Who in this town has actual power, anyway? In short, the people on this list do.
In compiling the THR 100, our second annual ranking of Hollywood’s most powerful people, we used one overarching criterion: the power of “yes.” THR 100 essentially is a greenlight list: who has the authority to take projects from a no to a yes or the talent and track record to make what he or she wants. There are objective factors, like the size of an executive’s empire (owning it helps, a la Shari Redstone), access to vast sums of money (both Megan Ellison and David Ellison) or the number of series a showrunner has on the air and their ratings (congrats, Ryan Murphy).
Then there’s the subjective element of heat around town: “juice,” for lack of a better word. The Murdoch family’s 21st Century Fox is far more profitable than Netflix, but Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos rank higher because there’s no company more the subject of Hollywood fascination and envy these days than theirs. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman probably will end up grossing less worldwide than F. Gary Gray’s The Fate of the Furious, but the fact that Jenkins broke ground for female directors lands her (and not him) on the list. And so on.
In dozens of off-the-record conversations with top players, our team got an honest assessment of the pecking order at TV networks and film studios, the influence of talent agencies and the true value of stars (hint: It helps a lot when you also produce). Then the internal debate began: We started with 2016’s list but weren’t beholden to it. Some have risen significantly (producer Jason Blum rockets from 98 to 40 thanks to the surprise hits Get Out and Split), some have dropped (STX’s Bob Simonds and Adam Fogelson had a rough year at the box office) and some have fallen off entirely (sorry, Ben Affleck). And while Hollywood’s upper echelon remains overwhelmingly white and male, it’s a small sign of increasing inclusiveness that the number of women on the list (24, up from 19) and people of color (17, up from 10) are on the rise.
So congrats to everyone on the THR 100. You have actual power in this town.
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Donald Glover
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage The Community alum, 33, created a cultural touchstone with FX's Atlanta (winning two Golden Globes), and he has upcoming roles in Sony's Spider-Man: Homecoming and Jon Favreau's The Lion King. Meanwhile, under his rap persona Childish Gambino, he released Awaken My Love!, his highest-charting album (No. 5).
BIG WIN Landing Lando (Billy Dee Williams' role) in the Han Solo Star Wars spinoff.
BIG BET He's taking Deadpool to TV for FX.
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David Ellison
Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images Ellison, 34, is transforming his shingle from financier into production company by launching an animated division in partnership with Spain's Ilion Animation Studios, and a VR-development banner, Skydance Interactive, which debuts its first project, Archangel, in July. The company’s recent releases included a mix of its own productions like sci-fi thriller Life ($99 million worldwide), and the franchise entries it continues to back like Star Trek Beyond ($343.5 million) and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ($162.1 million).
BIG WIN Proving franchises can go on forever with 2018's Mission: Impossible 6.
BIG BET Geostorm, which underwent reshoots in December.
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How my assistant would describe me in one word Competitive.
My primary news source The Economist and Huffington Post.
I can't get through the workday without My assistant!
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there People are surprised that my desk is actually the wing of a plane.
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Reese Witherspoon
Image Credit: JB Lacroix/WireImage The 41-year-old Oscar winner has emerged as one of the most formidable producers in film and television, snapping up new projects with a keen eye on adaptations and vehicles for other actresses. Her acting day job has yet to slow down, with upcoming roles in Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time and late-summer romantic comedy Home Again. She'll also take the occasional gig from her own Hello Sunshine shingle — most notably HBO's hit Big Little Lies.
BIG WIN Assembling an A-list cast, Nicole Kidman for one — in HBO's Big Little Lies.
BIG BET Teasing the possibility of a second BLL season.
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Best advice I've received about power I had the privilege of working with Oprah Winfrey on a movie for three months this year, and she taught me so much about business. She does not waste a minute of her time, and she does it all with grace and style and humor. She is hustle personified.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My kids help me understand emerging platforms and the opportunity there to reach a broader audience. It inspired me to expand my production company into digital and mobile content for women and create a dialogue on social media with my fans.
My primary news source The Wall Street Journal, the Skimm and Business of Fashion.
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Barry Jenkins
Image Credit: JB Lacroix/WireImage From its emotional debut screening at the Telluride Film Festival — where Jenkins, 37, had long been a regular visitor, moderating talks with other filmmakers — to its dramatic, upset best picture win at the Oscars, Moonlight continually beat expectations. His tiny movie about an African-American gay kid growing up in Miami brought in $65 million worldwide and established Jenkins as an original voice impossible to ignore.
BIG WIN They don't come bigger than best picture.
BIG BET The Underground Railroad series for Amazon, based on Colson Whitehead's National Book Award-winning novel about two runaway slaves seeking freedom.
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Best advice I've received about power At the PGA Awards Megan Ellison said, "The only way I know how to safely handle power is to share it." I heard that and it felt so clear. For me, that's it right there.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose My lawyer, Jamie Feldman. He just seems like he's always having fun.
