Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the men behind Imagine Entertainment

Web posted on:
Friday, April 30, 1999 6:32:05 PM EST

By Tim Braun
NewsStand: CNN & Entertainment Weekly Producer

(CNN) -- When "Newsstand: CNN & Entertainment Weekly" went on the air last year, one of the first things Willow Bay and I did was a story on focus groups and their impact on the creative process.

We visited the set of "edTV" with child actor-turned-director Ron Howard and his electric-haired partner/producer Brian Grazier. We were struck by how nice they were -- in a town where "nice" is a dirty word.

Last month, we returned to take a longer look at them, their creative process, and the enormous success of their company. Imagine Entertainment. As Ellen DeGeneres told us, "They're a good duo. They should have a radio show."

She's right. They share an infectious passion about filmmaking and business. As friends and partners, they're truly in sync -- in the interview, they generally finished one another's sentences.

Then, we went inside the company where -- just for starters -- the waiting room was jammed with the likes of Christine Baranski, Judd Rheinhold, and 50 children under age 8 waiting to audition for Howard's next production, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," starring Jim Carrey.

We also spent time looking at photographic research of Haiti, which will be the setting for the upcoming thriller, "Rockwood." Because that country is so dangerous, Imagine will use these photos to recreate the site of this true story.

In addition to their movies, Imagine's very successful TV division( "The P.J.'s," "Felicity," and "Sportsnight") has six pilots they are pitching for next season. We screened the first rushes for one of these: "Mulholland Drive," directed by David Lynch which -- just as you'd expect -- looks cool, has a quirky storyline, and is beautifully shot.

The big question facing these two with the seeming Midas touch is whether they will end their 13-year movie partnership with Universal and jump ship for the Walt Disney Company, which houses their TV division.

When Willow asked Brian Grazier about his comment to a trade publication that he was "available to the highest bidder," he emphatically responded, "I didn't say that ... that's too cold ... We've been in this business long enough to know the grass isn't greener on the other studio lot ... We care about who's leading the company."

A charismatic, warm, committed leader? Sounds like the perfect match for the two of them.