The Secrets of Hollywood Agency Mailrooms

Michael Ovitz began his career in the William Morris Agency mailroom, paying his entertainment industry dues like many others before him.  Within a year he was promoted, becoming a highly successful television agent before founding Creative Artists Agency (CAA). 

This 'pay your dues' ethos still persists in Hollywood; the most recent class captured in photographs and this article by The Hollywood Reporter.  

The culture of professionalism created by Ovitz and his partners to extend throughout the company continues to this day:  

"The agency... stil requires strict attention to detail, as well as the traditional suit and tie (or business attire for women, who now join the mailroom in almost equal numbers). And the program is open-ended, meaning you get out when you're good enough.  The competition is so stiff that trainees must work as an assistant for a year before even starting the program."

Read the entire article to discover the next generation of Hollywood players.

Michael Ovitz Owned Building Sold to Showbiz Law Firm

Former CAA chairman Michael Ovitz, former CAA CFO Bob Goldman, and other partners have sold the office at 9800 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills to Entertainment law firm Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor Llp, as reported in this The Hollywood Reporter article.

The 40,000-square-foot building, which the law firm purchased for roughly $13.5 million in December 2010, is adjacent to the former CAA headquarters and was used by the agency as an annex when it outgrew its main building next door. 

CAA moved from its I.M. Pei-designed 9830 Wilshire Blvd. headquarters to new Century City offices in 2007. Ovitz, Goldman and others still own the 9830 building. It is now occupied by Sony Music Entertainment, which signed a 10-year lease at the property in 2008.

Liner Grode Stein, which has a client roster that includes Summit Entertainment, Tokyo Broadcasting System and filmmaker Michael Moore, will move into its new building in March after remodeling. The 60-lawyer firm will relocate from its current headquarters at 1100 Glendon Ave. in Westwood.

Ovitz and partners have sold two properties in Beverly Hills in less than a year. In April, THR reported that Ovitz, Goldman and real estate developer Bill McGregor agreed to sell the Beverly Hills headquarters of Live Nation to New York-based commercial real estate investment firm Tishman Speyer Properties.

The $20 million deal for the  57,111-square-foot building at 9348 Civic Center Drive closed in September.

Read the full article in THR here.