Chapter 785

Michael Ovitz did have a knack for managing an agent. Even though, in Adriaan's memory, the agency he founded after leaving Disneyland eventually fell into disgrace, it was not his personal problem. The late 1990s and early 2000s were not like the 70s, where there were countless opportunities. The market had been divided up, and it was not easy to squeeze a way out with one's own ability. In China's words, it was "God's will, not a sin of war."

Things were different now. With Adriaan and Claude's full support, especially Adriaan's accurate foresight, MCM managed to recruit a large number of rising stars. Ovitz was able to fully display his abilities.

For example, when he was the CEO of CAA, Ovitz was best at package promotion. If a film company wanted to work with its actors and directors, they would have to accept the other people they recommended. Many film companies were dissatisfied with this, and many producers complained that Ovitz increased the cost of filming. But in the end, they had to accept it.

But after coming to MCM, his methods became more flexible. Even though he insisted on package promotion, he was much less coercive. Don't need the scriptwriter? Don't want the lighting technician? No problem, we can talk about it! Even though Ovitz liked to live a luxurious life, he was very practical when it came to work. Even though the company only had more than 100 agents, its influence was already vaguely behind CAA and WMA. Most of the credit was due to Ovitz. So, Adriaan said so much just to knock him down a peg, and not to hold him accountable.

Interests aside, Adriaan could understand Ovitz's feelings. Before this, he was the CEO of Disneyland. Even though he was kicked out by Eisner after only a year, he and his friends had built an agency that was even more influential than WMA. He was considered a powerful man in Hollywood, and deep down, he was very proud.

Even though he had agreed to Adriaan and Claude's invitation, and even though he did want to rebuild his glory, it was inevitable that he would think of taking advantage of his seniority. Moreover, his agency was independent of AC Media, and there was no problem with it legally. This meant that he could have full authority most of the time, so Ovitz did not put them on the same level as he did.

But it just so happened that Adriaan and Claude were not the kind of people who could be evaluated by common sense. AC Media's development speed was far beyond people's imagination. After Universal was acquired, it even surpassed Time Warner and Disneyland, becoming a super media company that was qualified to be on equal footing with News Corporation, Viacom, and Bestaman!

It was inevitable that Ovitz felt a little disappointed. Being the CEO of a well-known agency was certainly impressive, but the real power and influence in the entertainment industry were the heads of these super media companies. Otherwise, he would not have left CAA and gone to Disneyland. Even though his experience at Disneyland made him realize that he was not cut out for this job, he still felt a little resentful when he saw the achievements of Adriaan and Claude.

This was why Adriaan said that the poaching of his agent was a good opportunity. He wanted to use this opportunity to intimidate other agencies that were eyeing MCM, as well as Michael Ovitz.

It was common for agencies to poach each other. Even CAA, which set a lot of benefits and restrictions for its agents, could not avoid it. When Ovitz and a few friends left, several influential agents were poached away. Moreover, after Ovitz came to MCM, he had poached the famous agent Tracy Jacobs from CAA. This was not a big deal.

But the problem was that he had been too careless this time. If he had not been discovered midway, Anderson Keller might have revealed his client list to WMA. It was WMA, William Morris Agency, which was established at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century. Even though it was not as influential as CAA due to various reasons, it was still the largest agency in Hollywood.

The client list was very important to an agency, especially the client list that had been established in detail. If competitors got their hands on the list, it was very likely that they would take targeted measures to pull the client over. Anderson Keller was currently one of the best agents in MCM. If he was secretly poached away, the company would definitely suffer a huge loss. Therefore, they had to retaliate, and it had to be done in a thunderous manner. Otherwise, they would be looked down upon, and everyone would want to challenge them.

Therefore, Ovitz hoped that Adriaan would help. He wanted to use his identity to greet the celebrities under Keller and get them to terminate their contracts with Keller. It had to be said that Ovitz's idea was very feasible. Even though MCM was currently famous for its high-end services, and there were many big-name celebrities under its management, from Tom Hanks to Nicolas Cage, from Julia Roberts to Gwyneth Paltrow, and many other rising stars that appeared in the 1990s, the one that attracted the most attention was still the miracle director, Adrian Kewell. Moreover, the celebrities under MCM more or less knew a little about the relationship between Adriaan and MCM. If he was willing to speak, it would definitely be useful.

That was the truth. No, the truth was even simpler. The most important celebrities under Keller were Jennifer Lopez and Russell Crowe. Adriaan made two phone calls and invited them out for a meeting. Of course, the meeting with Crowe was in a high-class club, and the meeting with Lopez was in bed. Then, they terminated their contracts with Keller in a short period of time, and they also brought along the other actors under Keller's management.

