Who Is Michael Ovitz?

by Michael Ovitz

you to Penny.” We pioneered the start-date gift—the $500 “survival kit” food basket that would arrive in an actor’s dressing room, on some remote set in Malta or New Zealand, the first day of shooting. We gave them to nonclients, too, working the theory that a nonclient is just a future client who hasn’t realized it yet. A typical memo from my right arm, Susan Miller, covering a three-week period of birthday presents, noted that I had given (among many other gifts) “Dustin an E-Tak, Armyan Bernstein a CITY OF NETS book, Walter Yetnikoff AKG headphones, Robert De Niro a FUTURISMO book, large MATISSE book, and several CDS”—his father was a painter—“Robert Redford a Malcolm Morley print, Terry and Jane Semel some Abrams art books, Sean Connery AKG headphones, Michael Jackson a personalized robe & Hollywood Musicals book.”