Ovitz captured the public imagination because he was an old-fashioned schmoozer-agent, the guy who made everyone think he was manipulating everything. He operated on charm and blue smoke. But at Disney–a multibillion-dollar company that markets lunchboxes to the world–this didn’t count for much. No-nonsense executives resented and resisted him. It was yet another reminder that the big entertainment companies now are run by nuts-and-bolts operating executives like Bill Mechanic of Fox, Frank Biondi of Universal, Jonathan Dolgen of Paramount. There’s room for the schmoozers, but they don’t run the joint. When they do, as Peter Guber and Jon Peters did at Sony Pictures, the place caves in. Ovitz is likely to take his bruised image to some venture where relationships and style still prevail. He’s said to be thinking of buying into a sports team.
