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Who Is Michael Ovitz?
Who Is Michael Ovitz? | Michael Ovitz
4 posts | 3 read
If you're going to read one book about Hollywood, this is the one. As the co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, Michael Ovitz earned a reputation for ruthless negotiation, brilliant strategy, and fierce loyalty to his clients. He reinvented the role of the agent and helped shape the careers of hundreds of A-list entertainers, directors, and writers, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Sean Connery, Bill Murray, Robin Williams, and David Letterman. But this personal history is much more than a fascinating account of celebrity friendships and bare-knuckled dealmaking. It's also an underdog's story: How did a middle-class kid from Encino work his way into the William Morris mailroom, and eventually become the most powerful person in Hollywood? How did an agent (even a superagent) also become a power in producing, advertising, mergers & acquisitions, and modern art? And what were the personal consequences of all those deals? After decades of near-silence in the face of controversy, Ovitz is finally telling his whole story, with remarkable candor and insight.
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OutsmartYourShelf
Who Is Michael Ovitz? | Michael Ovitz
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Pickpick

Memoir from agent to the stars, Michael Ovitz. I love books about behind-the-scenes of Hollywood, & this gives the inside scoop on being an agent.

I enjoyed most of it, except the last few chapters which became bogged down in talking about takeovers. 4🌟

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Random House UK / Ebury, for the opportunity to review an ARC. #NetGalley

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sk888888
Who Is Michael Ovitz? | Michael Ovitz
Bailedbailed

PTB after about 85 pages; it just became a slog to even pick up the book. Life‘s too short to try and finish something I just am not enjoying.

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Litsi
Who Is Michael Ovitz? | Michael Ovitz
Pickpick

Part 1
A fascinating and fast read. It‘s all here, the growth of CAA, decline of Lew Wasserman, MGM and MCA, his departure from CAA, the Picasso Eisner had to give Robin Williams, being fired from Disney, David Letterman‘s battle for the Tonight Show, the “gay mafia” and his third act as a wildly successful Silicon Valley investor.

review
Litsi
Who Is Michael Ovitz? | Michael Ovitz
Pickpick

Part 2. Ovitz is certainly an egotist but there‘s no denying his hard work, vision and success. If you worked in entertainment between 1988 - 2006 no doubt you will get some juicy details on a story you were attached to and enjoy hearing Ovitz‘ POV on the rest. And he names names.
Memoirs are often criticized for not being objective. But that‘s part of the fun of it and also tells you something about the subject that no one else can.