A Guided Tour of Disney's Horrors
On the stand, Michael Ovitz describes a culture of backstabbing and trap doors
By David J. Jefferson
Newsweek
Nov. 8 issue - When Michael Ovitz was still in high school, he landed his first job in Hollywood as a tour guide at Universal Studios. Carting visitors around in a diesel-fueled "Glamour Tram," Ovitz captivated his audience with behind-the-scenes tales about the films shot at the studio, best known for such horror classics as "Frankenstein" and "Dracula." Last week, as Ovitz wrung maximum suspense and drama out of his testimony in a Delaware business court, it was hard not to imagine him as that young tour guide. Only this time, he was taking his audience on a tour of Disney Studios, a place packed with its own cast of monsters.
Eight years after Ovitz was banished from Disney following a short-lived stint as president, the former superagent finally answered the big question: what the heck happened? Defending himself in a lawsuit by Disney shareholders who objected to his $140 million severance package, Ovitz revealed a chamber of horrors. "They're not particularly sensitive to human beings," Ovitz said. He described a corporate culture of execs in adjoining offices phoning, rather than facing one another, and how he was continually upbraided for infractions like buying "Home Improvement" star Tim Allen a $1,200 Lichtenstein print to keep him from storming off in the midst of a $250 million syndication deal. Disney's legal chief was "walking behind me," Ovitz testified, "with a knife."
Worst of all, Michael Eisner, the friend of 25 years who lured him to the Magic Kingdom, had turned into Mr. Hyde, nixing Ovitz's multimillion-dollar plans for Disney deals with Yahoo, Janet Jackson and others, even telling board members that his No. 2 was a liar and a "psychopath." "I was cut out like a cancer," Ovitz testified. "I guess you could say I got pushed out the sixth-floor window." Out of a $2 million office suite, no less. (For the record, Ovitz says it was Eisner, not himself, who ordered up the pricey digs; Eisner will get his chance to respond when he's called to the stand in the next several days.)
So was Ovitz's performance last week sincere? Or was it all spiel? Attorneys for the shareholders—who seek $200 million in damages from him, Eisner and the Disney board—paint Ovitz as a double-dealer and an ersatz exec who didn't deserve a $140 million parting gift. On cross-examination last week, the plaintiffs started to hammer away at him for drawing $28 million in fees from his former company, Creative Artists Agency, even after joining Disney. Ovitz says Disney knew of the arrangement and it wasn't a conflict. "I have to educate you about the business because you don't understand the business," a testy Ovitz snapped at one point, revealing a touch of the man once so feared and loathed in Hollywood. Stay tuned as the monster mash continues.
On the stand, Michael Ovitz describes a culture of backstabbing and trap doors
By David J. Jefferson
Newsweek
Nov. 8 issue - When Michael Ovitz was still in high school, he landed his first job in Hollywood as a tour guide at Universal Studios. Carting visitors around in a diesel-fueled "Glamour Tram," Ovitz captivated his audience with behind-the-scenes tales about the films shot at the studio, best known for such horror classics as "Frankenstein" and "Dracula." Last week, as Ovitz wrung maximum suspense and drama out of his testimony in a Delaware business court, it was hard not to imagine him as that young tour guide. Only this time, he was taking his audience on a tour of Disney Studios, a place packed with its own cast of monsters.
Eight years after Ovitz was banished from Disney following a short-lived stint as president, the former superagent finally answered the big question: what the heck happened? Defending himself in a lawsuit by Disney shareholders who objected to his $140 million severance package, Ovitz revealed a chamber of horrors. "They're not particularly sensitive to human beings," Ovitz said. He described a corporate culture of execs in adjoining offices phoning, rather than facing one another, and how he was continually upbraided for infractions like buying "Home Improvement" star Tim Allen a $1,200 Lichtenstein print to keep him from storming off in the midst of a $250 million syndication deal. Disney's legal chief was "walking behind me," Ovitz testified, "with a knife."
Worst of all, Michael Eisner, the friend of 25 years who lured him to the Magic Kingdom, had turned into Mr. Hyde, nixing Ovitz's multimillion-dollar plans for Disney deals with Yahoo, Janet Jackson and others, even telling board members that his No. 2 was a liar and a "psychopath." "I was cut out like a cancer," Ovitz testified. "I guess you could say I got pushed out the sixth-floor window." Out of a $2 million office suite, no less. (For the record, Ovitz says it was Eisner, not himself, who ordered up the pricey digs; Eisner will get his chance to respond when he's called to the stand in the next several days.)
So was Ovitz's performance last week sincere? Or was it all spiel? Attorneys for the shareholders—who seek $200 million in damages from him, Eisner and the Disney board—paint Ovitz as a double-dealer and an ersatz exec who didn't deserve a $140 million parting gift. On cross-examination last week, the plaintiffs started to hammer away at him for drawing $28 million in fees from his former company, Creative Artists Agency, even after joining Disney. Ovitz says Disney knew of the arrangement and it wasn't a conflict. "I have to educate you about the business because you don't understand the business," a testy Ovitz snapped at one point, revealing a touch of the man once so feared and loathed in Hollywood. Stay tuned as the monster mash continues.