Meyer spoke briefly about his personal background, but spent the majority of the seminar, which lasted slightly more than an hour, fielding questions from audience members.
Born in Los Angeles to parents who escaped Nazi Germany, Meyer ended his formal education at the age of 15, when he dropped out of high school. After serving in the Marine Corps, Meyer found work as a messenger for a Los Angeles talent agency and worked his way up to becoming head of his own agency. In 1995, Meyer became Universal’s president, despite the fact that he spells phonetically and has only “minimal” math skills, he said.
“There’s never a day that I’m not amazed that I’m doing this,” he said.
Meyer said his success was largely due to his work ethic and character, as opposed to desire for promotion or talent for flattery.
“I’ve had a lot of bosses,” he said. “I was never a very good ass-kisser. I was better at doing the job.”
Though society and the movie business have changed greatly since Meyer entered it, he said he still feels the forces that drive people to see movies remain the same.
“I think people will still go see a good movie or a movie that will entertain them,” he said. “We want to be wildly entertained or wildly moved or have some sort of shared experience together.”
Students who attended the seminar said they were impressed and inspired not only by Meyer’s success but by his determination.
“Work ethic was by far his most important quality, and that was inspirational to me,” Brian Nwachukwu ’12 said.
“I think it’s amazing what he’s done with what he’s been given,” said Remy Greeno ’10, director of the seminar series program.
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