collaborator sharing a Best Picture Oscar with the noted director for their collaboration on A Beautiful Mind. A popular and personal tale of the life of famed mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., A Beautiful Mind proved to be a heavy contender at that year's Academy Awards as it also took home Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman). Keeping momentum up after the success of A Beautiful Mind proved no problem for the every busy Grazer, and the following year the prolific producer was back in action with work on Blue Crush and Undercover Brother. Though both films proved a moderate draw at the box office, it was 2002's 8 Mile that proved his biggest success of that particular year. In addition to being the first film with a rap song to win a Best Original Song Oscar, the film found star Eminem holding his own opposite such experienced actors as Kim Basinger and Mekhi Phifer and proved a massive hit during its theatrical run and on home video. Next teaming with the ever-eccentric Coen brother's for 2003's Intolerable Cruelty, Grazer rounded out the year with the triple threat of The Cat in the Hat, The Missing and The Alamo. The revealing Grazer-produced documentary Inside Deep Throat was also released in 2003, just as he was preparing to being work on the Jim Carrey/Cameron Diaz crime comedy remake Fun with Dick and Jane, set for release in 2005. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
"I'm in love with a mermaid!" read the opening line of Leonard Maltin's original review for Splash. And with the delightful Darryl Hannah in the lead, who could fault Maltin for his public declaration of ardor? The story begins in 1959, when a young boy is rescued from a watery grave by an adolescent mermaid. Twenty-five years later, the boy has grown up--and lo and behold, it's Tom Hanks. Meanwhile, the mermaid, likewise grown up, has surfaced in search of Hanks, her long-lost love. On dry land, the mermaid is able to walk about on legs; any contact with salt water, and she reverts to her half-fish form. Adopting the name of Madison from a New York street sign, the girl manages to win Hanks' heart. Alas, a secret government lab, populated by such smarmy types as Richard B. Shull and Eugene Levy, captures Madison for research purposes--and possible vivisection. Egged on by his brother John Candy, Hanks rescues his beloved, joining her in the ocean depths as a mer-man (mer-fellow? mer-guy?) A captivating confection from the peerless creative team of director Ron Howard and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Splash was a winner all the way--especially at the box office, where the $11 million film racked up a huge profit. Historical sidebar: Splash was the first release from Disney's Touchstone Pictures division. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, (more)
Straight-laced Henry Winkler takes a night-shift job as a morgue attendant. Winkler falls under the spell of wheeler-dealer coworker Michael Keaton, whose catchphrase "Is this a great country or what?" is the clarion call for his many get-rich-quick schemes. His latest plan is to turn the morgue into a nocturnal brothel, for the benefit of anything-goes hooker Shelley Long-and incidentally, to line their own pockets. Director Ron Howard and his frequent scripters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel turn the potentially lurid story material of Night Shift into an endearing comedy, with winning performances from its three often miscast stars. Keep an eye out during one of the party sequences for Kevin Costner as a carousing college boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, (more)
- 1978
Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery was the first in an intended series of TV-movies inspired by the Ten Commandments (the series came a premature end with 1981's Thou Shalt Not Kill). Louise Fletcher plays the wife of paralytic Robert Reed. Though she tries to remain loyal, Reed's incapacitation puts a crimp in her connubial urges. Thus, with her husband's permission, she launches an affair with Wayne Rogers. The screenplay by Calder Willingham and Del Reisman expertly sidesteps sensationalism. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery first aired November 1, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
