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Curated playlist

Golden Globe Award–winning producers

  • Simon KinbergSimon Kinberg plays a banker in his own script for Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He began that screenplay as a film school thesis.
  • Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg walked into Universal Studios without a pass, and the guard waved him in.
  • Brad PittBrad Pitt left the University of Missouri two weeks short of completing the coursework for his degree. As graduation approached, he did not feel ready to settle down. He loved films, which he once called "a portal into different worlds for…
  • Wes AndersonWes Anderson has said his first ambition was to be a writer, not a director. He grew up making silent films.
  • Christopher NolanChristopher Nolan has no smartphone and no email address. He hand-delivers his scripts to the actors he wants.
  • Kirk DouglasKirk Douglas insisted on giving blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo an on-screen credit for Spartacus.
  • Elia KazanIn 1952, Elia Kazan gave a congressional committee the names of eight former colleagues.
  • Jack L. WarnerJack Warner once rushed onstage at the Oscars and took a trophy that was not his. The prize was for Casablanca.
  • James CameronJames Cameron dropped alone to the deepest point on Earth in 2012. He stayed more than three hours on the bottom.
  • Michael DouglasMichael Douglas won a Best Picture Oscar before he was a star. He produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
  • Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron Cohen spilled flour on Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars. He claimed it was Kim Jong-il's ashes.
  • John TravoltaJohn Travolta was flying his Gulfstream, registered N728T, on the night of the 24th of November 1992. He was above a solid layer of cloud, descending toward Washington National Airport under instrument flight rules. Then the entire…
  • George ClooneyIn 1977, a teenage George Clooney tried out for the Cincinnati Reds and did not make it past the first round of player cuts. No contract was offered. Clooney, an American actor and filmmaker, would go on to collect two Academy Awards, a…
  • Harvey WeinsteinHarvey Weinstein was thanked by name in 34 Academy Award acceptance speeches. That is as many times as God was thanked, and only Steven Spielberg, with 43 mentions, was thanked more often. The tally comes from an analysis of speeches made…
  • Kevin CostnerKevin Costner was on a plane home from his honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta in 1978 when he noticed actor Richard Burton and decided to approach him. Costner had just finished college and was unsure whether he should try acting at all. So he…
  • Ridley ScottRidley Scott once ranked 31st out of 31 in his school class. He later kept that report on his office wall.
  • Ben AffleckBen Affleck directed Argo, and for it he collected the Golden Globe, the Directors Guild Award and the BAFTA for Best Director without ever being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. No director had done that before him. The…
  • George Miller (filmmaker)Before Mad Max, George Miller was a trained doctor. He taught himself filmmaking on the side.
  • Robin WilliamsRobin Williams was voted "Most Likely Not to Succeed" by his high school classmates in 1969.
  • Saul ZaentzSaul Zaentz won three Best Picture Oscars, a feat almost no one else in Hollywood has matched.

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