For over thirty years, Ari Emanuel has forged deals, built empires, and occasionally raised his voice in the cutthroat world of Hollywood. Now, the superagent turned media mogul is finally sharing his own narrative.
Released on September 22, the 432-page memoir “Roll the Calls” details Emanuel’s journey from a CAA mailroom clerk to a titan of entertainment and sports. He co-wrote the book with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist J.R. Moehringer, known for collaborating on Prince Harry’s “Spare” and Andre Agassi’s “Open.”
The title “Roll the Calls” refers to the traditional agency practice of lining up consecutive phone calls—a routine that epitomized Emanuel’s famously relentless work ethic. The narrative traces his early years at CAA and ICM, the 1995 establishment of Endeavor, and its subsequent merger with the William Morris Agency. It also covers the acquisitions of IMG and UFC, the creation of TKO Group Holdings, and the unification of UFC and WWE under one corporate roof. Emanuel currently serves as executive chair and CEO of TKO and executive chairman of WME Group.
However, the book is as much a portrait of Emanuel’s temperament as it is a chronicle of his dealmaking. He writes candidly about his lifelong battle with dyslexia, his upbringing in Chicago alongside his highly accomplished brothers Rahm and Zeke, and the development of the combative persona that made him notorious in Hollywood—a reputation that famously inspired Jeremy Piven’s foul-mouthed agent, Ari Gold, on HBO’s “Entourage.”
Rage, competition, and an almost compulsive drive to keep moving permeate the memoir. Emanuel recounts professional feuds and fights alongside major career triumphs, while also reflecting on anxiety, therapy, family, and the fleeting nature of success. Despite his rise from mailroom clerk to billionaire entertainment executive, he admits that the thrill of achievement rarely endures.
The memoir is replete with Hollywood luminaries. Emanuel recalls signing Oprah Winfrey, clashing with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Harvey Weinstein, and navigating the careers of longtime clients like Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg. He also discusses dropping Donald Trump as a client upon the latter’s entry into the White House and recounts interactions with figures ranging from Barack Obama to Elon Musk.
Some of the most vivid anecdotes extend beyond the boardroom. Emanuel recounts nearly being struck by a truck in Los Angeles during the 1990s—an event he frames as a turning point in his resolve to no longer let fear dictate his choices. He also describes a tense near-confrontation between Larry David and Musk at his 2022 wedding to fashion designer Sarah Staudinger, and revisits the behind-the-scenes struggles on Martin Scorsese’s film “The Departed.”
After leaving ICM, Emanuel co-founded Endeavor in 1995, spending the ensuing decades transforming the fledgling talent agency into a sprawling entertainment conglomerate. Endeavor merged with William Morris in 2009, acquired the sports and fashion giant IMG in 2014, and purchased UFC in 2016 for roughly $4 billion. UFC subsequently merged with WWE to form the publicly traded TKO Group Holdings in 2023, while Endeavor itself was taken private by Silver Lake in 2025.