Michael Ovitz

But, you know, Herb said, do it. I did it. He was right. I did it with everybody. I never asked Sony for anything. I never asked MGM for anything. I never asked Credit Lyonnais for anything. I never asked anybody for anything. I just got paid. And I got paid obscene sums of money. But we gave them really good advice. And we gave them advice they couldn't get from anybody else.

So when we were diligencing the Columbia Pictures Library, I had six of our guys in the library looking at the names of the films and had seen them. They weren't just bankers. They were hyphenates. They had seen the movies. So they could say, yeah, this has value. No, this doesn't have value. They couldn't get that anywhere else.

So when we were diligencing the Columbia Pictures Library, I had six of our guys in the library looking at the names of the films and had seen them. They weren't just bankers. They were hyphenates. They had seen the movies. So they could say, yeah, this has value. No, this doesn't have value. They couldn't get that anywhere else.

And we were spot on with what we said the libraries were worth because we didn't inflate it. The other thing we did, which is quite out of the ordinary, is we told the truth. And that drove people crazy in the entertainment business to tell people the truth was like unheard of because they, they, This is what drove the business.

And we were spot on with what we said the libraries were worth because we didn't inflate it. The other thing we did, which is quite out of the ordinary, is we told the truth. And that drove people crazy in the entertainment business to tell people the truth was like unheard of because they, they, This is what drove the business.

Oh, I hated it.

Oh, I hated it.

No one understands how much I hated it. It was, I don't even remember the name of the magazine, but it was a very nice woman who was the editor. And when I saw that, I panicked. Because that was the beginning of shots to be taken that there's just too big a chance that one of them's going to hit you. Like, why does it matter?

No one understands how much I hated it. It was, I don't even remember the name of the magazine, but it was a very nice woman who was the editor. And when I saw that, I panicked. Because that was the beginning of shots to be taken that there's just too big a chance that one of them's going to hit you. Like, why does it matter?

Because, you know, someone said to me, why did I start this business with Ollie, who's 40 years younger than me? And I've got all these under 30 people working around our office and everything. I said, well, one, it's stimulating. Two, I'm learning a lot from them. Three, they know things I don't because of their age. Four, they're all really smart. So for me, that's like a feeding zone.

Because, you know, someone said to me, why did I start this business with Ollie, who's 40 years younger than me? And I've got all these under 30 people working around our office and everything. I said, well, one, it's stimulating. Two, I'm learning a lot from them. Three, they know things I don't because of their age. Four, they're all really smart. So for me, that's like a feeding zone.

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.