"Hollywood practitioners usually like to talk about themselves. But for 42-year-old Michael S. Ovitz, he is an exception.

As president of the wildly successful Creative Artists Agency (CAA), he never grants interviews. Only a handful of industry insiders are willing to talk about him, and few are willing to reveal their identities. Among those who have steadfastly declined to comment include

Some of the most powerful and respected figures in the film industry."

On Sunday morning, a report titled "Ovitz—Hollywood's Most Mysterious Agent" appeared on a prominent page in the New York Times.

The photo in the title picture is the only one Ovitz has not purchased the copyright for, the one in which he was very proud when being thanked by actor Dustin Hoffman in an unconventional way at the Oscars.

Smiling photos.

Ovitz, who usually practices Aikido every morning, finished his morning classes with his former bodyguard, Aikido master Steven Seagal, and was enjoying breakfast in the Japanese garden when he saw himself

Photo.

The relaxed and happy smile after practicing Aikido quickly disappeared from Ovitz's face. Because this photo was widely disseminated on public television, it had reached public dissemination, and naturally lost some important portrait rights clauses.

.

For example, if a news media wants to quote this photo to indicate the subject of the report, it does not need to obtain Ovitz's permission in advance.

"Daxmn it!" Ovitz cursed. At that time, Dustin Hoffman didn't know what the evil was, so he had to thank himself...

"We called veteran producer Ray Stack's office and were informed that Mr. Stack would discuss Michael Ovitz only after the CAA office approved the interview. A spokesman for former NBC chairman Grant Tinkle said

, Mr. Tinkel would not comment, consistent with a spokesman for Michael D. Eisner, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company.

Eisner was a long-time friend of Ovitz, yet he devised a strategy of casting his films with actors whose careers were temporarily in the doldrums, effectively breaking CAA's control over production costs."

As he continued to read, Ovitz couldn't help but start talking dirty again. Eisner, a bastard, said he didn't comment, so what does the following sentence mean?

Fortunately, these sideline comments are unlikely to shake his foundation. After a while, he will have to seriously trouble the New York Times reporter. Ovitz glanced at the author's name under the title. There was no signature.

A New York Times reporter, presumably a so-called special commentator.

Looking further down, Ovitz can no longer remain calm...

"In 1985, Frank Price, then chairman of MCA Film Group (Universal's parent company), decided to produce a comedy film developed by production director Ivan Reitman. The film project was later named

The script for French Open Condor is written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps II, who are also clients of CAA. Price plans to invest approximately $25 million on the film. In CAA client Dustin

After Hoffman withdrew, CAA client Robert Redford played the leading role.

CAA took over the entire production team and recommended Debra Winger as the heroine. According to Price, the actor Redford received $5 million; the heroine Winger received $2.5 million; director Lai

Terman received approximately $2.5 million; the writing team received $750,000.

Finally, French Open Condor is believed to have cost $32 million and underperformed at the box office. (When all the creators are from one agency, you're asked to make a lot of compromises.)

But Ovitz and his agency made substantial commissions from the film. Debra Winger also left Ovitz because she felt hurt by being treated like a commodity rather than an artist.

In today's Hollywood, if you want your career to thrive, don't offend Michael Ovitz. One agent said: I've never seen such an atmosphere of fear in this city."

With a bang, Ovitz jumped up from his chair. He wiped his glasses and read the title of this article again... Yes, it was indeed a report about himself. The biggest one on the title occupied the entire page.

The word in the entire line is OVITZ in capital letters.

Who is trying to mess with me? Even the most secret internal figures have been revealed. Frank Price, you bastard, how dare you release this kind of information to the media? I am just helping your Jewish competitor.

A little favor? Do you want everyone to die together?

"Judy, Judy...ho ho..." Ovitz called his wife loudly.

"Dear, what's wrong with you?" Judy came over and saw Ovitz holding on to the chair of the breakfast table, gasping for air, as if he had difficulty breathing, and suddenly panicked. "I'm going to call 911..."

"Don't move... ho... ho..." Ovitz grabbed his wife's hand with surprising strength, "Don't call, get my tie and coat, and then drive me to the office... this

Very important……"

The content of Frank Price's interview can be said to have completely torn apart the ruthless and domineering approach of Ovitz's CAA in the Hollywood business. Whether it is the producers in the industry who dare not speak out, or those who

Celebrities will have problems after receiving this news.

Again, knowing that everyone was exploited by Ovitz is not the same as knowing that everyone knows about it.

Originally, Ovitz wasn't going to the office on Sunday morning, so the driver didn't wait at home. When Judy drove over and Ovitz sat in the car and continued reading this report, calls started coming from all directions.

coming.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The people who called were all direct subordinates of CAA Ovitz. They were so panicked that they reported everything that happened in the chaotic office building.

.

The first type of people who called or came to the scene were screenwriters, directors, and actors. Originally, the remuneration of these people had to be kept secret from each other, but this report directly mentioned the "French Open Condor"

The remuneration ratio was exposed.

The top star Robert Redford received a salary of 5 million, which is a price that everyone knows and no one disputes. But Debra Winger’s 2.5 million US dollars broke the rules. You know, last year’s

Actress Jodie Foster also has a salary of less than one million.

