‘An entertaining and expletive-filled read’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘Shoe Dog meets Goodfellas with a dash of The Little Prince’ ARIANNA HUFFINGTON ‘Here in Technicolor is another of Hollywood’s greatest characters’ RICK RUBIN ‘A rare peek at how Hollywood really works’ WALTER ISAACSON One of Hollywood’s most accomplished, feared – and funny – dealmakers has some stuff he wants to get off his chest. A lifetime worth of stuff. And secrets.
And stories. And it all makes for one hell of a ride, and one of the must-read books of the year. Ari Emanuel has long been one of the most influential people in the world, but he’s also something of a mystery.
Part of the reason is Emanuel’s job description. As Hollywood’s best-known super-agent – the inspiration for Ari Gold in the classic TV drama Entourage – he’s paid to speak for his A-list clients, not himself. Now, for the first time, the agent, the mogul, the ferocious power broker, speaks for himself, about himself, and about the game of life – often at the top of his lungs.
In Roll the Calls, his take-no-prisoners memoir, Emanuel tells the incredible stories behind the signings and firings, the triumphant mergers and nasty breakups, the hard-won victories and crushing mistakes. With great comic zest, and in precise cinematic detail, he traces the arc of a classic rags-to-riches career, from suffering through severe dyslexia, to clerking in the mailroom of CAA, to striking out on his own with three fellow agents, launching a new talent agency that would go on to represent some of the most glittering names in show business, including Larry David, Quentin Tarantino, Denzel Washington, Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese and Oprah Winfrey. Along the way Emanuel was also raising four kids, fighting and reconciling with friends and colleagues, coping with a failing marriage and struggling to find love again.
Shattering the mould of stodgy CEO memoirs, Roll the Calls is told in a punchy, telegraphic style, with disarming humility and ribald candour. It’s a fable about success and failure, about creativity and persistence, and a masterclass in how to ignore the haters, how to overcome withering self-doubt, and, at moments of profound crisis and despair, how to be a fearless advocate for your most vulnerable client: yourself.
