Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer says politics have never been part of his style of filmmaking.
the Apollo 13 Producer, whose credits also include Beautiful mind, Arrested developmentand 24reflected on the philosophy that has guided his decades-long career during a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival, where he said he has always been more interested in stories that connect people than in dividing them.
“None of my stories are right or left,” Grazer said. “I’m not political in any of my films. Frost/Nixon was just an account of an event. But I’m never political.” “I just work on universal themes to create unity with others, so we can demystify others, other people’s problems.”
according to Fox NewsGrazer made the comments during a discussion titled “Building Bridges at the Box Office,” which he joined Yellowstone Director and cinematographer Christina Voros and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Joshua Seftel for a conversation about storytelling and the state of Hollywood.
When asked by moderator Steven Olikara if Hollywood is still “curious” at a time when different viewpoints are hard to find, Grazer paused before smiling.
“Sure,” he said after a while, drawing laughter from the audience. “I mean some people are.”
He went on to say that the industry’s evolving business model has changed the way artists approach their work.
“The workings of Hollywood have changed dramatically over the past four years, which can discourage artists,” Grazer said. “The compensation structure is mostly based on a socialist system — it was political — but where everyone gets paid, you know, you get a trickle-down rate. So you’re not incentivized to work hard, or feel the risks of that, or own that, and fail, or lose money, or make $90 million or something like that. That’s what artists can do.”
For Grazer, curiosity remains one of the most important qualities a storyteller can have.
“So the curiosity was always, for me, at the very least, just being polite to people,” he said. “If you care about other people…you often create a human moment. It becomes unforgettable, at least for the whole day.”
Later in the conversation, Grazer was asked how filmmakers should celebrate America’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Appreciation for the country should not be seen as a partisan issue, he said.
“Be grateful for America, and be good to America,” he said. “I think that’s what would be really beautiful if that lived into the fabric of our culture.”
Voros emphasized the importance of challenging assumptions through storytelling, recalling how he moved from Brooklyn to a small town in West Texas while working on Yellowstone It reshaped many of her preconceptions.
“I think we as a culture need to be careful of the filters through which we are directed to understand this country and the stories of this country,” Voros said. “You can get into an echo chamber very quickly, no matter where you live or how you feel.”
She added that audiences should leave room to discover something new rather than introducing fixed expectations into every story.
Seftel made a similar observation, saying, “I simply want people to understand each other. It’s not hard to tell stories that help us understand each other. I just hope we can continue to do so.”