
Who Is Michael Ovitz?
Penguin Publishing Group · Paperback · July 23, 2024
If you're going to read one book about Hollywood, this is the one.
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- Who it’s for
- A candid personal history that brings Hollywood dealmaking and ambition into close view.
- Genres
- Lives in Entertainment, Entertainment Industry, Business Lives
- Published
- Penguin Publishing Group, July 23, 2024
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Start with this bookAbout this book
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.
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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.
Inside Hollywood
A candid personal history that brings Hollywood dealmaking and ambition into close view.
Come here for
- Hollywood power, celebrity ties, and the business behind the careers
- An underdog’s rise alongside candid reckoning with its personal costs
Expect
- Sharp attention to strategy, negotiation, and changing roles in the industry
- A reflective account of loyalty, controversy, and consequence
Where it sits
| Lives in Entertainment | 48% |
|---|---|
| Business Lives | 38% |
| Entertainment Industry | 25% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Business Lives
- Lives in Entertainment
- Media & Communications
- Authors
- Michael Ovitz
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- July 23, 2024
- Format
- Paperback
- Reading lane
- Business Lives