Hollywood Trial Of The Century: Ovitz Image Rehab Fails
Both Disney CEO Michael Eisner and former president/erstwhile "Most Powerful Man in Hollywood" Michael Ovitz hoped to come out of the Hollywood Trial of the Century with their reputations intact, if not restored. That didn't exactly work out now, did it? With the trial ending yesterday, we're left with images of their comically dysfunctional relationship, with Eisner undermining his "psychopath" "soulmate" Ovitz at every turn, and Ovitz whispering in his ear, willing to do anything to get back in his good graces. Denying he was jockeying for some image rehab, Ovitz desperately clings to the idea that "the facts" will set him free:
In a statement Wednesday, Ovitz said: "I never really viewed the trial as any type of reputational battle. I simply wanted the real facts to come out — under oath — and speak for themselves. And I believe they did in this case. Now, I'm looking forward to putting this behind me and moving on. There are a lot of exciting things I still intend to do."
As he enters this post-trial period of diminished expectations, Ovitz would probably settle for visiting Disneyland without suffering the indignity of watching children fire water guns into a replica of his head until a balloon pops, or eating out at The Ivy without running a gauntlet of people coughing "douchebag" into their fists.