Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency

by James Andrew Miller

Overview

“Magisterial. ... A must read for anyone who wants to work in Hollywood or just know how Hollywood works.”
   — The Hollywood Reporter

A New York Times bestseller, now updated with an afterword and exclusive new material

From the #1 bestselling author behind acclaimed oral histories of Saturday Night Live and ESPN comes "the most hotly anticipated book [in decades]" (Variety): James Andrew Miller's irresistible insider chronicle of the modern entertainment industry, told through the epic story of Creative Artists Agency (CAA)—the ultimate power player that has represented the world's biggest stars and shaped the landscape of film, television, comedy, music, and sports.

Started in 1975, when five bright and brash upstarts left creaky William Morris to form their own innovative talent agency, CAA would come to revolutionize Hollywood, representing everyone from Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, and Steven Spielberg to Jennifer Lawrence, J.J. Abrams, Will Smith, and Brad Pitt. Over the next decades its tentacles would spread aggressively into sports, advertising, and digital media. Powerhouse is the fascinating, no-holds-barred saga of that ascent. Drawing on unprecedented and exclusive access to the men and women who built and battled with CAA—including co-founders Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer and rivals like Ari Emanuel of William Morris Endeavor—as well as the stars themselves, Miller spins a unique and unforgettable tale of brilliance, ambition, betrayal, and outrageous success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062441393
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	768
Sales rank:	368,412
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

JAMES ANDREW MILLER is an award-winning journalist and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN; Live from New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests, which spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list; and Running in Place: Inside the Senate, also a bestseller. He has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and many other publications. He is a graduate of Occidental College, Oxford University, and Harvard Business School, all with honors.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Introduction xix

Act 1 1

1 Rebels: 1974-1979 3

2 New York-London-Rome: 1980-1985 85

3 Gyokai wo Shihaisuru: 1986-1988 187

4 "Katy, Bar the Door!": 1989-1994 249

Act 2 403

5 The Prince of Denmark: January 1, 1995-August 15, 1995 405

6 Partial Sid: August 16, 1995-2001 463

7 Bar Hopping: 2002-2009 547

Act 3 609

8 Cool Summers: 2010-2016 611

Afterword 701

Acknowledgments 707

Index 711

Editorial Reviews

Powerhouse delivers a chronicle of vaunting ambition, immense wealth and power, and personal betrayal all the more astonishing in a business ostensibly built on loyalty and trust… Even more impressive is Miller’s ability to get nearly everyone involved not only to talk but also go on the record.” — New York Times Book Review

“Magisterial. ... One of the two most important books about the business of entertainment to come out in 2016. ... A must read for anyone who wants to work in Hollywood or just know how Hollywood works.” — The Hollywood Reporter

“It’s dishy. It’s like People Magazine meets ‘The Godfather.’ It’s like nothing else. I ate it up.” — New York Post

“Eminently readable and moves at a fast pace thanks to dozens of fascinating celebrity stories.” — Mashable

“The year’s hottest Hollywood tell-all.” — New York Daily News

“Probably the most hotly anticipated book since Julia Phillips’s tell-all YOU’LL NEVER EAT LUNCH IN THIS TOWN AGAIN dropped more than two decades ago.” — Variety

“[F]un to read both for the boldface names - including agency founders Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer, and clients like Magic Johnson and Ali MacGraw - and for a glimpse into a largely unseen world of cultural influencers.” — The National Book Review

From the Publisher

Probably the most hotly anticipated book since Julia Phillips’s tell-all YOU’LL NEVER EAT LUNCH IN THIS TOWN AGAIN dropped more than two decades ago.

Variety

The year’s hottest Hollywood tell-all.

New York Daily News

It’s dishy. It’s like People Magazine meets ‘The Godfather.’ It’s like nothing else. I ate it up.

New York Post

[F]un to read both for the boldface names - including agency founders Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer, and clients like Magic Johnson and Ali MacGraw - and for a glimpse into a largely unseen world of cultural influencers.

The National Book Review

Eminently readable and moves at a fast pace thanks to dozens of fascinating celebrity stories.

Mashable

Powerhouse delivers a chronicle of vaunting ambition, immense wealth and power, and personal betrayal all the more astonishing in a business ostensibly built on loyalty and trust… Even more impressive is Miller’s ability to get nearly everyone involved not only to talk but also go on the record.

New York Times Book Review

Magisterial. ... One of the two most important books about the business of entertainment to come out in 2016. ... A must read for anyone who wants to work in Hollywood or just know how Hollywood works.

The Hollywood Reporter

The year’s hottest Hollywood tell-all.

New York Daily News

It’s dishy. It’s like People Magazine meets ‘The Godfather.’ It’s like nothing else. I ate it up.

New York Post

Praise for THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN: “A revelation: what goes onto the TV screen turns out to be just the glossy tip of an iceberg of ugly backstage drama.

Time

The CAA talent agency was founded in 1975 by five employees of the highly successful but staid William Morris office. This is the story of CAA’s ascent and growing dominance. Miller himself provides the introductory material; he lacks any flair for engaging narration. Kirby Heyborne, principal narrator, offers a youthful energy that is fresh and intimate. Ann Richardson does her best to deliver the women’s quotations—with middling clarity. The biggest problem is the content itself, which fails to enliven this inside look at the entertainment industry’s negotiation and packaging, loyalties and betrayals because it’s all presented without context, organization, or thematic introduction. In addition, attributions sometimes come after quotations, confusing the listener. This may be an audiobook to skip. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile