Quotes by Michael Ovitz

About Michael Ovitz:

Michael S. Ovitz is an American talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as President of the Walt Disney Company from October 1995 to January 1997.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A lot of drive is innate, self-perpetuated, reinforced energy. As a kid, I could always sell anything I could get my hands on - from newspapers to lemonade to 'TV Guide.' I knew how to make a presentation.

Michael Ovitz

I've always made my decisions based on two factors: intellectual analysis and my gut. And when they meet, that's a go from me. That's when I see the goal.

Michael Ovitz

I believe sometimes I make some mistakes. And I don't think they are life-threatening mistakes.

Michael Ovitz

The human condition is not perfect. We are not perfect specimens, any of us. We're not robots.

Michael Ovitz

I'm not one to speak about myself. I like to speak about the people around me.

Michael Ovitz

The Internet is the greatest thing that ever happened to the entertainment industry.

Michael Ovitz

The unknown is always interesting.

Michael Ovitz

When I get on a plane, I don't want a laid-back pilot. I want a pilot who is a control freak, who is paying attention to every single detail of his job.

Michael Ovitz

I'm interested in what's new. I'm interested in change. I'm interested in a different game in life.

Michael Ovitz

When I was at U.C.L.A., I worked my way through school as a tour guide at Universal Studios, and I came in contact with a lot of people in the agency business.

Michael Ovitz

In student government in high school, I learned how to deal with people, and in college I studied Eastern philosophy. I'm also an avid team-sports fan. I think I just blended them all together and came out with a business management philosophy that c...

Michael Ovitz

I must say that in my early years, I was incredibly aggressive. I was working as hard as I could to build a business, to try to dominate a business. And I probably irritated a lot of people.

Michael Ovitz

Hollywood is a small, familial place. Everyone does business with everybody else. The same complications occur in investment banking.

Michael Ovitz

I'm not good at being static. I have to be climbing a mountain.

Michael Ovitz

I have never run a public company. I spent my entire life working for a private company.

Michael Ovitz

My whole life has been about risk and reward.

Michael Ovitz

I learned my first lesson at the Walt Disney Company about not being able to trust my associates.

Michael Ovitz

All of us are probably three people. We're probably the person that we think we are, and we're probably the person that you or somebody else perceives us to be, and... frankly, we're probably somewhere in the middle. And I think that it's important t...

Michael Ovitz

Football is the No. 1 sport in America.

Michael Ovitz

Author Bio

  • NameMichael Ovitz
  • DescriptionAmerican talent agent
  • BornDecember 14, 1946
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionTalent Agent