bookwhichwasreleased lastyear,
TheDealmaker’s
TenCommandments:TenEssentialTools forBusiness
Forged in theTrenchesofHollywood
.
“Thebig idea is thatsuccess is [living] lifeonyour
own terms, and throughout thebookIhaveexercises
for thereader todeterminewhat those termsare
andhowyouget them,”Cohensays. “It’smy10com-
mandments fornegotiatingyourowndeals, time
managementandhandlingcrisisat thehighest level
without losingyoursoul.”
Recently,Cohenofferedaverydifferentkindof
advice to
Goonies
director (and longtimementor)
RichardDonner.Namely that, ifasequelof thefilm
were tobemade,hischaractershouldgo“from
Chunk tohunk”andbeplayedbyChrisPineorBrad
Pitt.Hewouldhaveno interest inreprising therole
himself. “Itwasa long timeago,”hesays. “Ihada lot
morehairback then.”
Whenaskedhow
TheGoonies
preparedhim for
hissubsequentcareer,Cohensmilesandrecalls
howhehid the fact thathehadchickenpoxduring
filming, afraidhemightgetdropped from thepart,
asubterfuge thatwasonlyrevealedwhenhe lifted
hisshirt todo the infamous“TruffleShuffle”belly
dance. “By thatpoint itwas too late; Iwasalready
onfilmandnoonewasgoinganywhere,”hesays.
“Sobeinga liarkindofpreparedme formycurrent
careerasa lawyer. Itwasgood training.”
“THEBIGIDEAISTHAT
SUCCESSIS [LIVING]LIFEON
YOUROWNTERMS.”
PHOTO
AMBLINENTERTAINMENT/WARNERBROS.
BUS INESS
JeffCohenon
how tomake it in
theentertainment
industry
NOPIGWRESTLING
“Combat is honor.
Choose your enemies
andbattleswisely. If
combat is thrust upon
you, choose todefine
your enemy and the
conditions for victory.”
TRYTHETHREE “D’S”
Do It:
“If an activity
isworthdoing and you
are theonlypersonwho
caneffectivelyperform
the task, do it.”
Delete It:
“If the activity
wastes your time
(i.e., doesn’t propel you
toward your goals, is not
necessary for infrastruc-
ture/dealmanagement/
client development),
thendelete it. Forget it.
Who cares?”
Delegate It:
“If an
activity isworthdoing
and youhave a
colleague, collaborator
or automated system
that canperform the task
effectively, delegate it.”
DON’TPANIC, STOP
THEBLEEDING,
DON’TCOMPOUND
THEERROR
“Train yourself to calmly
andeffectivelyhandle
emergencies. Then,
fix theproblem, analyze
theerror and improve
the algorithm.”
BEADEAL-MAKER
“Deal-makersmake
deals. Know your role,
get paid and remember
yourABCs. Always
be closing.”
L.A. LAW
JeffCohenas
Chunk in1985’s
TheGoonies
andat
his lawfirmtoday
84
APRIL2016
AMERICANWAY