This was not surprising. Adriaan had singlehandedly discovered Crowe and made him receive two Oscar nominations for Best Actor. He was also so rich and powerful. Naturally, Crowe was deeply grateful to him. More importantly, at the end of this month, a movie funded by Universal was about to start shooting. Adriaan had specifically asked Crowe to star in it, and he had personally invited Ridley Scott to direct it.

That's right, it was "Gladiator," the movie that had reignited the development of epic movies. The script had been obtained by Universal a long time ago. When AC Media bought over Universal, they were discussing whether or not to invest in it. When Adriaan found out about it, of course, he agreed. Moreover, he was going to invest alone. DreamWorks, which was supposed to be a joint venture, was also kicked out. At the same time, he went against everyone's wishes and invited Ridley Scott, who had to give up on directing because of the failures of "Giant Waves" and "G.I. Jane" in the past two years, to become a producer with his brother Tom Scott, but he still wanted to direct another movie.

Therefore, Crowe would definitely not reject Adriaan's request, especially when Adriaan had hinted that this movie might very well win him an Academy Award. Who didn't know how good a director's taste was?

It was even simpler for Lopez. Although the album that the record company had tailored for her couldn't compare to Britney and Christina's, it was still well-received among the Latinos in America. Many people in Latin America also liked it. The movie was also developing smoothly. On top of that, Adriaan took out the script for "Manhattan Maid" and planned to cast Ralph Fiennes as the male lead. The smart woman immediately agreed to Adriaan's request and warmly invited him home for a chat. Naturally, Adriaan would be impolite to decline.

The whole matter was resolved so quickly that many people were shocked. Almost as soon as Keller left MCM, the two big stars under his management terminated their contracts with him. The other actors also made the same request in the following days. This instantly made the other management companies wary of MCM. Michael Ovitz was also shocked. On the third day after the discussion, he received a call from Adriaan asking him to prepare new managers for Lopez and Crowe. He thought that Adriaan was joking, but he didn't expect it to be true!

He had originally thought that Adriaan would make the arrangements first, then he would personally communicate with them to recoup his losses. That way, Ovitz would be able to make up for his previous mistake. However, Adriaan only talked to them separately, and they terminated their contracts with Anderson Keller. This showed how much influence they had over celebrities.

Actually, if one thought about it carefully, it would be understandable. Most of the credit for MCM's current development was due to Ovitz, while the other half was due to Adriaan. Most of the actors that he personally signed developed faster than ordinary people. This was also the reason why MCM was famous for its high-end service. Therefore, after this incident, Ovitz became even more cautious in his work.

Adriaan, who had been paying attention from the beginning to the end, was very satisfied with the results. Not only did it stop the other management companies from attacking MCM for the time being, but it also made Ovitz put away his arrogance. Although this method was good, it couldn't be used often. After all, MCM was independent of AC Media. Even if there were no problems in terms of the law, what they did was just skirting the line. He didn't want to be stabbed in the back in this aspect. This was also why Adriaan asked Ovitz back then, "If it's settled this time, what about next time?"

Fortunately, this matter was basically settled according to his idea. Under such circumstances, Ovitz would definitely work hard to manage when he suggested that he extend his management business to the sports industry. Moreover, many times, it was easier to earn money from sports stars, especially black athletes. They didn't know how to save or invest, and they spent money without restraint. It was too easy to earn money from them. Even if Adriaan didn't remember many sports stars, with Ovitz's ability, he should be able to take the lead.

As for that poor Anderson Keller, he had no value without a client. Moreover, if he was terminated by a client right after joining, WMA's evaluation of his ability would be greatly discounted. One could imagine what would happen to him.

Alright, let's skip this topic for now. After acquiring Universal, although AC Media continued to consolidate internally, it never stopped producing. Adriaan would personally take care of many movies and TV series, such as Kate's "Destiny" that was about to be released on Valentine's Day, or "Notting Hill" that Julia was rushing to film in London, etc.

"Very good!" Following the director's voice, a few assistants who were already prepared immediately ran to the pool. When the girl in a leather coat and soaked from head to toe emerged from the water, they went forward and covered her with a blanket.

"She did a good job, didn't she?" Adriaan, who was watching all this, said to James Cameron, who was wearing a baseball cap and had a signature beard.

"Are you referring to her acting skills? Or her movements? Or … are you referring to her figure? "Cameron asked in a mocking tone.

"Both." Adriaan glanced at him, laughed carelessly, and then half-warned, "Steven has already produced the first episode of 'Band of Brothers'. When can you produce the first episode of 'Doomsday Black Angel', Jamie? You know, the investment for 'Band of Brothers' is bigger than 'Doomsday Black Angel'. "

"You also said that the investment for 'Band of Brothers' is bigger than 'Doomsday Black Angel', so they can go to England to film, while we can only build the set in the studio." Cameron shrugged.

