King of Hollywood

Chapter 378: Chapter 100 Keep Winning

“Think about it, Michael, are you really willing to work with that tyrant? I’m not trying to criticize Eisner, he is indeed a capable and successful businessman, which is undeniable, and Disney wouldn’t be where it is today without him, but he is also someone who takes his own authority very seriously and doesn’t share it with anyone. You left CAA for a better future, but can you see that at Disney?

Yes, we are young, but we have broad prospects! Which company can claim to have grown to such a size in just a few years like we have? Precisely because we are young, we need someone as wise and experienced as you to join us! Unstable foundation? Then let’s make it stable! Insufficient qualifications? Then let’s make them sufficient!

Do you think it’s good enough right now? Where is your ambition? Where is your spirit of adventure? If you think you’re already at the peak, then you’re gravely mistaken! Let me tell you what the peak is, Michael: creating a company, making it successful, and then creating another company to surpass it! That is the achievement a legendary figure should have! You can tell everyone that CAA means nothing, as long as you, Michael Ovitz, are around, there can be countless CAAs!

Of course, surpassing CAA is not an easy task, but besides you, there’s me, I can make anyone famous! When I first entered this circle in the ’90s with just one film company, I was already doing this and I delivered on my promises. Now, I own renowned broadcasting companies like TBS and ABC, is there any reason we can’t do better? The opportunity is right in front of us, why not take a gamble, Michael?”

That was Adrian’s final remark that afternoon, very incendiary and tempting, and with those achievements casting a halo over him, it was very persuasive. Yet, Michael Ovitz did not immediately ‘bow his head’, as he too had experienced significant challenges and was well-versed with client servicing from his early days at CAA, possessing quite an eloquent speech, so he appeared rather indifferent.

However, both Adrian and Claude were aware that the other party was already tempted. To persuade someone, especially a seasoned and successful businessman, it takes more than just eloquence; it takes convincing power, real convincing power, otherwise, no amount of beautiful words could sway them, and they possessed that power. There aren’t many companies capable of creating miracles, like Apple did in its early days or Microsoft did with the surge of Windows 95, but a company like AC Media has managed to obtain such a scale within a few years in the traditional industry for the first time.

Many people know that they had backers and took advantage of the opportunities in ’92 to amass substantial cash, but without capability, they wouldn’t have been able to control such a company, so being tempted was inevitable. Whether he would agree to join was still under consideration; not everyone could foresee the future like Adrian, but Adrian seemed very optimistic.

“He will agree,” Adrian confidently told Claude as they left the golf club.

Years ago, when Adrian was selecting a suitable head for his own agency company, he thought of the former CEO of CAA, Michael immediately due to his prior knowledge of Disney. Over the years, he had collected a lot of information about Ovitz and revived many memories.

In memory, he had only stayed at Disney for 18 months before being ousted by Eisner. Although it’s only been 12 months now, Eisner is facing various challenges within the company due to the unsuccessful acquisition of ABC and is looking to strengthen his power. Ovitz is having a tough time—these pieces of news could not be concealed—so it was likely that he would be ousted in less than six months, which is why Adrian spoke so confidently. After leaving Disney, Ovitz then started another agency, but unfortunately, by then CAA was well-established, and the majority of the market was divided among the top four agencies, and he didn’t achieve much success.