"What are you smiling at, crazy man?" I asked.
"You," he said, "because I can see that you are afraid of what's happening to me. But I'm not afraid, so why should you be? It's just another journey."
I thought about this again and again. It bothered me. Finally, one night, I sat down with a glass of wine and sort of interrogated myself. "What are you scared of?" I asked. "It's the natural progression, part of the journey. Besides, you can't get out of it. No matter how much you worry, it is going to happen. So why not just face it like you've tried to face everything else?"
The next morning, I went out and bought a cemetery plot. I have come to terms, made peace. Not because of religion, or because of anything I've been told, but because I've lost friends and I've lost family. Maybe this is what happens if you live a long life. Maybe it's the gift of survival. When more of the people who really mattered are gone than remain, the balance tilts to the next world. Your parents go, your friends go, and you realize you will go, too, and it's okay. Death makes the rope taut-without it, we would have no stories, no meaning.
I do not want to leave. I have a nice house and a nice pool and it's a beautiful day and my cellar is filled with wine and my humidor is filled with cigars. I don't want to go anywhere. But when God calls, I will go, and I won't be crying.
Oceans
Hollywood has changed. There was a golden age and an age of rebellion, and we are now in an age of post-glamour. The stars are faded, the pictures are abbreviated, and the screens are small.
Well, that's what some people tell you-that Hollywood was never the same after the old system was broken-but don't believe it. I have seen era give way to era, can compare epoch to epoch. The stars now are exactly the same as the stars then: The hot spots and clubs have changed, the styles and fashions, but the underlying motivations, the human drives, which are to be discovered and lauded and respected, never change.
Look at the young stars. They go into crazy clubs, get whacked up and whatever, but when the Macombo and Ciro's and Romanoff's were open in the forties and fifties, it was no different. The booze was flowing, Desi Arnaz was singing "Babaloo," and Joan Crawford was dancing on the tables. The media is what changed. The amount of attention, the size of the lens. In the old days, the problem could always be taken care of. The accident was followed by the phone call and the stars were back on the set in the morning. Nowadays, everything is shown on live TV.
Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, which together grossed over a billion dollars, have been a capstone on my career. I did not produce the 1960 original but was around when it was made and had long wanted to do a remake; it was the perfect vehicle for young Hollywood, a way to put a handful of actors in a frame built for the original Rat Pack-to show that, though times have changed, there are still those who can shed Sinatra-size wattage. Ocean's Eleven screamed to be back on the marquee.
In 1998, I sent the script to Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney, who had a production deal with Warner's. We met at the Smoke House restaurant for one of those legendary meals, after which you know things will be more fun. These guys made the whole thing work. The feat of a project like this is casting, getting huge stars, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Elliott Gould, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle to appear and mesh on the same set. Soderbergh and Clooney had everything to do with pulling this off. They contacted the actors and explained the beauty of the project-this is as close as you can get to old Sinatra days. It was important that Clooney made the calls because he got people to take less money and less back end because it was an ensemble piece. When we sent the script to Julia Roberts we attached a twenty-dollar-bill and a note that said, "We know you get twenty for a movie, but you will have to work for a little less on this one."
We had a great time making Ocean's. For the actors, this joy was often expressed in pranks, most of them directed at me. There was the time that, on a long flight back from Europe, Brad and George, knowing that I am a big vodka drinker, challenged me to a contest. I said, "Look, you're making a mistake. You'll end up with your luggage under your seat." They persisted, so we went shot for shot. I passed out after fifteen. The boys then took the opportunity to fill my clothes, pockets, socks, and shoes with M &M's, thousands of them. Candy was coming out of my ears for weeks. I found out later that, as I had been downing Stolichnaya, they had been drinking water. Nice friends. Then there was the time that George Clooney, after a late night, had a huge breakfast delivered to my room at 5:00 A.M. I got so angry, but the room-service operator kept insisting that I had placed the order myself. When I finally asked where the call had come from, she said, "Matt Damon's room, but it was you calling, Mr. Weintraub."
George Clooney and all those guys can do spot-on Jerry Weintraub imitations.
All that fun we had making Ocean's is captured in the film. You can feel it. It's on the screen. When the movie opened in the summer of 2001, it was a smash, the biggest hit of my career. More important, it started my friendship with a group of actors, Pitt, Clooney, Damon, whom I've come to regard as family. These men are just as important to me as Sinatra and the Colonel were. I travel with them, sit with them, listen to them, love them. They are like my children. I learn from them, and I hope they learn from me, and have fun-developing true friendships, later in life, well, it's one of the great things that can happen to a person. It's like a third act when the third act works. It's a blessing. (I should also mention Bruce Willis here. He did not star in these movies, but he is a feature player in my life, a great artist and friend, another one of Jerry's kids.)
