Michael Ovitz

The cover of Newsweek bashed me, had a picture of the Statue of Liberty wrapped in the Japanese flag, and wrote a nasty article that I was selling all of our assets to Japan. And I'll never forget this. My friend, Bill Bradley, who ran for president at the time and was Senator of New Jersey, gave a quote to them that shut it all down. He said, did you ever think that he's using this for financing?

Because they can't take the studios over to Tokyo. They can't. And they don't understand how to make the product. So it was like a no-brainer. They were just good money with technology. It was a great fit. The fact that they didn't all use it right is a different story. That's because they had no interest in growth. They think in a very organized fashion.

Because they can't take the studios over to Tokyo. They can't. And they don't understand how to make the product. So it was like a no-brainer. They were just good money with technology. It was a great fit. The fact that they didn't all use it right is a different story. That's because they had no interest in growth. They think in a very organized fashion.

I booked Michael Jackson at Tokyo, one of the Tokyo stadiums. They had 60,000 people there. And we had him at Soldier's Field in Chicago, 100,000 people. When he finished at Soldier's Field, there was pandemonium from the Chicagoans. They went wild and ran for the exits in the field and they went crazy. When I was in Tokyo and Michael Jackson finished, everyone applauded.

I booked Michael Jackson at Tokyo, one of the Tokyo stadiums. They had 60,000 people there. And we had him at Soldier's Field in Chicago, 100,000 people. When he finished at Soldier's Field, there was pandemonium from the Chicagoans. They went wild and ran for the exits in the field and they went crazy. When I was in Tokyo and Michael Jackson finished, everyone applauded.

And then some guy in a yellow blazer comes out to the diamond with a microphone and starts dismissing Rose one at a time. And I said to myself, I learned so much in that moment. It was unbelievable. We are not brought up in an organized fashion. We rebel against authority. We don't like people telling us what to do. We like original thinking. Failure is an option. Let's just get on with it.

And then some guy in a yellow blazer comes out to the diamond with a microphone and starts dismissing Rose one at a time. And I said to myself, I learned so much in that moment. It was unbelievable. We are not brought up in an organized fashion. We rebel against authority. We don't like people telling us what to do. We like original thinking. Failure is an option. Let's just get on with it.

That's America. And the great thing about America is we create movies, we create television shows, we create books. We're the masters of fine art now. Used to be, until the 50s, it was all Europe. Then came abstract expressionism, then pop art, then op art. It just kept going. We have the number one artists in the world here, in New York City, all over the United States. So when it comes to tech...

That's America. And the great thing about America is we create movies, we create television shows, we create books. We're the masters of fine art now. Used to be, until the 50s, it was all Europe. Then came abstract expressionism, then pop art, then op art. It just kept going. We have the number one artists in the world here, in New York City, all over the United States. So when it comes to tech...

wide open for me it was about getting to a point where no one could talk to the owners of anything without going through us so if you wanted to talk to the owner of cbs records or columbia pictures they spoke fluent japanese and if you didn't have a long relationship with them You had less than zero chance of having a definitive conversation. So it all funneled through us.

wide open for me it was about getting to a point where no one could talk to the owners of anything without going through us so if you wanted to talk to the owner of cbs records or columbia pictures they spoke fluent japanese and if you didn't have a long relationship with them You had less than zero chance of having a definitive conversation. So it all funneled through us.

So we had the owners of MGM, which were creditly in a bank, which I was a consultant to the chairman. We had the owners of Universal Studios, which was Matsushita Electric. And we had the owners of CBS Records and Columbia, which was Sony. And we had the owners of Bertelsmann. I was a consultant to BMJ. And that was pretty much three-fifths of the business.

So we had the owners of MGM, which were creditly in a bank, which I was a consultant to the chairman. We had the owners of Universal Studios, which was Matsushita Electric. And we had the owners of CBS Records and Columbia, which was Sony. And we had the owners of Bertelsmann. I was a consultant to BMJ. And that was pretty much three-fifths of the business.

We didn't have Disney, but they were always on their own. And at the end of the day, you needed a favor. And that's all that business is, is one favor after another. You had to call us. You couldn't call anybody else. Who are you going to call? Ghostbusters? Who are you going to call? There's no one to call. Try getting Jean Perlevard, the chairman of the Credit Lyonnais Bank on the phone.

We didn't have Disney, but they were always on their own. And at the end of the day, you needed a favor. And that's all that business is, is one favor after another. You had to call us. You couldn't call anybody else. Who are you going to call? Ghostbusters? Who are you going to call? There's no one to call. Try getting Jean Perlevard, the chairman of the Credit Lyonnais Bank on the phone.

Good luck. Just doesn't happen. It's not simple. And remember, in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, up until the Mid-70s, you could get any owner of any studio on the phone. You could see them in a restaurant. That changed fast, and we saw it coming.

Good luck. Just doesn't happen. It's not simple. And remember, in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, up until the Mid-70s, you could get any owner of any studio on the phone. You could see them in a restaurant. That changed fast, and we saw it coming.

Well, that's 40 years ago. Yeah.

Well, that's 40 years ago. Yeah.

Well, it's what we've talked about. You asked me how I learned how to be an investment banker, and to answer your question, which I've avoided skillfully, my son, my oldest son, Chris, asked me the same question when I was doing it. He said, Dad... how the hell did you figure this out? He said, this is complicated stuff. I said, Chris, I learn on the job every day. I watched Steve Schwartzler.