Ari Emanuel Backs Paramount-Warners Deal: “Let Hollywood Creatives Get Back to Trying to Rip Each Other’s Heads Off”
Hollywood power player Ari Emanuel is weighing in on Paramount‘s $111 billion mega-deal for Warner Bros. Emanuel wrote an op-ed Tuesday afternoon in the...
Key points
- Hollywood power player Ari Emanuel is weighing in on Paramount‘s $111 billion mega-deal for Warner Bros.
- Emanuel wrote an op-ed Tuesday afternoon in the Wall Street Journal, arguing that the state attorneys general suing to stop the deal on antitrust grounds are misguided at best, and the result of a poisoned political environment at worst.
- It’s what we’re best at.” Emanuel, of course, oversees WME, one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood, with a slew of clients who do business with both Paramount and Warners.
- He also runs TKO, which owns the UFC, which inked a $7.7 billion deal with Paramount last year.
What happened
Hollywood power player Ari Emanuel is weighing in on Paramount‘s $111 billion mega-deal for Warner Bros. Emanuel wrote an op-ed Tuesday afternoon in the Wall Street Journal, arguing that the state attorneys general suing to stop the deal on antitrust grounds are misguided at best, and the result of a poisoned political environment at worst. It’s what we’re best at.” Emanuel, of course, oversees WME, one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood, with a slew of clients who do business with both Paramount and Warners. He also runs TKO, which owns the UFC, which inked a $7.7 billion deal with Paramount last year. “Believe me, as somebody who’s in those rooms, every green light, marketing budget and release date is decided against the reality of that broadly competitive environment.” He also makes the case that if the deal gets nixed, Warner Bros. Still, the deal has other industry supporters, including director James Cameron, and AMC CEO Adam Aron, underscoring the complicated nature of the deal, and the challenging reality of today’s Hollywood.