Word: ovitz
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...have been only mildly sociopathic for Grant--or, with a different target, for Howard Stern or Don Imus. But WABC is owned by Capital Cities/ABC, which is owned by Disney, a company sensitive to image befoulers and potential boycotts. After the Brown joke, Jesse Jackson wrote Disney president Michael Ovitz urging Grant's swift dismissal. Ovitz replied that "we have already determined how we will handle the situation." The next day, before air time, Grant was told he was through...
Ohlmeyer, in an interview with TIME, heatedly denied the sexual-harassment charge and placed the blame squarely on Ovitz, whom he accused of fomenting "rumors and innuendo that have no basis in fact." Said Ohlmeyer: "Michael Ovitz is the Antichrist, and you can quote me on that." Ovitz would not comment. Sources close to McDermott confirm she was upset at Ohlmeyer's behavior (though she never threatened to bring formal charges) and say ABC approached her only after Ovitz learned she was unhappy and seeking to leave...
...been small but symbolic. A new E-mail system on ABC computers is decorated with Mickey and Minnie icons, and Disney's annual report prompted snickers by referring to Capital Cities/ABC employees, in traditional Disneyese, as "new cast members." At a corporate retreat in Phoenix, Arizona, Eisner and Ovitz joined in the wholesome fun as a group of ABC execs was dragged off to a bowling alley...
Behind the scenes, Eisner has been a visible and involved boss, paying visits to Capital Cities/ABC newspapers and radio stations and playing host (along with Ovitz) to a breakfast meeting with 50 top ABC News executives, producers and correspondents in New York City to reassure them that Disney will not interfere in the network's journalism. While Eisner has focused on programming, ABC sources say, Ovitz has concentrated more on dealmaking and strategic matters like international business and new technology...
...impact of the two Michaels--Me and Mo, as some Hollywood wags have begun calling them--will be even more apparent when ABC picks its fall schedule later this spring. Those trips to Space Mountain will get old fast, but Mr. Eisner's (and Mr. Ovitz's) Wild Ride is just beginning...