Photo: Renault-Nissan
When life throws curve balls at you, hire a Hollywood agent to maximize your odds of making the best out of a bad situation.
Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn knows all about bad situations. He had a terrible 2019, what with serious allegations of collusion, breach of trust and financial misconduct potentially spelling a 10+ years prison sentence for him, if found guilty. Luckily for him, he won’t be in Japan when his trial starts this year, having orchestrated a spectacular escape to his home country of Lebanon at the end of 2019.
When you go out with such a bang, dodging bullets while claiming you’re an innocent man caught between a corrupt government and greedy employers trying to make a scapegoat out of you, you have a very compelling story to tell. And Ghosn knows that.
So he’s hired an A-list Hollywood agent to make sure his story makes it to the big or small screen and that he gets paid for it, Bloomberg reports. Sources tell the publication that Michael Ovitz, founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA, which reps both Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, among others) and former Walt Disney Co. president, is now on Ghosn’s payroll as his Hollywood agent.
Apparently, Ovitz is assisting Ghosn “with projects and evaluating proposals he has received,” but for the time being, all discussions are in preliminary stage. If anything, the report confirms there is interest in Ghosn’s story, with streaming services and networks looking for fresh, relevant content.
Ghosn could use the money, too, Bloomberg points out. When he escaped Japan, presumably stuffed in a Yamaha double bass case that was then loaded onto a private jet, he forfeited a $14 million bail. The escape alone probably cost him around $15 million, according to an unnamed security expert. Ghosn’s estimated worth is at $120 million, but even for him, losing close to $30 million in one go must have stung.
When you go out with such a bang, dodging bullets while claiming you’re an innocent man caught between a corrupt government and greedy employers trying to make a scapegoat out of you, you have a very compelling story to tell. And Ghosn knows that.
So he’s hired an A-list Hollywood agent to make sure his story makes it to the big or small screen and that he gets paid for it, Bloomberg reports. Sources tell the publication that Michael Ovitz, founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA, which reps both Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, among others) and former Walt Disney Co. president, is now on Ghosn’s payroll as his Hollywood agent.
Apparently, Ovitz is assisting Ghosn “with projects and evaluating proposals he has received,” but for the time being, all discussions are in preliminary stage. If anything, the report confirms there is interest in Ghosn’s story, with streaming services and networks looking for fresh, relevant content.
Ghosn could use the money, too, Bloomberg points out. When he escaped Japan, presumably stuffed in a Yamaha double bass case that was then loaded onto a private jet, he forfeited a $14 million bail. The escape alone probably cost him around $15 million, according to an unnamed security expert. Ghosn’s estimated worth is at $120 million, but even for him, losing close to $30 million in one go must have stung.
Google News