Exploiting Hollywood 1980

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

As president of the highly 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 his identity. 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 an important page in the New York Times.

The photo in the title is the only one Ovitz has not purchased the copyright for, the one in which he smiled triumphantly when being thanked by actor Dustin Hoffman in an unconventional way at the Oscars. The photo of Ovitz, who usually practices Aikido every morning, saw himself enjoying breakfast in the Japanese garden after finishing morning lessons with his former bodyguard Aikido master Steven Seagal. Photo.

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

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

Daxmnit!" Ovitz cursed. At that time, Dustin Ronald also knew what the evil was, and he had to thank himself. "You called the office of senior producer Ray Stark and learned that it was not approved by the CAA office. Mr. Stark would not discuss Michael Wingerts until the interview. A spokesman for NBC Chairman Grant Tinkle later said Mr. Tinkle would comment, in line with a spokesman for Michael D. Redford, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company.

Redford was a long-time friend of Wingerts, yet I devised a strategy to use these actors whose careers were temporarily high for my film, thereby ineffectively breaking CAA's control over production costs. "

That report happened to be published in a serious media like the New York Times. It is a media that cannot be ignored. Wall Street bankers don't have their own information channels. As long as we verify it, we will know how much money was exploited by CAA. BIqupai.

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

"Is that obvious? He looked at the names of the eight people outside that paragraph. Spielberg is a client of CAA. George Lucas basically needs your CAA to help my star clients participate in the film." Diane pointed her finger Under Eisner's name, he knocked hard several times.

Then the two people quickly discussed some bottom lines for concessions, which studios should offer worse conditions, which ones should not be left alone, which stars should be attracted with worse conditions, and which ones should not be kicked away...

First, Wingerts asked Diane to go out first, because he would have to swallow the bitter pill of his death and surrender to a young man like Eisner.

“The French Open Condor is not the first time that CAA, headed by Wingerts, has exerted pressure on a movie, or even an entire studio.

During David Putnam Jr.'s brief tenure as head of Columbia Pictures, Webberts successfully ruled out the hesitant British producer (producer of Chariots of Fire) from pursuing "Ghostbusters II." Any participation. The rights to film that sequel are actually an important asset belonging to Columbia.

"You mean, it's time to reconcile with his enemy, Michael. No matter how much he wants to see the results, don't forget the desire to dance under the table in order to complete the project." Diane adjusted her glasses, as if she didn't care about Wingerts' threat to me.

"Does he know who concocted that article?" Wingerz was horrified.

The first type of people who call or come to the scene are the screenwriters, directors, and actor clients. Originally, the remuneration of those people had to be kept secret from each other, but that report directly exposed the remuneration ratio of the "French Open Condor".

But today, when we look outside our own eyes, there are more bad images, less insult and fear, and less eagerness to settle accounts with ourselves. But Wingerts and my agency made money from that movie. Received a small commission. Debra Webber also left Wingerts because you felt hurt by being treated not as a commodity but as an artist.

I used those two reasons to declare that those companions who betrayed William Morris were suitable for CAA's corporate culture, forcing us to leave and taking our shares.

If it were bad Hollywood reporting that described Wingerts that way, I would be fine with that. Few informed readers and moviegoers believed that report, and felt that Wingerts was the most wanted and least powerful person in Hollywood. That kind of urban legend about Wei Potts' business is a bad thing. The main point of the article is that Wei Potts is a villain. I can make it into a small production, but it will definitely be a small box office success. Those advantages were all taken advantage of by me, who took advantage of the studio's health over the past ten years, and used coercion and inducement on the star contracts under my command. I forced CEOs of the studio who wanted bad financial statements to sign an equality treaty. "What are you doing outside of that?" ? Go ahead and call their customers, chat with us, and use their lying ability to definitely make us think about changing jobs." Wingerz waved his hand suddenly and let out a small roar, making those young people... Maintain bad customer relationships no matter what.

"What's going on, Ron? How come there isn't that report? How did he monitor the media?" Wingerts was concerned about his own demeanor, so he yelled at Diane Wingerts as soon as he left the door. Still, he was not suspicious, but Niceta's quickness The answer shattered my illusion.

"Oh..." Wengertz was so angry that he spoke slowly again, which was to drain the fire!

"Is he sure he wants you to call us now? The most important thing now is to eliminate the impact, but to find out who doesn't support the opponent." Diane pointed to the window.

Initially, the French Open Condor is believed to have cost US$32 million and performed well at the box office. (When all creators are from one agency, he is asked to make small compromises.) In today's bad Hollywood, if he wants his career to flourish, all he needs to do is offend Michael Wynn. Getz.

One agent said: You've never seen that city without such an atmosphere of fear. "

He's in Las Vegas without all these slutty parties Ally McGraw threw for him!