Since when can a female star get half the salary of a male actor? Moreover, Debra Winger is not the only heroine in "The French Open Condor". The real difference between Robert Redford and Robert Redford is the performance.

Darryl Hannah on "Wall Street."

Director Reitman's salary of 2.5 million is too exaggerated. It is difficult for a Czech director who only serves as a director and is not involved in the production business to receive a salary comparable to that of a second-tier male star.

What frightened Ovitz even more was the second group of people who called, Wall Street bankers.

Most major Hollywood studios have long lost the ability to rely on their own box office to invest in movies. All major productions require Wall Street funding.

And these investors' understanding of Hollywood is no better than that of fans who buy "Hollywood Report" on the street.

CAA's strategy of using celebrities to package its investments is very attractive to investors who only know the names of a few celebrities.

Do you want to invest in a movie starring Tom Cruise and Paul Newman? Just invest in us at CAA. What’s the point of talking to the studio? Without us, no one can get these stars.

Schedule.

But these things, which are firmly believed by bankers and investors, are also the basis for CAA to implement their package deal. Today, this report has ruthlessly questioned it.

The more Ovitz read the newspaper in the back seat of the car, the more he felt that the report was entirely directed at him.

"French Condor" is not the first time Ovitz-led CAA has exerted pressure on a film, or even an entire studio. During David Putnam's brief tenure as head of Columbia Pictures, Ovitz successfully ruled out

The determined British producer (producer of Chariots of Fire) has no involvement in Ghostbusters II. The rights to film the sequel are actually a significant asset of Columbia."

This paragraph vividly depicts Ovitz's use of his monopoly on stars to coerce the CEO of a major studio like Columbia.

If it was the Hollywood Reporter that described Ovitz in this way, then he wouldn't think it was a big deal. Many ignorant readers and movie viewers believed this kind of report and thought that Ovitz was the greatest and most powerful person in Hollywood.

People. This urban legend is actually a good thing for Ovitz's business.

But this report happened to be published in a serious media like the "New York Times". This is not a media that can be ignored. Wall Street bankers have their own information channels. As long as they verify it, they will know the middle

How much money did you get from being exploited by CAA?

You know, it was still an iron rule in Hollywood before CAA that movies should not be packaged, because this would seriously interfere with the casting and shooting of the movie, reduce the quality of the movie and the box office. I just took advantage of the information gap to bully these new capitals.

I just don't know the old rules of Hollywood.

When he arrived at the office, Ovitz was already surrounded by a large group of "young Turks". He looked around and saw that these young agents were originally taken advantage of by him because they were inexperienced, driven and ambitious, and lacked a platform other than CAA.

Only then can they be trained into an iron sales force capable of attacking cities and strongholds.

But today, when their eyes looked at themselves, they seemed to lack a lot of respect and fear, and a lot more eagerness to settle accounts with themselves.

"What are you still doing here? Go call your clients, chat with them, use your lying ability, and never let them think of changing jobs..." Ovitz waved his hand suddenly and shouted,

Let these young people maintain good customer relationships no matter what.

"Come on, Ron." Ovitz and his partner Ron Meyer entered the office to discuss.

"What's going on, Ron? Why is there this report? How do you monitor the media?" Ovitz ignored his own demeanor and yelled at Meyer as soon as he entered the door.

"This is your own negligence, Michael. This reporter once called you to check before publishing, and it was you who rejected him." Ron Meyer threw a record on Ovitz's desk.

, "Here are the phone records. You clearly told the secretary to ignore him - originally we still had a chance to speak out and we would not be so passive."

As he spoke, Meyer picked up the New York Times report and pointed to the lines he had marked with a highlighter:

"Ovitz's close involvement is not necessary for the film to be profitable. For example, some of the most commercially successful directors are Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Ronald Lee. Indiana Jones III

"Top Gun" did use some CA clients, but not many. In "Top Gun", except for Tom Cruise, most of them were clients of the other two major agency companies. Doing business in Hollywood

It's possible without running into Michael Ovitz, but it's difficult."

"Oh..." Ovitz was so angry that he could hardly speak. He was trying to drain the fire from under the cauldron!

The purpose of this article is extremely precise, and the language is interesting. Reading it is like reading a Sherlock Holmes detective novel, analyzing it piece by piece, stripping away the secrets of CAA's previous success, and slowly revealing it to Wall Street's financial backers.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The main point of the article is very clear. Ovitz is a villain. He can make big productions, but he may not necessarily be a box office hit. These advantages are all taken advantage of by him.

Due to the weakness of the studios in the past ten years, they used the star contracts in their hands to coerce and induce, and forced the CEOs of the studios who wanted good financial statements to sign unequal treaties.

However, CAA's success rate may not be higher than those directors and producers who have an accurate pulse on the market. They are the core and key figures in this industry who bring money.

Instead of investing in CAA's projects and letting them exploit a high salary, plus a rigid 5% packaging fee for the first-place dividend, known as the "Ovitz tax", it is better to invest directly in those systems.

The producer and director are doing well.

Finally, the core secret of why CAA was able to sign so many stars was casually announced in the article.

Since the 1980s, the Hollywood market has not grown, and the overall box office has been on a downward trend. Many stars have left their contracts to lawyers. What they lack most is the quality to decide on scripts.
To be continued...