Michael Ovitz

Absolutely fearless taking an order to task. Fearless. Been this way since I met him. He didn't grow into that. If he doesn't agree with him, he just says it. They respect it. And on top of it, his dad was a senator. was a Senator who took a position against his party. And Roger has something to prove and has proven it a hundred times over. And you want to talk about a loyal friend, he's up there.

Absolutely fearless taking an order to task. Fearless. Been this way since I met him. He didn't grow into that. If he doesn't agree with him, he just says it. They respect it. And on top of it, his dad was a senator. was a Senator who took a position against his party. And Roger has something to prove and has proven it a hundred times over. And you want to talk about a loyal friend, he's up there.

He makes me look like an amateur.

He makes me look like an amateur.

You know, it's a great question. I got asked this a couple of weeks ago at a dinner I was speaking at. And Mark Andreessen and Ben Horowitz said to me in the early 2000s, you know, you're wasting your time. doing all the stuff you're doing, because what you do is exactly what we do. There's no difference.

You know, it's a great question. I got asked this a couple of weeks ago at a dinner I was speaking at. And Mark Andreessen and Ben Horowitz said to me in the early 2000s, you know, you're wasting your time. doing all the stuff you're doing, because what you do is exactly what we do. There's no difference.

You find an idea or a young person, so that could be a director or an actor or an idea from Michael Crichton, and then you develop it, and then you finance it. You get it money. Then you help them shape the business or the package. Then you cast it, and then you get a distribution, and you market it. So that's the definition of a startup.

You find an idea or a young person, so that could be a director or an actor or an idea from Michael Crichton, and then you develop it, and then you finance it. You get it money. Then you help them shape the business or the package. Then you cast it, and then you get a distribution, and you market it. So that's the definition of a startup.

And there's not one thing in my day today that I'm doing different than I did in 1974. There's not one thing different. It's just the numbers are a little different. But it's the same blocking and tackling, same fundamentals. At the end of the day, for me, I have a very cultural bias on how I invest. I invest very different than everyone else.

And there's not one thing in my day today that I'm doing different than I did in 1974. There's not one thing different. It's just the numbers are a little different. But it's the same blocking and tackling, same fundamentals. At the end of the day, for me, I have a very cultural bias on how I invest. I invest very different than everyone else.

It's the same fundamentals, but I invest in human beings. I may not like their idea, but if I like them, I want to be around them. And I've put my money into companies that have gone through the roof, and I've put my money into companies that have failed. But the founders have never failed me. They've always come back.

It's the same fundamentals, but I invest in human beings. I may not like their idea, but if I like them, I want to be around them. And I've put my money into companies that have gone through the roof, and I've put my money into companies that have failed. But the founders have never failed me. They've always come back.

40, 50.

40, 50.

Great. So today, you got full motion video with emotional looks on the game characters. That was unheard of in those days, right? You're going to get the same thing with AI. There's no emotion now. Will they get there? Maybe. It's still a handmade craft. I don't think content's the issue. I think the issue's ideas where we've kind of run the gambit on it.

Great. So today, you got full motion video with emotional looks on the game characters. That was unheard of in those days, right? You're going to get the same thing with AI. There's no emotion now. Will they get there? Maybe. It's still a handmade craft. I don't think content's the issue. I think the issue's ideas where we've kind of run the gambit on it.

Everything's a sequel. When I started as an agent, I bought a 20-volume set of the synopses of the greatest literature in the world. And I would go through it to see if I could find ideas for movies. And some of my favorite authors of all time, like Alexander Dumas, how many times can you make The Three Musketeers or Count of Monte Cristo, right? The French just made it for the fifth time.

Everything's a sequel. When I started as an agent, I bought a 20-volume set of the synopses of the greatest literature in the world. And I would go through it to see if I could find ideas for movies. And some of my favorite authors of all time, like Alexander Dumas, how many times can you make The Three Musketeers or Count of Monte Cristo, right? The French just made it for the fifth time.

we've kind of bled the well dry on source material. And then the fiction that's coming out, not at the rate it used to, because we don't encourage young people. We've got a humongous problem in the arts, not in the fine arts, oddly, but in the media arts of teaching people and giving them an opportunity to

we've kind of bled the well dry on source material. And then the fiction that's coming out, not at the rate it used to, because we don't encourage young people. We've got a humongous problem in the arts, not in the fine arts, oddly, but in the media arts of teaching people and giving them an opportunity to