As he spoke, Diane picked up the report from the New York Times and pointed to the lines that he had marked with a highlighter: A few small studios in Bad Caiwu have long lost the ability to rely on their own box office to invest in movies. capabilities, all small productions require Wall Street funding.

Wingerz regained his composure and asked Diane to contact a reporter from the New York Times to write a response article as soon as possible.

If it is delayed for another hour now, the solid foundation of CAA will fall apart in one hour less. At that time, some drastic measures must be taken to stabilize the situation first.

Eisner smiled and hung up the phone, then picked it up again. Now it was Wingerts who needed to stop the seventh round of attacks on his own. The worst thing would be for me to set the price myself. If I asked, who knows what I would be willing to give in exchange?

"Hey, Niceta, was there any misunderstanding between Wei Bowan and you that time? Why did I concoct that article to attack my agency? Well, was it me? I participated, right?"

But those things that are believed to be suspicious by bankers and investors are also the basis for CAA to implement our package deal. Today, the report mercilessly questioned........."

Rather than relying on contract writers, Wingerts brought in directors and stars. The agency industry does not rely on some core industry knowledge and close relationships with stars and producers. The more Wingerts read the newspaper in the front seat of the car, the more he felt that the report was entirely directed at him.

"What does he want to do?" Wingerts' eyes shone sharply. Those words were not what I said when I drove away several other co-founders of CAA. I used to think that these people could work from four to four nights a week, with only half a day off on Sunday to go to the synagogue. Or are we willing to be like Webberts and use extreme means to coerce clients or studios to achieve our goals? The core secret of why CAA is able to sign so few stars was also casually announced by the article. .

When we arrived at the office, Wingerts was already surrounded by a small group of "young Turks". I looked around and saw that those young agents themselves were taking advantage of our inexperience, lack of drive and ambition, except for CAA and others. There is also a lack of many platforms to train us into an iron sales force that can attack cities and villages.

The content of Frank Price's interview cannot be said to completely capture the unexpectedly affectionate and domineering approach of Webots' CAA in Bad Hollywood. Regardless of whether it is the producers or these stars who are bold and outspoken in the industry, everything will go wrong before they get the news. Wingerts looked fierce. The former founding partner of CAA, can he tolerate me still in the company? Besides, except that Diane is more obedient, I may have the handle on the huge gambling debt I owed in Las Vegas. Who wants to mess with you? Even the most secret internal figures have been revealed. Frank Price, that bastard, how dare he release that kind of information to the media? Are you doing his Jewish rival a big favor? Does he want the whole family to perish together?

As for those investors who know bad Hollywood and the fans who buy "Bad Hollywood Reports" on the street, where should they go? "Has he seen this report? Come to your place and you will give him a tailor-made report." The purpose of customizing the script is to make money for us and package it into a suitable script. Did he think that Debra Meyer had not been invited to make a movie before the French Condor? "

Director Reitman's salary of 2.5 million is too exaggerated. It is hard to imagine that a Czech director who only serves as a director and is involved in the production business can get a salary comparable to that of a seventh-tier female star.

CAA took over the entire production team and recommended Debra Meyer as the leading actor. According to Price, the leading actress Robert De received $5 million; the leading actor Wei Bo received $2.5 million; director Reitman Jr. About $2.5 million was received; the writing team received $750,000. "Come on, Ron." Wingerts and his partner Ron Diane retreated to the outside of the office to discuss. I jumped up from my chair, wiped my glasses, and read the article again. The title was wrong. It was indeed a report about myself. The smallest word under the title, occupying the entire line, was not OVITZ in lower case.

"You'll beat me right away..."

Worse still, those sideline comments may shake my foundation. After a while, I will have to cause serious trouble for the reporter from the New York Times. Wingerts glanced at the author's name on the title to see if it was signed as a New York Times reporter, presumably a so-called special commentator.

What made Wingerts even more frightened were the seventh group of people who called, Wall Street bankers.

"Who is begging whom now, Mr. Wingerts? He wants you to stop. He needs to seriously consider his offer..." Eisner answered the phone under the business jet with a smile on his face. , keeping a distance from the media like Weingerz did was not the worst option, and the worse option was to affect the content of our reports. Of course, the kind of guys like Rupert who own mixed media platforms like newspapers, TV stations, and movie studios are the worst ones. Judy, Judy ho ho," Webberts called his wife in a low voice. “What does 19 mean if it’s a comment on the previous sentence?

Instead of investing in CAA projects, let us exploit a low salary and add a rigid 5% packaging fee for the first-place dividend called the "Wingetts tax". How to directly invest in these projects? The producer and director are broken.

"I'm waiting for his call, Michael. If he slows down a bit, I'm going to get off the plane."

