Warner Bros. made Steven Seagal a millionaire, but they hated Above the Law

If you watched and enjoyed the early films in the career of action hero Steven Seagal, you have talent agent Michael Ovitz for thank for them – and if you didn’t enjoy them, you have Ovitz to blame for them. Ovitz was the man who discovered Seagal and set up his earliest film deals, making him a millionaire… and this is one of the subjects covered in his book, Who Is Michael Ovitz?

Over a few pages of the 320 that make up Who Is Michael Ovitz?, Ovitz writes about being impressed by Seagal’s moves and size during an aikido demonstration. Seagal wanted to get into acting, and Ovitz knew that “a guy with the right physical attributes didn’t need acting chops or a great script” to make it in the entertainment industry. Since he could see Seagal becoming a new action megastar, Ovitz pitched him to Warner Bros. as a potential replacement for their aging hero Clint Eastwood. He had Seagal assemble a demonstration for WB president Terry Semel, telling Seagal to put on a show that would deliver “blood and shock.”

Here’s how it went: (Steven Seagal) showed up with four black-belt protégés. He strode to the center of the mat, pricked his thumb with a butcher’s knife, showed his audience the blood, and wiped it on his face. Then he shouted something in Japanese and all four guys ran at him full tilt with knives. Steven slipped aside and then picked them off one by one, sending each one flying, and flipping the last guy high into the air. There was blood all over the mat. Steven bowed and left without a word.

With that demonstration, Seagal and Ovitz got the action movie Above the Law greenlit at Warner Bros. with a budget of $8 million. An action fan, Ovitz was impressed by the film and knew Seagal was about to become a star – but the studio’s CEO, Bob Daly, was not a fan of martial arts movies. He thought Above the Law was terrible and that Ovitz had screwed him over. Daly was so upset, Ovitz offered to buy the movie from him with an $8 million cashier’s check, knowing he’d quickly be able to pass the movie over to 20th Century Fox. Ovitz and Daly had a handshake deal that Warner Bros. was going to selling Above the Law to the agent’s company Creative Artists Agency… but then Ovitz and Daly sat in on a preview screening that inspired the audience to give the film a standing ovation. Above the Law remained a Warner Bros. release.

Ovitz writes, While Above the Law did just okay at the box office, the videocassette went through the roof. Steven Seagal made a series of movies that together grossed nearly $300 million, and he was by far Warner Bros.’ most profitable star in the early nineties. He got $150,000 for Above the Law and he was thrilled. We got him $3 million for Hard to Kill, and $40 million for the next three movies. Including the back end, CAA made at least $10 million off him. Though Steven was growing fleshier by the release, I thought he could go on for years.

Steven Seagal’s film career went downhill rather quickly, but his early movies still hold up as some really cool action flicks. Are you glad that Michael Ovitz discovered him and got his acting career rolling? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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