36.Ovitz/LK1st/mark2nd

No. 36

Ovitz Launches Talent Agency

He’s baaack.

Following an ill-fated stint as president of Walt Disney Co., Michael Ovitz is returning to a job that he knows well: overseeing the careers of movie stars.

The former head of Creative Artists Agency, who was once considered the most powerful agent in Hollywood, Ovitz has launched a new company, Beverly Hills-based Artists Management Group. It employs some of the hottest young managers in the business, including Rick Yorn, who represents Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. The goal is to expand on the boundaries of the talent business by incorporating advertising, corporate consulting and the new breed of business managers who are fast becoming the power players in Hollywood.

Ovitz’s return leaves a sour taste in the mouths of some in the entertainment industry who consider him overbearing and egomaniacal (as opposed to everyone else in Hollywood). Nonetheless, the move is consistent with the man who managed to leave a troubled tenure at Disney with a $100 million severance package and who is now lobbying for a football franchise in L.A. Just like his former clients, Ovitz likes to stay in the picture.

— Nola L. Sarkisian