Hi and welcome to the A16Z podcast. I'm Hannah and I'm here today with Michael Ovitz, co-founder of

the Creative Artist Agency and our own Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andresen Horowitz. In this episode,

we start by talking about the founding story of both CAA and A16Z and how exactly both firms

went about redefining a traditional business in two different industries as a new upstart. We talk about the

power equation in Hollywood and the history of the entertainment business from the days of vaudeville

and Jack Warner's and William Foxes to Jurassic Park to what it looks like today and where it's

going. And along the way, Ovitz and Horowitz share the strategies that guided them in building a

culture, negotiation, and more.

Michael has published a new book just out called Who is Michael Ovidz?

Is that like a reference to Kaiser Sosei?

How'd you know?

You're one of the few people that knows who Kaiser Sosei is.

I met Ben in 1999 when he and Mark asked me to go on the board of LoudCloud.

And I told a lot of stories about the entertainment business and about the film. All good.

The print stories, the Rain Man stories.

So I have to say, I wake up and they're talking about starting their own business

and possibly using some of those principles.

And I was in a state of shock that they actually listened to the stories.

CIA was really an impossible thing in that if you looked at the agency business,

it had been around since vaudeville.

And the firms were well established. And if you're a new actress and you're picking an agency,

are you going to go with the one who like rep Betty Davis and Greta Garbo and all the greats?

...