A Curious Mind

February 16, 2015
In this lively, though somewhat misconceived work, film and TV producer Grazer, of Imagine Entertainment (24, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13) credits curiosity for driving his life and career. “More than intelligence or persistence or connections, curiosity has allowed me to live the life I wanted,” he claims. Discussing his decades in Hollywood, he portrays himself as a man of ambition, luck, and chutzpah, getting by on determination and opportune moments, taking advantage of open windows and chance meetings. Indeed, one of his defining milestones—meeting his longtime business partner, director Ron Howard—comes from such a bold move. As Grazer further explores how curiosity has shaped his life, he sprinkles in numerous anecdotes about the hundreds of people whom he’s sought out for one-on-one sessions he terms “curiosity conversations.” They include Jonas Salk, Eminem, Condoleezza Rice, and Isaac Asimov. But as he states, “I didn’t want to write a book about all the people I’d had conversations with—I wanted to write about the impulse to have those conversations.” Readers, having had their own curiosity prompted, may be frustrated that Grazer leaves relatively little space for describing his many encounters with fascinating people, in favor of emphasizing his personal musings. Agent: Simon Green, Creative Artists Agency.

February 1, 2015
Academy Award-winning film and TV producer Grazer ranks curiosity with innovation and creativity as keys to shaping a successful career and a happy life."Curiosity has been the most valuable quality, the most important resource, the central motivation of my life," writes the author. With the collaboration of business journalist Fishman (The Big Thirst: the Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, 2011 etc.), Grazer explains how a lively sense of curiosity and willingness to ask questions opened doors for him and widened his horizons. In 1974, at loose ends in the interim between college graduation and the beginning of law school, he chanced to overhear a young man describe how he had just quit a cushy job in the legal department at Warner Brothers, a job that entailed delivering legal documents. Grazer applied for the job. Rather than simply dropping off the packages, he pretended that he had to deliver them in person, giving him the opportunity to meet an array of fascinating people (e.g., Warren Beatty, Lew Wasserman) and engage them in brief conversations. At the same time, he took every opportunity to meet the higher-ups at Warner Brothers. As he gained confidence and his career advanced, Grazer made it a practice to conduct what he called "curiosity conversations" with people in all walks of life, and he has interviewed more than 500 people over the last 35 years (everyone from Barack Obama to Isaac Asimov to Tyra Banks to Amy Tan). The author explains that he did not meet with these people to get ideas for films but because he was "interested in a topic or a person." These face-to-face encounters allowed him "to build up a reservoir of experiences and points of view" and keep him "plugged in to what's going on in science, in music, in popular culture...[and] the attitude, the mood, that surrounds what's happening." An appealing argument for maintaining open-minded receptivity, with special appeal for film buffs.

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March 15, 2015
There wouldn't be A Beautiful Mind without Grazer's curious mind. As cofounder of Imagine Entertainment with Ron Howard, producer Grazer has helped create some of the most well recognized movies and TV shows of our time, including The Da Vinci Code, 24, Apollo 13, and the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind. He attributes his success to a powerful and, he says, underappreciated tool: curiosity. With coauthor Fishman, a business writer, he sets out to demonstrate how to use curiosity effectively. He should knowfor 35 years he's had curiosity conversations with a host of luminaries across business, politics, the arts, and science. These conversations have given Grazer a valuable framework when ideas come up in his line of work. Whether he's recounting his first forays into the movie business or extolling the benefits of an openhearted approach to life, Grazer expresses an enthusiasm that is infectious. This accountpart memoir, part self-helpcan be repetitive, but as a passionate argument for the power of curiosity in one's life, it inspires. Life, Grazer posits, isn't about the answersit's about the questions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2014

How does Grazer, the Academy Award-nominated producer of films like A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13, get inspired? For decades, he has conducted weekly "curiosity conversations" with accomplished individuals he doesn't know, from scientists to business leaders to spies.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015

Film (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13) and TV (24, Arrested Development) producer Grazer pursues being curious as a way of life. Since before he was well known, the author has made a lifetime habit of holding "curiosity conversations" with intriguing strangers, almost 450 of whom are listed in the book's appendix. With the goal of learning about the person's (they are mainly men) life and work and what makes them tick, he has spoken to everyone from the musician Prince to polio-vaccine developer Jonas Salk and from etiquette maven Peggy Post to President Barack Obama. The book, written with journalist Fishman (The Wal-Mart Effect), describes how several of the meetings came to be arranged (details that are interesting in themselves) and what happened during the exchanges. Not all went well, Grazer admits, but he gained something from each one, even though it sometimes took years for him to realize what that precious nugget of information or wisdom was. He points out how to put curiosity to work in your own life, advice that's peppered with numerous anecdotes from his interactions over the years. The result is a very stimulating blend of behind-the-scenes Hollywood machinations and business and personal self-help. VERDICT This unusual and quick read is ideal for public libraries and as nonrequired reading in business schools. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]--Henrietta Verma, Library Journal

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.