Who Is Michael Ovitz? by Michael Ovitz

Who Is Michael Ovitz?

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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About 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 Entertainment48%
Business Lives38%
Entertainment Industry25%

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