Company Town : In the Name of the Son : John Davis Is Working to Make His Own Mark

Sometimes in Hollywood, the son also rises.

Having carved out a role in the past 18 months as one of Hollywood’s most active movie producers, John Davis, son of billionaire Marvin Davis, this week becomes the latest entertainment figure to plunge into the much-touted interactive business.

Davis and his partners are launching Catapult Entertainment Inc., which by November is expected to begin selling a modem linking video game players by telephone lines. The project--backed by Davis, his father and video rental company Blockbuster Entertainment Corp.--is the first for the newly formed Davis Video Enterprises, and it is a reflection of Davis’ belief that “interactive is coming, and not necessarily through cable.”

The technology, to be unveiled at this week’s Digital World convention in Los Angeles, would allow people separated by thousands of miles to use existing video systems to play games such as “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter” as easily as people communicate by computer. Such a development could spur nationwide video game tournaments. Some experts say that further down the line, the technology could lead to hugely lucrative developments, such as Las Vegas-style gaming at home.

For Davis, the deal is another step in building an entertainment business and a personal image distinct from those of his father, whom Forbes estimates as one of America’s wealthiest individuals, with a net worth of about $1.7 billion.

The younger Davis, 39, also owns three small television stations. But the core of his operation is Davis Entertainment, a movie production company that lately has been making theatrical and TV movies at a prolific pace--some 16 films in 18 months either finished, started or about to start. Davis says he has been enamored with the industry since his youth, when he watched films at a Colorado theater his father owned.

Last year, two Davis Entertainment pictures were among the top-grossing films: Paramount’s “The Firm,” which Davis made with producer Scott Rudin and director Sydney Pollack, and “Grumpy Old Men,” which was a hit for Warner Bros.

Despite his success, some colleagues find it hard to delineate Davis’ skills from the advantage he carries because of his family name. One high-placed agent calls Davis “an honest, nice guy” but one who has benefited from “luck, timing and cash.”

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Another calls him “an enigma,” and still others say they find it difficult to judge how much of a role Davis has in making films because he sometimes teams up with very hands-on producers and directors.

However, others in the industry who know him say he has sometimes been unfairly stereotyped as little more than a rich kid enamored with Hollywood.

“The reality is that John, because of his family, had a certain entree, but I don’t think he’s used any of his family’s money to generate his own projects or his own success. That talk is jealous sniping as opposed to reflecting reality,” said Jeremy Zimmer of United Talent Agency.

Added Tom Pollock, head of MCA’s film unit: “There are a lot of sons and daughters of rich people in this business, most of whom have not had anywhere near the success of John.”

Davis says that about the only advantage he had in Hollywood was getting in the door in the early 1980s, when his father owned 20th Century Fox. Since then, he said, his family connections have not been an issue.

“I don’t believe I have a leg up,” he said. “One, my father is not financing any of my movies, and two, studios are financing all my scripts.”

Contrary to the perceptions of some in Hollywood, Davis did not grow up on a back lot but rather in Denver, where his father was busy building his fortune in oil. Davis earned a master’s in business administration at Harvard, where he worked on such unglamorous assignments as improving sales at Dunkin’ Donuts. His suggestion: drive-through windows.

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Still, Davis did not exactly have to mail resumes after getting his MBA, because his father had by this time bought Fox. The younger Davis got to know the business working around the studio, and he says he learned about making movies from such future big-name producers as Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver, who were working there at the time.

Davis launched his company from a bungalow on the Fox lot, which he acquired after his father sold the studio to News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch in 1986. Among the friends he made in the early days was Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose 1987 hit “Predator” Davis produced.

Davis’ company is now based in a Century City high-rise one floor away from his father’s. Davis continues to pitch deals to his father--notably his failed but highly profitable takeover attempt for Northwest Airlines in 1989.

The producing skill Davis gets the most credit for is finding good stories.

“He has an amazing ability to find good material. That’s the first, second and third job of a movie producer,” Gordon said.

Davis, for example, discovered “The Firm” in 1990 before author John Grisham had even secured a publishing deal. The Paramount film, which starred Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman, grossed more than $150 million domestically. Davis and Imagine Entertainment--the company run by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer--also nabbed Grisham’s current bestseller, “The Chamber,” which Universal bought for a record $3.75 million to make into a film. The sale was based on just a one-page outline at the time.

As for his specific duties as a producer, Davis acknowledges that he isn’t always on sets, but he points out that neither are a lot of other producers.

“When you make 11 movies a year, you’re not going to be on the set all the time, because it’s physically impossible,” he said. “I like to hire directors I really trust.”

Davis does not discuss the finances of his company, but he is said to now be among the small number of producers who earn a $1-million producing fee per film along with a percentage of the gross. Davis’ other upcoming projects include a sequel to “Grumpy Old Men” and a live-action version of “Richie Rich” for Warner Bros., the big-budget “Waterworld” with Kevin Costner for Universal, and a film based on the ‘60s TV series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” for Turner Pictures.

“His experience level has come to a point where he has a tremendous amount of confidence. He knows he can get these movies done, and done well,” Creative Artists Agency’s Jack Rapke said. “It’s his time, if you will.”

Davis’ Projects

The following are films and television projects produced by John Davis’ Davis Entertaiment.

FILMS

Domestic Box Office Predator (1987) $54,400,000 Predator II (1991) 28,300,000 Storyville $352,511 The Firm 151,000,000 (produced with Scott Rudin) Grumpy Old Men 70,000,000 Fortress 6,500,000 Thing Called Love 872,417 Gunmen 3,000,000

Shooting this year or in development:

Waterworld Richie Rich The Grass Harp Kirina

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Chamber (with Imagine Entertainment) Grumpy Old Men II

TELEVISION

Network The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story NBC This Can’t Be Love CBS Irrresistible Force CBS New Eden USA