Like the characters in that drama-filled hit show, Davis spent years making deals while his siblings fought over their father’s estate.ĭavis’ food, like his films, is meant for the widest audience possible. “I love being there at the best moment of their day.”ĭavis’ family was the inspiration for the Carrington characters in the evening-TV soap opera Dynasty. “Film and food - it’s all entertainment,” says Davis. At Sony, he had a TV deal for years, before switching to NBC Universal four years ago. At Fox, he had a first-look movie deal for more than two decades. He has four movies about to be made and five TV series airing. He’s worked with Bill Murray, Will Smith, River Phoenix, Jennifer Lawrence and Kevin Costner. His first movie was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Predator in 1987 he’s currently making his seventh with Eddie Murphy. John Davis, 30 years old at the time, initially stayed on but eventually left to set up his own studio, Davis Entertainment.Īfter four decades in showbiz, Davis has amassed a bursting rolodex. In 1984, Marvin Davis did sell his stake, to Rupert Murdoch. “So I said, I’m going to, until my dad sells Fox, which I know he is going to do, I’m going to take three years and learn everything I can possibly learn about making movies and meet everybody,” Davis recalls. He accepted his dad’s offer to work under (now billionaire) Barry Diller, who had been running the studio. At Harvard, Davis wrote his MBA thesis on gourmet food stores and restaurant trends.Īfter his father bought 20th Century Fox in 1981 for $725 million, Davis, just out of Harvard Business, got into producing. As he grew older, he got excited by the emerging industry of cable TV, with dual revenue from advertising and subscribers. He sold popcorn and worked as an usher, and he watched some 300 movies every year. But when his dad bought a neighborhood movie theater, John Davis was hit by the thunderbolt. The younger Davis had no interest in oil - “it ain’t a lot of fun to me,” he says. When he died in 2004 at the age of 79, he was worth $5.8 billion and was America’s 30th richest person, per Forbes. He later diversified into Hollywood and other flashy assets, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, Aspen Skiing Co. His father, 6-foot-4, 300-pound billionaire Marvin Davis, made his fortune drilling wells in unexplored parts of the Rocky Mountains. The reason they’re in is because they’ve always made money.”ĭavis grew up rich. I just pick up the phone and call them and they’re in. “If I want to raise money for a restaurant concept, I can do it in an afternoon. “We just go from deal to deal,” Davis tells Forbes. One of Davis’ tasks is lining up his dozen or so usual investors. Drake joined the fun in 2021 after Dave’s catered his celebration for winning Billboard’s Artist of the Decade award. It’s on track to launch an additional 75 locations this year. What started out as three guys in an East Hollywood parking lot now has more than 100 locations, ranking Dave’s Hot Chicken among the fastest-growing companies in America in 2022. It’s that last chain that Davis says could turn out to be the biggest moneymaker.
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