Monday, December 14, 2009

client meeting

14 Michael Ovitz Quotes to Celebrate His December 14th Birthday

Michael Ovitz is a former talent agent and Hollywood powerhouse for 20 years. Although he was considered ruthless at times, Michael Ovitz became a leading name and a brilliant contributor as head of the Creative Arts Agency from 1975 to 1995. Let's make his December 14th birthday special with these 14 Michael Ovitz quotes.

1. "Until the day I die, I`ll never be able to understand how I spent 25 years with that man and his family, and within 60 days of taking this position, he decides I`m a number of things."

2. "If I didn't know you personally, I'd throw you out of the room."

3. "It`s not about money. The money will flow. It`s about power and influence."

4. "It is important to recognize when something is not working. I hope that my decision to leave will eliminate an unnecessary distraction for a great company."

5. "He did walk behind me. But it wasn`t a shovel he was carrying. It was a knife."

6. "If you're not being sued by someone, then you must be doing something wrong."

7. "I didn't set off a bomb in a shopping center. I didn't take off in a white Bronco. I'm an entrepreneur. The money I lost was mine. My money, my gamble, my mistake. And still they hate me. Everyone."

8. "I'm just going to say what I'm going to say, and let the cards fall where they may."

9. "If I say nothing, I get killed. If I talk, it comes off as sour grapes."

10. "I'm not trying to say I'm a saint, but when I built CAA I played aggressively, sometimes ruthlessly, insensitively, and I hurt people. Sometimes that's what happens when you build a business."

11. "This is a game in our business you have to be terribly unsophisticated not to understand. This is not rocket science."

12. "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."

13. "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."

14. "That package was way too lucrative for the services performed."

So there you go! Mr. Ovitz had many years as a successful talent agent and take charge guy in Hollywood. We hope you enjoy some pearls of wisdom with these 14 Michael Ovitz quotes.

Friday, December 11, 2009

sculpter Claire McArdle






Today I had the pleasure of visiting with a local artist Claire McArdle in her super cool studio/workshop here in Longmont Colorado. A nice wood burning stove blazing in the shop with wonderful creative and inspirational sculpture in various degrees of completion everywhere. Marble, Travertine, Clay and well a little bit of every type stone. I have to write down all the different italian marbles because they were impressive. Here is her Bio straight from the web.

Claire McArdle is an internationally recognized sculptor. She grew up in the Washington DC metro area where she began studying art in high school. Her regular trips to the National museums at a young age exposed her to a wide range of sculpture from around the world. She was particularly inspired by sculpture of the European modern masters, Old Europe and Africa. After earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts she moved to Italy in 1988 for several years to work with the master carvers in Carrara and continues to travel to Italian quarries to rough out her travertine and marble work.

Currently she works between studios on the eastern shore of Maryland and her ranch on the front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Her style has been influenced by classical figures and the soul that speaks within tribal art, but her figures emerge from her own personal mythology and archetypes. Her energy for exploring these mysteries and an insatiable passion for working stone, clay, and bronze, combine to create forms with harmonious balance and an ethereal quality.