The Eyes Have It: Brian Grazer, Ted Sarandos Talk “Human Connection,” Grazers New Book at Writers Guild Theatre

Heres looking at you, Ted. Tonight, Brian Grazer told interviewer Ted Sarandos that the key to his success in Hollywood comes down to eye contact: “The WiFi of human connection is looking at somebody.”

Grazer, partner with Ron Howard in Imagine Film Entertainment, said the eyes have it in conversation with Netflix chief content officer Sarandos, discussing Grazers book, Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection, at the Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills.

Grazer, also author (with Charles Fishman) of the 2016 book, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life, faced off with Sarandos as part of the Live Talks Los Angeles series, now in its 10th season.

The pair did not start off with Hollywood headline topics – streaming wars, upcoming competition from the soon-to-launch Disney Plus, Netflix legendary lack of transparency when it comes to its viewership, or why Netflix came in third behind HBO and Amazon Video in number of wins at the Emmys.

Instead, this big hug of an evening was all about getting past the disconnect caused by cell phones, or looking over your shoulder at a party to see whether someone more important has come into the room. The two praised each other for their curiosity and skill at forging human connections in what Grazer called “the loneliest generation of all.”

That concept, Grazer said, formed the cultural center of his book, “which Im sure you guys will be reading tonight.”

“I read it,” Sarandos offered, unnecessarily.

The two also said they shared the legacy of chaotic childhoods in which their grandmothers were their anchors, and that they struggled in school. Grazer fought dyslexia and shyness; Sarandos, a community college dropout, aspired to be a journalist, but discovered, “I loved interviewing people, but was not such a great writer.” Grazer admitted hes not much of a writer, either.

The conversation then turned to Sarandos engaging Grazer in telling behind-the-scenes anecdotes about some of his best-loved films and successes, although he did start out asking Grazer to talk about how he felt about lousy reviews for The Da Vinci Code.

“It got horrific reviews, especially in France,” Grazer said cheerfully, adding that he avoided eye contact afterward for quite a while.

Even while cheerleading genuine human contact and having “non-transactional” conversations, Grazer managed to correct Sarandos on the amount of money Grazers films have made over time. “$13.5 million,” Grazer said, when SarRead More – Source