"That's not a reason, Jamie. The investment and production efficiency are not necessarily proportional, nor are they necessarily inversely proportional. You have to analyze the specific details first." Adriaan raised his head and looked around. "Your set here is also very large."

The studio was very spacious, with a huge steel frame standing in the middle of the wide pool, looking like a ship anchored in the sea. This was the power of a studio, especially now that CG technology was becoming more and more mature. As long as there was money, it was possible to build an authentic building and scenery in this world.

But Cameron was not satisfied, "What kind of scale is this? If I were the director, such a rough set wouldn't be needed."

Adriaan couldn't help but laugh. This was indeed what Cameron would say.

"Okay, I'm going to go see the female lead." Glancing at the pool, Adriaan patted him on the shoulder and walked over.

The girl who came out of the water with a blanket was holding a cup of hot water and sipping it in order to dispel the chill on her body. January in Los Angeles was relatively cold, especially in a place with enough space and ventilation like a studio. Her appearance didn't change much from before. Her facial features were not fully developed, but the charm of mixed race was beginning to show, and her figure was indeed very good.

"How do you feel, Jessica?" Adriaan greeted.

"Mr. Adriaan?" After Jessica Alba heard the voice, she raised her head and showed a surprised smile.

"Call me Adriaan or Eide — the scene just now was very good, especially when you jumped into the water. It was very agile. I didn't expect you to do this yourself," Adriaan said seriously.

"Thank you." The girl smiled sweetly. "I just want to work hard to do better."

"Very good, this is the mentality of an excellent actress." Adriaan praised, then pointed to her wet hair, "Go to the trailer and dry your hair and change your clothes. Don't get sick, and those wet clothes will be very uncomfortable."

"Okay, I'll go now." Jessica nodded immediately. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she stopped. After hesitating for a while, she walked in front of Adriaan and whispered, "Thank you, Mr. Adriaan."

"You knew?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes, I heard the conversation between Mr. Cameron and the director." Jessica stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. "I really thank you, Mr. Adriaan."

"You don't have to be like this. I just think you have the potential to develop. In fact, everyone has the potential to develop. The difference is whether they work hard or not. You did very well in this regard, Jessica." Adriaan smiled, then reminded the girl before she opened her mouth, "I have said many times, call me Adriaan or Eide."

"Okay, sir … Eide, I will always work hard." Jessica stuck out her tongue cutely again, then walked to the trailer.

After watching her go in, Adriaan turned around and prepared to leave the studio of the "Doomsday Black Angel" crew. He was not too worried about Jessica Alba, as long as she continued to maintain the good beginning. With his current identity and power, as long as she was still working in the entertainment industry, she could not escape from his hands.

Oh yes, in his memory, she seemed to have made a movie related to dance. Although the box office was not good, it perfectly showed her figure. It was a beautiful beginning in her film career. Maybe he could find someone to produce it. As for the script, sometimes he would recall the outline and then give it to the screenwriter. Anyway, the original script was not good, and he did not care whether it could make money or not.

Of course, these things could not be done in one go. Besides, he still needed time to slowly interact with this beautiful mixed-race girl, so it was more important to deal with the matter in front of him. A person who had been waiting calmly for almost a month finally appeared in Adriaan's office.

"Please sit down, Mr. Spears." Adriaan made a gesture to the middle-aged man in front of him.

"Thank you, Mr. Kewell." The man sat down with a smile.

Although he was wearing a decent suit, his hair was combed sleek, and he tried to maintain a calm expression, one could still see his mental state from the slight movement of his throat from time to time, the twitching of his mouth when he entered the office, and the slight tremor in his voice when he smiled.

"Do you want something to drink?" Adriaan continued to ask, and then without waiting for an answer, he pressed the button on the communicator, "Two lattes, Charley, thank you."

Charlize quickly walked in with a cup of coffee. Her decent office lady outfit perfectly displayed her curves, so much so that James Spears couldn't help but stare at her round buttocks. Although he reacted quickly, this action did not escape Adriaan's eyes, which made his smile even more meaningful.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Spears?" Adriaan asked again.

"Ah? Oh, it's like this, Mr. Kewell. I … I am very grateful to you for raising Britney. We love her very much, very much … "Spears calmed himself down and then spoke. At first, he was a little stuttering, but the more he spoke, the smoother he became. He repeatedly emphasized," I love my daughter very much, and I will not let her be hurt. "From time to time, his eyes flashed with excitement and … a little bit of imperceptible greed.

Adriaan's smile had a hint of sarcasm. At the moment when Spears paused, he suddenly asked, "One question, Mr. Spears. What if — it is not in California?"