The phone was connected, "You're Eisner," the confident and young voice on the other side of the phone receiver came over. Since the 1940s, has the market for bad Hollywood grown? The overall box office has not yet reached its peak. With the downward trend, few stars have their contracts handled by lawyers. So what we lack most is not the lack of skill to determine the script.

"Eisner, you are Wingertz, what does he want?" Wingertz felt a sense of pleasure and humiliation, a feeling he would feel more and more in the next ten years.

The business jet landed at Burbank Airport. As soon as Eisner got on the plane, Ovi jumped down and leaned against his arms. He held Eisner tightly with both hands and was willing to let go.

"You all know that Wingets and SJP said good things about you, so he will help you get revenge. You are so depressed..." Ovi rubbed his head hard outside Wei Bowan's arms, "If it was Winger Ci called you to apologize. You knew he cared about you so much...

Wingerts opened the window and followed Diane's gestures to see dozens of "young Turks" who were constantly calling our customers, pleading, threatening, intimidating, or kneeling down. Let our customers be affected by the comments caused by that article or by this sentence. Knowing that Xiaojia was exploited by Wingerts is the same as knowing that Xiaojia knew about it.

But CAA's success rate may not be lower than the core figures who bring money from outside the industry.

"Michael, it's time for him to reconsider," Ron Diane, wearing light-colored Hawaiian-style clothing today, said heavily in Wingerts's ear.

Does he want to invest in a movie starring Tom Cruise and Paul Newman? As long as you invest in AA, it's fine. There's nothing bad to talk about with the studio, right? With or without you, no one can get the schedule of those celebrities.

"Me? It's possible. I'm just eighty years old this year. Where did I get that kind of means? Where did I get the power to influence the eight serious media? He didn't call Disney's Redford, and Universal , Fox us? You see, we are behind Eisner’s back and causing you trouble.”

"Ronnie!"

Looking further up, Wingerts can keep up the intensity. Originally, Wingerts went to the office on Sunday afternoon, so the driver didn't wait outside the house. When Judy drove over, Wingerts sat under the car. As he continued to read the report, phone calls came from all directions, "Don't move...ho...ho..." Wingerz grabbed his wife's hand with surprisingly little strength, "Don't call, I'll call you." I brought you your tie and blazer, and then drove you to the office. "What's the matter, Ovi?" "Eisner felt that Ovi's love for him had deepened.

That article publicized the domineering side of Wingerts to everyone in the country. In that way, the star was also bad, the producer was also bad, and everyone knew that everyone also resented the bad bully king of Hollywood. In this way, two small brokerage firms, William Morris and ICM, will soon use that report to poach people.

Wingerts' close involvement was not a requirement for the film to be profitable. For example, there are some extremely commercially successful directors such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Webona Lee. Indiana Jones: Episode VIII did use some CA clients, but not as many. In addition to Tom Cruise, most of "Top Gun" are clients of the other two major brokerage companies. It's possible, but easy, to be in Bad Hollywood and run into Michael Wingerts. "

The top star Weibo Wan Robert received a salary of 5 million, which is a price that everyone knows, and there is no dispute about it. But Debra Meyer’s $2.5 million broke the rules. You know, Jodie Foster, a former movie star last year, only received a salary of one million.

You know, it is still an iron rule in Bad Hollywood after CAA that movies should be packaged, because that will slightly interfere with the casting and shooting of the movie, lower the quality of the movie, and hurt the box office. It's just that he took advantage of the information gap and bullied the new capital. He just knew the old rules of bad Hollywood.

"That was his own negligence, Michael. The reporter once called him to check after publishing. He agreed with me." Ron Weibo threw a record under Wingerz's desk. "That's the phone record. He clearly told the secretary to pay attention to me. You didn't have a chance to speak out, so you were so passive."

"Without his attitude, Wingets, you are about to fly to Los Angeles, and I think he will have a worse offer before you land.

When did a male star get half of the salary of an actress? Moreover, Debra Webber is not the only male protagonist besides the French Open Condor. The one who really made a difference with Hoffmann-Robert was Darwin Hanna who performed in "Wall Street".

"If he wants to be famous in bad Hollywood, he should leave CAA. Unless he is one of the stars who joined CAA very early, CAA will control his life and death. What we focus on is just the 5% package Tax. Although you don’t have the ability to bully the CEO of a small studio, you will consider his long-term interests..."

"Dear, what's wrong with you?" Judy came over and saw Wingerts holding the chair of the breakfast table, panting a little, as if breathing easily, and suddenly panicked, "You go call 911, but those years In Chongren's eyes, he was not as cold and confident as before, but a little less. Regret, resentment and resentment were the most terrible things. Wengets saw a few eyes directed at me and quickly closed the blinds again. Close.

The callers were all from the CAA Wingerts department, and we were so panicked that we reported everything that happened outside the small office building that was now in chaos.