Film producer speaks to Viewpoint students

Meyer Gottlieb Film producer Meyer Gottlieb, cofounder and president of Samuel Goldwyn Films, recently spoke to the faculty and students of Viewpoint School in Calabasas as part of the school's Cum Laude Society SpeakeratLunch Series.

Gottlieb has produced and distributed many awardwinning films, including "Mystic Pizza," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" and "Super Size Me."

Born in Poland shortly after the Germans invaded in 1939, Gottlieb moved to Los Angeles at the age of 8. His passion for movies began with a high swith clients in the movie business.

"I could see that there was a real lack of business decisionmaking in the creative process, and I felt there was a role for me if I could make the right connection," said Gottlieb.

Around this time he was introduced to Samuel Goldwyn Jr., and in 1979 the two men founded Samuel Goldwyn Films. Their company now produces or distributes 10 films each year.

"Our audiences are adults looking for a social form of entertainment. They want to go to a movie and out to dinner to talk about the film. This is an experience that cannot be replicated at home. This is good for a small company like ours working with minimal budgets, because we don't need to attract enormous numbers for a film to be successful.."

As for advice for upandcoming filmmakers he said, "You have to be 100 percent certain that this is what you want. You have to be confident enough to accept 'no' as a 'maybe' and be willing to take any job at any level and consider it an education. Meet as many people as possible and have a thick skin. There is no question, it is a tough business, but it is also a lot of fun."