Almost everyone looks back on their youth and thinks, “I wish I knew then what I know now….”
Peter Samuelson, production manager on “The Return of the Pink Panther” and celebrated film producer of films including “Revenge of the Nerds,” “Tom & Viv,” “Arlington Road,” and many others, reflects on on his many adventures, as a master storyteller who learned to scale walls or go around them, and who learned early on that our highest calling is to leave the world a better place than we found it.
He reflects on how best to seize the day, which risks are brave and which foolish, about roadblocks and solutions, leadership and genius, about finding your compass and finding love, living your passion, taking off your mask and finding your best place in the universe. About finding your personal Happy.
He will share gripping adventures and misadventures that demonstrate how to achieve the impossible, from daredevil filmmaking in North Africa, dodging customs and motor speedway rules, to being awarded a full college scholarship when unable to answer the entrance exam essay question, to climbing down a pipe shaft at 3 a.m. to rescue a kitten with no plan for how to climb back up… to finding the love of your life, and ultimately, how best to steer this glorious life we are each privileged to enjoy.
Peter Samuelson was the kid in 10th grade who laughed at the English teacher who told him he should go to college. He is a celebrated film producer and serial pro-social entrepreneur. In 1982 he co-founded the Starlight Children’s Foundation; then Starbright World, co-founded with Steven Spielberg in 1992. 1999 saw the formation of First Star, 2005 EDAR Everyone Deserves a Roof, and in 2013 he launched ASPIRE, the Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Entertainment. In the midst of this Peter has produced 27 films and raised four children. Educated at Cambridge University on scholarship and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, Peter lives in Los Angeles with his wife Saryl, and continues to fight every day for those less fortunate, chief among them abused and neglected children. He really did nearly die trying to rescue a kitten.
Recommended reading available at The Bookworm in Edwards:
“Finding Happy: A User’s Guide to Your Life, with Lessons from Mine” by Peter Samuelson:
