(2 of 2)
A. The entertainment business is evolving very rapidly. Within 10 years new technologies are going to completely change the way we receive entertainment and information. Video stores will probably go out of business, for example, as pay-per-view becomes widely available. And if soon you'll be able to choose from 500 channels on your television, what are they going to play on those 500 channels? There will be a high-tech box on your television that enables you to access a cornucopia of choices. I want to feed that box.
Q. Movie studios once picked the projects, hired the actors and directors, and - provided the financing; now you often package the talent, generate the projects and find the financing. It is as if you are eliminating the role of the studios, refusing to wait for them to offer your clients projects.
A. I don't want to wait for anyone! This business is in a contraction right now; money is tight, movies cost more, and fewer of them are being made. But as soon as these new technologies are in place, there will be a tremendous new demand for entertainment products. If I operated in the old-fashioned way and simply made deals with my clients at studios, where would my clients be in five years? Or 10 years? I wouldn't be doing a very good job for them.
Q. People say you are a control freak.
A. What's wrong with that? When I get on a plane, I don't want a laid-back pilot. I want a pilot who is a control freak, who is paying attention to every single detail of his job.
Q. Have you become too powerful? Your critics say people fear you. That you can be abusive when crossed.
A. I have been known to use an occasional gerund when it serves to make my point. I am very good at confrontation. I think that is part of my job. Ask my clients if they want a laid-back agent or a control freak.