Ari Emanuel will publish his first memoir, Roll the Calls, on September 22nd.
The book is touted by publisher Knopf as “intense” and “ferocious”, revealing insight into the successes and setbacks that led the super agent to become one of Hollywood’s most influential figures.
Emanuel co-wrote “Roll the Calls” with Pulitzer Prize winner J.R. Mehringer, author of “The Tender Bar.” The initial edition is set at 250,000 copies, and the audio version will be handled by Penguin Random House.
“Roll the Calls” chronicles Emanuel’s childhood on Chicago’s South Side, his early struggles with severe dyslexia, and his humble beginnings in the CAA mailroom. This then led to Emanuel’s founding of Endeavor and its merger with William Morris, making him a key architect of the entertainment industry and the power broker who inspired the iconic “Entourage” character Ari Gold. As an agent, Emanuel’s clients include Martin Scorsese, Larry David, Dwayne Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Wahlberg, and The Weeknd.
“As a child, I was often told that I was good for nothing. Thank God I didn’t listen, because now I work with so many talented writers, directors, actors, artists, journalists, entrepreneurs and investors,” Emmanuel said in a statement to the press. “From them, and from bitter experience, I learned a lot about success and failure, creativity and persistence. Especially persistence. My story is for everyone who has doubts, and especially those who have been told to give up. If there’s one big theme, it’s that every time someone tells you to cram, you’re not good enough. You should tell that person, ‘Stop.’ ”
