Michael Ovitz

Secondly, he populated the board with the most diverse, amazing group of men and women, but they had one common denominator. They were all art collectors of something. They collected something. So they had a passion for the arts. There's a huge difference between

Secondly, he populated the board with the most diverse, amazing group of men and women, but they had one common denominator. They were all art collectors of something. They collected something. So they had a passion for the arts. There's a huge difference between

between an institution with trustees that are financially responsible or socially responsible, but don't have the passion to collect something. And there is an understanding of The mission of the museum from a collecting standpoint, balanced by a financial standpoint, and also how to show it off. The shows are the best. The trustees are incredibly supportive.

between an institution with trustees that are financially responsible or socially responsible, but don't have the passion to collect something. And there is an understanding of The mission of the museum from a collecting standpoint, balanced by a financial standpoint, and also how to show it off. The shows are the best. The trustees are incredibly supportive.

You don't have to ask anybody for anything. It's like a club and everyone gets along, which is really crazy. and supports each other. So it just all works like a Swiss watch.

You don't have to ask anybody for anything. It's like a club and everyone gets along, which is really crazy. and supports each other. So it just all works like a Swiss watch.

I love that guy. He is the opposite of me. He is at the same speed 99% of his life. He doesn't let anything bother him. He knows what he's doing. He enjoys his work. There's a zen-like quality around him. And when people say that, you kind of go, oh, nonsense. People say that. But man, he had it.

I love that guy. He is the opposite of me. He is at the same speed 99% of his life. He doesn't let anything bother him. He knows what he's doing. He enjoys his work. There's a zen-like quality around him. And when people say that, you kind of go, oh, nonsense. People say that. But man, he had it.

He had this aura about him of calmness and determination, passionate about what he did, excited about his art, but no emotional swings. Just lived his life, enjoyed his life. We brought him to L.A. for six weeks to paint a 26-foot high mural in the lobby of our building that I am pay design. He was the greatest six weeks of my life.

He had this aura about him of calmness and determination, passionate about what he did, excited about his art, but no emotional swings. Just lived his life, enjoyed his life. We brought him to L.A. for six weeks to paint a 26-foot high mural in the lobby of our building that I am pay design. He was the greatest six weeks of my life.

I sat there and watched, I talked about this on the last podcast, watched this guy create something off a white canvas out of his head. To me, that's the ultimate definition of being creative.

I sat there and watched, I talked about this on the last podcast, watched this guy create something off a white canvas out of his head. To me, that's the ultimate definition of being creative.

Well, that benchmarking exercise applies not just to artists, but to everything in my life. All the people you mentioned, I identified early as people I wanted to be involved with. When I met Alex Karp 20 years ago, who Peter Thiel introduced me to, he wasn't the Alex Karp he is today. He was highly profiled, incredibly well-spoken, and dogmatically passionate about his point of view.

Well, that benchmarking exercise applies not just to artists, but to everything in my life. All the people you mentioned, I identified early as people I wanted to be involved with. When I met Alex Karp 20 years ago, who Peter Thiel introduced me to, he wasn't the Alex Karp he is today. He was highly profiled, incredibly well-spoken, and dogmatically passionate about his point of view.

wasn't that guy. He was just a brilliant guy who had a PhD in philosophy from Germany and frankly looked ill-equipped to run Palander. When Peter asked me to meet with him and I looked at his credits, I called Peter and I said, give me a little color here. You know, now they both spoke German. Peter's from Germany. So they had a common denominator.

wasn't that guy. He was just a brilliant guy who had a PhD in philosophy from Germany and frankly looked ill-equipped to run Palander. When Peter asked me to meet with him and I looked at his credits, I called Peter and I said, give me a little color here. You know, now they both spoke German. Peter's from Germany. So they had a common denominator.

But man, Alex sure didn't look like the guy that was going to lead this highly technical, cutting-edge company 20 years ahead of the AI infatuation. But sitting with the guy, it was the same thing as sitting with a young artist. So 30... I'm guessing 30 years ago. I'm not even sure. Larry Gagosian, who, as you know, was my assistant at the William Morris Agency 50 years ago. Forgot about that.

But man, Alex sure didn't look like the guy that was going to lead this highly technical, cutting-edge company 20 years ahead of the AI infatuation. But sitting with the guy, it was the same thing as sitting with a young artist. So 30... I'm guessing 30 years ago. I'm not even sure. Larry Gagosian, who, as you know, was my assistant at the William Morris Agency 50 years ago. Forgot about that.

I'm crazy about. Calls me and says, you got to go see this young artist that I'm looking at. And I said, sure. So I go to this young artist, her name's Cecily Brown. And I look at the work and I just was mesmerized by the work. She hadn't had a show yet. And I called Larry and I said, she's amazing. He said, yeah. I said, she's really good. I just had lunch with her last week.

I'm crazy about. Calls me and says, you got to go see this young artist that I'm looking at. And I said, sure. So I go to this young artist, her name's Cecily Brown. And I look at the work and I just was mesmerized by the work. She hadn't had a show yet. And I called Larry and I said, she's amazing. He said, yeah. I said, she's really good. I just had lunch with her last week.