Life is strange. I used to be a kid, sitting at the feet of giants, hanging out with the last of the old-timers. Now, all of a sudden, I am the old-timer, the alter cocker who's been around forever, has known everyone and seen everything. When I look back, I see key moments. Because I did not want to go into the jewelry business. Because I would not wear tights. Because I did not want to return the messages on the call sheet. I see patterns, too. Whenever I felt the urge to obfuscate, as when Lew Wasserman asked, "Were you on the WATS line last night?" I told the truth instead. I asked if I did not know. I listened when someone else was talking. I sold with joy, so my products were fun to buy. Most important, I was never afraid to fail, which meant I was never afraid to try. I was never afraid to look silly, which meant I was never threatened by a new idea. I see the road ahead, too, a stretch that bends into the undergrowth. I do not know what will happen there, but I do know, whatever it is, I will rush to meet it with joy. This is, after all, a Jerry Weintraub Production.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If there were true justice in the world, I would be saying thank you every day, from the moment I get up till the moment I lie down-that's how lucky I've been, how many great people I've known, how much goodness I've experienced. In place of that-I would like to say thanks for several years, but I have dinner reservations-I have listed some of the people who have meant the most to me:
Key Friends and Players, People So Unusual They Fit
in No Category or Box; I Was Lucky to Walk the Earth
at the Same Time as All of Them
Bryan Lourd: He's a friend and confidant. There has never been another agent like him. He is one of a kind, and truly important in my life and in the lives of Hollywood 's biggest stars.
Bernie Yuman: We talk every day, and it's the part of the day I look forward to most. There is, in fact, not a moment when I am confused about who Bernie is-my friend, one of the best, and a man who I know loves me, and who knows I love him, dearly.
Mike Meldman: I was never interested in development until I visited Mike's golf courses-he builds the best in the world. He's a friend who makes it fun, and is the reason I am in the real estate business.
Steve Roth: This kid, this friend, this talented agent and businessman, lives around the corner, which keeps my life interesting. I want to thank him for use of his lawn-he knows what I mean.
Gerald Parsky: He saw me through the toughest time in my
career, and got me away not just whole, but with a huge settlement. Thank you!
Paul Bloch: I have worked with him and admired him for more years than can be counted… He handles all the press and PR that I get credit for. He is one of the great ones.
Steven Soderbergh: I know he's in the book, on one of those pages where I recount some adventure, but he's been so important in my life I wanted to mention him again. And there-I just did.
Diane Sawyer: If I owned a TV station, this is who I would hire first. She is what owners in the sports world call a franchise player, an absolutely stellar talent.
Ken Ziffren: My lawyer, my confidant, my friend. Thanks for keeping me out of jail (that's a joke).
Harvey Gettleson: He can read a deal like Gretzky reads the ice: Thanks for your guidance, expertise, and friendship.
George Schlatter: George produced some of the most important shows and television events ever, many with me. I admired him long before we met. I appreciate everything he's done.
Leonard Goldberg: We had a film company together for a time, but imagine what would have happened if we started together when we were kids. We would have made billions!
Rich Cohen: Without him, no book. We had lots of fun, and will have lots more. Thank you.
Tommy Armour, who has been like a son to me. I love him. Some of my best times in life are on the golf course with him.
Jonathan Karp, Cary Goldstein, and the team at Twelve: For helping me share my journey with the world.
Jessica Goodman, Dan Fellman, and the rest of the team at Warner Bros., and of course Kim Pinkstaff, who help me get it done.
Diana Jenkins: When I met Diana she was in her thirties, very young and beautiful, and still, I felt as if I was meeting Auntie Mame. She is wonderful. I hope I know her forever.
Lisa G.: You know who you are, and you know how much I love you.
Of course I want to thank my brother, Melvyn; his wife, Linda; and their family: Abby, Matt, Sofia, Richard, Meredith, and Jack. My children: Michael and his wife, Maria; Julie; Jamie and her husband, Jacoby; and Jody. My grandchildren, all of whom have names that come right out of the Bible, just like they do: Sarah, Rachel, Joseph, and Ari. My nieces, Keira and Kyla, and their parents, Mitchell and Donna. I love you all, and I am proud of you. Every generation bigger and stronger than the last, that's what I say.
