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American Morning

Michael Ovitz's Star Beginning to Fade

Aired April 25, 2002 - 09:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: For the past two decades now, Michael Ovitz has been a starmaker. In his Hollywood heyday, Ovitz ran the Creative Artists Agency, CAA, with a stable of big name stars. He was one of the most powerful, and probably one of the most feared men in the entertainment industry. But now, it appears his star is beginning to fade. Ovitz's new talent agency, Artists Management Group, riddled with big name defections and failing business interests, is reportedly in trouble, big trouble, and Ovitz is looking to get out from under the shadow.

Joining us now to talk about the past, present and future of Michael Ovitz, Sandy Kenyon, contributing editor for "Parade" magazine.

Thanks for being with us, Sandy.

SANDY KENYON, "PARADE" MAGAZINE: Thanks. Thanks for having me.

COOPER: So AMG, which is Michael Ovitz' company, much ballyhooed a few years ago, in 1988 when it began, has some big name clients Robin Williams, Oliver Stone, but a lot of them are defecting now. What is going on?

KENYON: This is really a stunning fall from grace from the man once called the most powerful in all of Hollywood. He has built his reputation as a friend of talent, and now he has to watch while clients, like Robin Williams, walk out the door.

COOPER: AMG supposed to be a company that sort of -- he wanted to be more than just a talent agent.

KENYON: Absolutely. It's a marriage of -- he's actually reinvented himself as a manager, and then he would produce movies, TV, records and the like, and even sports stars were signed at one point.

COOPER: And it basically hasn't worked out.

Let's track his career a little bit. He started CAA in 1975.

KENYON: And this was remarkable. He took a couple of agents from the William Morris agency. They got room and desks. And the wives served as secretaries. And he built this in 20 years into the dominant agency in the business. He helped boost star salaries into the stratosphere, and he even helped broker the sale of movie studios, Anderson. It was huge.

COOPER: In 1995, in a flurry of publicity, he left CAA to become the president of Disney, the second highest man on the Disney hierarchy.

KENYON: Under Michael Eisner, and when it all went sour just 14 months later, Ovitz said of Eisner, he promised me the world, and he delivered nothing. These were two friends, and their relationship soured permanently, Ovitz leaving with a golden parachute estimated more than $100 million.

COOPER: He said that about Eisner. There's a lot of people who would say the same thing about Ovitz, he promised a lot, he didn't deliver anything. He leaves, as you said, with a reported $100 million package. He uses a lot of that in 1998 to start his AMG company.

KENYON: Absolutely. And this is where it gets interesting. He joins with Rick Yorn his and sister in law Julie Silverman Yorn. Now they represent the likes of new generation of Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Benicio Del Toro. In fact, it was Rick Yorn who helped convince James Cameron to hire DiCaprio for "Titanic." These folks are hot. It's intergenerational. It's the new, it's the old getting together. Ovitz has got a lot of money, and they were going to conquer the world. It didn't happen.

COOPER: Hollywood is a pretty brutal town. You know, shodonfroyd (ph) was basically invented there, you know, enjoying Seeing the failure of others. What's been the reaction in Hollywood to Ovitz's -- what many are saying is the ultimate failure of his career.

KENYON: I spoke to an insider yesterday. Now, this insider, this source is very close to young Hollywood, can get the biggest stars in Hollywood on the phone, knows their people, knows their management. He said, now quoting, that he is "astonished at the level of hatred towards Michael Ovitz.?

COOPER: Why do so many people hate this guy?

KENYON: Well, he has made a lot of very powerful enemies, and as my source says, these enemies are now anxious to see him fail. They are celebrating. Even in a town known for dwelling on other people's misfortune, as Hollywood does, let's be frank, this is an extreme case of people celebrating, and calling each other.

We should also make the point that you know how we're fascinated with movie stars, you and I and the public, well in actual fact, Michael Ovitz fascinates Hollywood.

COOPER: Right, he really does. At his heyday, when he was president of CAA, running CAA, there were all these legends about him, that he was a legendary martial artist, that he was brilliant. I mean, he had very good control over his press coverage.

KENYON: I have to tell you that in the late '80s, I went to the "I Am Paid" designed building that a famous architect had done for CAA. You walked in, there was a Roy Liechtenstein (ph) canvas two stories tall, huge atrium. I encountered Ovitz there, and I thought to myself, in the language of the day that is master of the universe, but in actual fact, it was all downhill from there.

COOPER: Right. That's very interesting. What do you think is going to happen? I mean, a lot of people are saying bad things about him behind his back, but not publicly.

KENYON: Don't count him out. Reinvention is the order of the day in Hollywood, and to show you how powerful Michael Ovitz still is, sources will always talk off the record, even in the times wherever you see this, you're talking about fall from grace in which everyone is whispering. The fact is this a man who fortune still counted in the tens of millions of dollars. His art collection worth at least that much or more.

COOPER: So no one wants to talking about him publicly.

KENYON: Absolutely. So he could be back. And actually, if he takes a humility pill, if he reinvents himself, if he looks for other fields to conquer, he will be back. I think he should come on CNN and explain himself. That would be a good fist step.

COOPER: Well, he's welcome to come on anytime. Thanks a lot, Sandy Kenyon, contributing editor for "Parade" magazine.

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