flâneur

David Senra: Michael Ovitz, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

davidsenra.com · 23,376 words · saved by 1 readers

Michael Ovitz is the co-founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the most powerful and influential talent agencies in Hollywood history, built on a revolutionary approach to representation that fundamentally transformed the entertainment industry. He is an entertainment executive and dealmaker widely regarded as one of the most formidable operators in Hollywood. During his time leading CAA, Ovitz represented virtually every major star, including Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, David Letterman, Barbra Streisand and many more. Starting as a mailroom trainee in the 1960s and reshaping the power dynamics of the entire industry by the 1980s, he became known for his relentless strategic thinking, his creation of the "packaging" model that bundled talent for studios, and his ability to orchestrate deals of unprecedented scale and complexity. He built a reputation in entertainment circles through his fierce intelligence, relentless work ethic and his ability to build CAA into what many called "the most powerful company in Hollywood." His major accomplishments include co-founding CAA in 1975 in an audacious break from the establishment, pioneering the

David Senra: Michael, thank you very much for doing this. Always a pleasure to spend more time with you. It's been, some of my favorite past few dinners have been with you. I want to actually start with something that you just said before we were recording that, that made me laugh out loud. That you said that Marc Andreessen scares the crap out of you. Why'd you say that? Michael Ovitz: Talking to him is like taking a test. It's like being in high school and taking an exam or a final in college in every conversation. He's got the most extraordinary ability to analyze, to recall information,…

related reading