Actors I Have Worked With
Casey Affleck
Karen Allen
Dan Aykroyd
Kevin Bacon
Ellen Barkin
Kim Basinger
Ned Beatty
Ralph Bellamy
Joey Bishop
Karen Black
Ronee Blakley
Jim Broadbent
George Burns
James Caan
Scott Caan
Sid Caesar
Mickey Callan
Keith Carradine
Vincent Cassell
Jackie Chan
Kyle Chandler
Geraldine Chaplin
Chevy Chase
Don Cheadle
Michael Chiklis
Julie Christie
George Clooney
Robbie Coltrane
Sean Connery
Tom Courtenay
Tom Cruise
Timothy Daly
Matt Damon
Beverly D'Angelo
Tony Danza
John Denver
Michael Douglas
Shelley Duvall
Bob Einstein
Ethan Embry
Peter Falk
Ralph Fiennes
Albert Finney
Josh Flitter
Andy Garcia
Teri Garr
Henry Gibson
Isabel Glasser
Scott Glenn
Jeff Goldblum
Elliott Gould
Steve Guttenberg
Gene Hackman
Thomas Hulce
Eddie Izzard
Eddie Jemison
Martin Kove
Shelley Long
Jon Lovitz
Bernie Mac
Ralph Macchio
Lee Majors
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
Michael Murphy
Craig T. Nelson
Wayne Newton
Marisol Nichols
Al Pacino
Brad Pitt
Donald Pleasence
Shaobo Qin
Randy Quaid
Carl Reiner
Paul Reiser
Molly Ringwald
Emma Roberts
Eric Roberts
Julia Roberts
Mickey Rourke
Jaden Smith
Elisabeth Shue
Henry Silva
Paul Sorvino
Sylvester Stallone
Rod Steiger
Daniel Stern
Sharon Stone
George Strait
Barbra Streisand
Hilary Swank
Richard Thomas
Uma Thurman
Lily Tomlin
Susan Tyrell
Lesley Ann Warren
Bruce Willis
Oprah Winfrey
James Woods
Joanne Woodward
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Clients and People I Promoted in the Management
and Music Years
Paul Anka
Charles Aznavour
Shelley Berman
Joey Bishop
Pat Boone
Jackson Browne
Jimmy Buffett
George Burns
Harry Chapin
Eric Clapton
Joe Cocker
Alice Cooper
Charlie Daniels
Tony Danza
John Davidson
Mac Davis
John Denver
Neil Diamond
Bob Dylan
Dan Fogelberg
Peter Frampton
Connie Francis
Kinky Friedman
Jerry Garcia
Bobby Goldsboro
Dorothy Hamill
Uriah Heep
Florence Henderson
Don Imus
Waylon Jennings
Elton John
Shari Lewis & Lambchop
Gordon Lightfoot
Ed McMahon
Jimmy McNichols
Lee Majors
Barry Manilow
Bob Marley
Ian Matthews
Curtis Mayfield
Roger Miller
Joni Mitchell
Jane Morgan
Muppets
Michael Murphy
Wayne Newton
Ted Nugent
Robert Palmer
Tom Paxton
Robert Plant
Elvis Presley
Richard Pryor
Phil Ramone
Kenny Rogers
Mort Sahl
Boz Scaggs
Bob Seger
Frank Sinatra
Phoebe Snow
Rod Stewart
Steven Stills
Mary Travers
Frankie Valli
Sylvie Vartan
Joe Walsh
Barry White
Paul Williams
Edgar Winter
Chuck Woolery
Neil Young
Frank Zappa
Movies I Produced
1975 Nashville
1977 September 30, 1955
1977 Oh, God!
1980 Cruising
1981 All Night Long
1982 Diner
1984 The Karate Kid
1986 The Karate Kid, Part II
1987 Happy New Year
1988 My Stepmother Is an Alien
1989 The Karate Kid, Part III
1992 Pure Country
1994 The Specialist
1994 The Next Karate Kid
1997 Vegas Vacation
&n
bsp; 1998 The Avengers
1998 Soldier
2001 Ocean's Eleven
2004 Ocean's Twelve
2007 Ocean's Thirteen
2007 Nancy Drew
2010 The Karate Kid
Movies I Acted In
1993 The Firm, as Sonny Capps
1997 Vegas Vacation, as Jilly
2001 Ocean's Eleven, as High Roller
2002 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as Larry Goldberg
2004 Full Frontal, as Jerry
2004 Ocean's Twelve, as American Businessman
2007 Ocean's Thirteen, as Denny Shields
Directors and Writers I've Worked With
Robert Altman
Paul W.S. Anderson
Paul Attanasio
John G. Avildsen
Richard Benjamin
James Bridges
Christopher Cain
Jeremiah S. Chechik
George Clooney
Avery Corman
Andrew Fleming
William Friedkin
Larry Gelbart
Ted Griffin
Robert Mark Kamen
Stephen Kessler
Brian Koppelman
Alex Kurtzman
Richard LaGravenese
David Levien
Barry Levinson
Luis Llosa
Doug McGrath
Don MacPherson
Aline Brosh McKenna
George Nolfi
Robert Orci
David Webb Peoples
Sydney Pollack
Billy Ray
Carl Reiner
Gary Ross
Michael Soccio
Steven Soderbergh
Stephen Sommers
Joan Tewkesbury
Harald Zwart
CURRICULUM VITAE, OR ATTEMPT AT SOME SUCH
Bands and Groups I Promoted
Aerosmith
The Allman Brothers
The Association
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Average White Band
Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO)
Bad Company
The Beach Boys
The Bee Gees
Blue Oyster Cult
The Carpenters
Chicago
The Commodores
The Doobie Brothers
The Eagles
Earth, Wind & Fire
Foreigner
The Four Seasons
Grand Funk Railroad
The Grateful Dead
Guess Who
Hall & Oates