Michael Ovitz

I'm a big Dracula devotee. And five, the build is the most fun. The best time of my life was the first 10 years of CAA. The worst time was when we came out. Number one on the power list. Because then everyone wants to kill you. And they don't just want to kill you. They want to hack your limbs off and just drag them around the courtyard. Because either you can't do what they want you to do.

I'm a big Dracula devotee. And five, the build is the most fun. The best time of my life was the first 10 years of CAA. The worst time was when we came out. Number one on the power list. Because then everyone wants to kill you. And they don't just want to kill you. They want to hack your limbs off and just drag them around the courtyard. Because either you can't do what they want you to do.

You can't make their dream come true. You can't help them. Or you don't help them enough. It's a never-ending litany of problems. Human beings are basically unsatisfied at every level of their life, except for moments. And the goal is to have as many of those moments as you can.

You can't make their dream come true. You can't help them. Or you don't help them enough. It's a never-ending litany of problems. Human beings are basically unsatisfied at every level of their life, except for moments. And the goal is to have as many of those moments as you can.

No, look, some of my greatest moments are with my grandkids. I love having grandkids because... I get all the fun and none of the responsibility to raise them. But I get to see my kids in them and a little bit of me, and it's really fun. Doing things that are creative are fun. For me, business is creative because I'm not a painter or a director or a sculptor or an actor. I have no talent.

No, look, some of my greatest moments are with my grandkids. I love having grandkids because... I get all the fun and none of the responsibility to raise them. But I get to see my kids in them and a little bit of me, and it's really fun. Doing things that are creative are fun. For me, business is creative because I'm not a painter or a director or a sculptor or an actor. I have no talent.

So I can't do any of the things that I just so admire. That's why I could sit and watch Roy paint. I love the concept. I used to tell Michael Crichton, we were on a vacation together on a boat in the Mediterranean and He was sitting at his computer. I said, what are you doing? He said, I'm making notes about this town we just went to in Italy. I said, what about?

So I can't do any of the things that I just so admire. That's why I could sit and watch Roy paint. I love the concept. I used to tell Michael Crichton, we were on a vacation together on a boat in the Mediterranean and He was sitting at his computer. I said, what are you doing? He said, I'm making notes about this town we just went to in Italy. I said, what about?

He said, well, things I saw that were weird. To what end? I'm going to put it in the file and I'll use it. And what I realized is he, like a quilt, he'd patch all this stuff together into a yarn and And it was either true, false, fiction, nonfiction, but it was a yarn. And it came out of nothing. It came out of his head from life experience.

He said, well, things I saw that were weird. To what end? I'm going to put it in the file and I'll use it. And what I realized is he, like a quilt, he'd patch all this stuff together into a yarn and And it was either true, false, fiction, nonfiction, but it was a yarn. And it came out of nothing. It came out of his head from life experience.

Danny Meyer cracks me up. I sat next to him at a MoMA trustee lunch. He's not on the board, but he's very close to the museum. And he was catering it. He fits my description to you of the kind of people I like to be around. He sat there and he didn't sit still. He's looking at everything. He's jumping into the kitchen. He's talking to the captain. He's talking to the waiters. He wanted perfection.

Danny Meyer cracks me up. I sat next to him at a MoMA trustee lunch. He's not on the board, but he's very close to the museum. And he was catering it. He fits my description to you of the kind of people I like to be around. He sat there and he didn't sit still. He's looking at everything. He's jumping into the kitchen. He's talking to the captain. He's talking to the waiters. He wanted perfection.

And to me, that's what it's all about. It's about excellence. If you can't live your life and achieve some excellence in some silo, then you should move to another planet. Because that's what it's like. And it doesn't matter what the silo is. You can be an auto mechanic and be the great. I had a guy in L.A. who was the greatest auto mechanic I ever met in my life.

And to me, that's what it's all about. It's about excellence. If you can't live your life and achieve some excellence in some silo, then you should move to another planet. Because that's what it's like. And it doesn't matter what the silo is. You can be an auto mechanic and be the great. I had a guy in L.A. who was the greatest auto mechanic I ever met in my life.

I used to take my cars to him when I was younger because I love cars and I had all these old cars. I don't know how he did it. He could make them run. I thought the guy was a genius. He was a guy who lived in Little Japan in L.A., And he was brilliant at his field.

I used to take my cars to him when I was younger because I love cars and I had all these old cars. I don't know how he did it. He could make them run. I thought the guy was a genius. He was a guy who lived in Little Japan in L.A., And he was brilliant at his field.

I guess as an agent, and I've mentored so many young people, and I so enjoy it. But the best part of it is seeing them succeed. I said to Ali, look, I said, you're 40 years younger than me. I wanna leave this so you, and now my son who's joining us, I said, I want you guys to have some foundation that you can quadruple. It's my job to give you that foundation. It's not for me.

I guess as an agent, and I've mentored so many young people, and I so enjoy it. But the best part of it is seeing them succeed. I said to Ali, look, I said, you're 40 years younger than me. I wanna leave this so you, and now my son who's joining us, I said, I want you guys to have some foundation that you can quadruple. It's my job to give you that foundation. It's not for me.

I already have my career.

I already have my career.