Michael Ovitz

When I signed Tom Cruise when he was 19, I gave him a list of 10 directors that he needed to work with to build his career. And all 10 were clients, and he worked with all 10 over 10 years. That's a career builder. Couldn't do that today. Someone said, could you start CA today? I said, no. There's no marketplace for it.

When I signed Tom Cruise when he was 19, I gave him a list of 10 directors that he needed to work with to build his career. And all 10 were clients, and he worked with all 10 over 10 years. That's a career builder. Couldn't do that today. Someone said, could you start CA today? I said, no. There's no marketplace for it.

If someone said to me that Netflix or a company out of San Francisco that mailed DVDs was going to change worldwide viewing patterns, worldwide viewing patterns, and that everything would be put up, accessible in multiple places on the internet, in perfect quality when you want it. Who would have thought you were smoking crack? They changed the viewing patterns.

If someone said to me that Netflix or a company out of San Francisco that mailed DVDs was going to change worldwide viewing patterns, worldwide viewing patterns, and that everything would be put up, accessible in multiple places on the internet, in perfect quality when you want it. Who would have thought you were smoking crack? They changed the viewing patterns.

No one watches TV the same way anymore. In the, I remember in the 80s and 90s, you watched Thursday night on NBC because you wanted to see Seinfeld and you wanted to see Kelsey Grammer, you wanted to see all these shows. And on Tuesday nights in the 70s, you watched Mod Squad and then Marcus Welby MD and the Tuesday night movie. It was just, that's the way it is.

No one watches TV the same way anymore. In the, I remember in the 80s and 90s, you watched Thursday night on NBC because you wanted to see Seinfeld and you wanted to see Kelsey Grammer, you wanted to see all these shows. And on Tuesday nights in the 70s, you watched Mod Squad and then Marcus Welby MD and the Tuesday night movie. It was just, that's the way it is.

And you'd talk about it the next day at the office. Well, first of all, no one's going to the office. And second of all, there's nothing that's ever at the same moment. So no one's talking about anything. It's very hard to build word of mouth. And it cracks me up when these releases are made that such and such streaming show had 3.4 million viewers. And I crack up because in my day,

And you'd talk about it the next day at the office. Well, first of all, no one's going to the office. And second of all, there's nothing that's ever at the same moment. So no one's talking about anything. It's very hard to build word of mouth. And it cracks me up when these releases are made that such and such streaming show had 3.4 million viewers. And I crack up because in my day,

Late night, which was the lowest viewing center on television, but very profitable, Letterman drew 5 million viewers every night. The day it's over, and the theaters are tough to go to, and until someone puts capital into the theaters, people don't want to go. You can now get a 100-inch flat screen for around $2,500 max.

Late night, which was the lowest viewing center on television, but very profitable, Letterman drew 5 million viewers every night. The day it's over, and the theaters are tough to go to, and until someone puts capital into the theaters, people don't want to go. You can now get a 100-inch flat screen for around $2,500 max.

You can get a surround sound kit from any of the big Japanese manufacturers for $499 at Costco or any place. You get your own little theater and you put it in your bedroom, your living room, put it in your bathroom. It doesn't make any difference. I just bought a projector that's 4K. It's about six inches wide. It projects a picture on the wall in my bedroom. It's unbelievable.

You can get a surround sound kit from any of the big Japanese manufacturers for $499 at Costco or any place. You get your own little theater and you put it in your bedroom, your living room, put it in your bathroom. It doesn't make any difference. I just bought a projector that's 4K. It's about six inches wide. It projects a picture on the wall in my bedroom. It's unbelievable.

And technology has just swamped the content possibilities. And we're not growing creative people. Who's the next Steven Spielberg? Who's the next Morty? Why is that? How do we do that? You need... a fertile marketplace. And as I always said when I was at the agency, we're in a business, folks.

And technology has just swamped the content possibilities. And we're not growing creative people. Who's the next Steven Spielberg? Who's the next Morty? Why is that? How do we do that? You need... a fertile marketplace. And as I always said when I was at the agency, we're in a business, folks.

It's fun to make movies that no one wants to see except the person that makes it because it's some personal statement. And that's fine. But we had a rule, one in three. You didn't make two commercial movies, you were not making an art movie. Today, go look at the things nominated for Academy Awards and show me the breakout movie.

It's fun to make movies that no one wants to see except the person that makes it because it's some personal statement. And that's fine. But we had a rule, one in three. You didn't make two commercial movies, you were not making an art movie. Today, go look at the things nominated for Academy Awards and show me the breakout movie.

You know, we used to have movies that had an aesthetic value and a commercial value. And when you push them together right at that line, they were the Tootsies and the, you know, they were the, all the President's Men and the Jurassic Parks and the Rain Man. Rain Man was a humongous hit. That movie was turned down by everybody. What do you think the key is to raising money? confidence.

You know, we used to have movies that had an aesthetic value and a commercial value. And when you push them together right at that line, they were the Tootsies and the, you know, they were the, all the President's Men and the Jurassic Parks and the Rain Man. Rain Man was a humongous hit. That movie was turned down by everybody. What do you think the key is to raising money? confidence.

On the other side, the people you sit with have to have confidence in you that you're going to be diligent about it. Fortunately for me, I don't go into a meeting where people think that I'm not going to take it very seriously. I view other people's money as my own because it's all intermixed. And they also know I hate failure. I just have a thing about it from the time I was a kid.

On the other side, the people you sit with have to have confidence in you that you're going to be diligent about it. Fortunately for me, I don't go into a meeting where people think that I'm not going to take it very seriously. I view other people's money as my own because it's all intermixed. And they also know I hate failure. I just have a thing about it from the time I was a kid.