CAA (with Michael Ovitz)

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

December 21, 2021

Duration

1h 57m

Channel

Acquired

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Season 9 ends at the beginning — with the man who changed Hollywood forever and wrote the blueprint for A16Z’s upending of Silicon Valley a generation later, Michael Ovitz and his “Dream Factory”, Creative Artists Agency. From Jurassic Park to Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Goodfellas, Rain Man, ER, and even the Coca-Cola polar bears... almost nothing in 80s and 90s pop culture didn’t have CAA’s stamp on it. Speaking of dreams, this episode was totally one for us, and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it!! *Links:*

• Michael’s (truly excellent) book, Who Is Michael Ovitz?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B2HS77M/ *More Acquired:*

• Get email updates https://www.acquired.fm/email and vote on future episodes!
• Join the Slack http://acquired.fm/slack
• Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store https://www.acquired.fm/store!

_Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions._

🎤 SPEAKERS

• David Rosenthal

  host

• Ben Gilbert

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Acquired, featuring David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert, CAA (with Michael Ovitz) explores Michael Ovitz on how CAA reshaped Hollywood’s power structure Michael Ovitz recounts how CAA emerged from a philosophical break with William Morris, then rapidly gained leverage by representing elite talent and selling studios complete “packages” (script, director, stars) rather than individual clients or projects.

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