How my assistant would describe me in one word She says "tenacious." I'm not so sure about that!
What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected I live in DTLA. The guys who work the desk in my building — and they're all guys — I watch them. It's important to be thoughtful in all things. I watch them interact with so many people. I take the good with me to set, to the writers room.
My primary news source Twitter, where I follow journalists to see the news the news writers find newsworthy. It's my RSS feed. And it's global. There are no borders on Twitter.
I can't get through the workday without Coffee.
The travel perk I can't live without Window seat. I have to see the ground to know that we're level and safely above it. I've always been and will likely always be terrified of flying.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there Stapler. I have an iPad Pro but I print most things. Staples are key.
How Trump has changed my job and life Trump is the evidence of things not seen. Or previously ignored (because for some of us it was always there). I'm paying closer attention. We all are.
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Neal Moritz and Vin Diesel
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images The prolific producer (Passengers, TV's Preacher) and international star (xXx: The Return of Xander Cage did only $44.9 million in the U.S. but raked in more than $345 million globally) are unstoppable when they team for a Fast and Furious movie.
BIG WIN The Fate of the Furious' $1.23 billion.
BIG BET Keeping the cast of the franchise happy for at least two more installments.
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Best advice I've received about power
Moritz: That power is fleeting and you're only as powerful as your last film. Told to me by everyone who's had a moment of power in Hollywood.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Moritz: Fast and furious.What have you learned about your job from someone unexpected
Moritz: My negotiating tactics have been greatly influenced by my 11-year-old daughter. When she takes a position with me, she holds to it (and sometimes even asks for more as the negotiation goes on).The travel perk I can't live without
Mortiz: Global entry/TSA pre-check.The object on my desk would people would be surprised to see there
Moritz: The Highlander sword signed by Christopher Lambert.How many unread emails are in your inbox right now?
Moritz: Zero. I hate owing emails. -
Brian Grazer
Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Inferno didn't catch fire at all ($220 million worldwide), but the 65-year-old producer has two chances to burn up the big screen in 2017: Stephen King's The Dark Tower and the Tom Cruise starrer American Made.
BIG WIN Grazer had five series on the air this year, including Empire and the timely Shots Fired.
BIG BET The Dark Tower, moved from February to August amid reports of reshoots.
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Best advice I've received about power Jerry Perenchio, who was my mentor, would say power is a force of your own perseverance and intellect. It's not external.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Bob Iger, for sure. I don't think I'm the guy to do it on a full-time basis, but it would be really really interesting to just see, feel and/or touch all the different businesses that he has expertise on.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Curious.
What I've learned about my job from my kids Life is differentiated through the little things.
My primary news source Jason Hirschhorn's MediaREDEF.
I can't get through the workday without Disrupting my comfort zone and meeting someone new.
The travel perk I can't live without Sound-canceling headset.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A framed photograph of astronaut Jim Lovell from Apollo 13.
How Trump has changed my job and life I make a lot of Horatio Alger underdog stories, so his presence in the White House affects how I do that.
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Patty Jenkins
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images By the time you read this, she may well be the highest-grossing live-action female filmmaker of all time. But what will the 45-year-old Wonder Woman director do for an encore? A sequel is not yet settled.
BIG WIN Wonder Woman has grossed $578 million worldwide and counting.
BIG BET She's shopping a limited TV series with Wonder Woman star Chris Pine.
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Best advice I've received about power I learned to watch the simplicity of shifting power dynamics from [producer] Brad Wyman, who used to break it down for me daily while we were making Monster. He has one of the cleanest grasps on power of anyone I've ever met because it is totally unfettered by emotion or his own agenda. He's a pessimist but could always be talked into pointing out the only available avenues for optimism when pushed. I learned a lot from him about the dry simplicity of strategy and patience.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Clint Eastwood. Seems like he has such a great and impressive body of work that now he really gets to do what he wants to do, and is supported in it. What an ultimate dream and goal.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Caffeinated.
What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected I've learned a lot about my job from speed skating. A lot of the same theories that apply to speed and duration also apply to the long-term race of making a film. Keep your head down, keep your heart rate slow, don't race with anyone else, save energy for the long haul, etc.
My primary news source Google News.
I can't get through the workday without Coffee.
The travel perk I can't live without Good airlines.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there An Avid. I don't edit my films myself, but I need access to all takes, music and ways of doing things at all times. It's the writer in me who wants access to fiddle and learn.
How Trump has changed my job and life I think he has made the messages and discussions I want to have more in-focus and pertinent than ever.
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Jordan Peele
Image Credit: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic For years, this half of the Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele wanted to become a writer-director. Peele, 38, got his wish when his groundbreaking feature, Get Out, became a box-office sensation. The $5 million movie, which uses horror to explore racism, has earned more than $251 million.
BIG WIN Get Out, arguably the year's most profitable film.
BIG BET A new first-look deal with Universal includes Peele's next film, another social thriller he'll write and direct, set for 2019.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose The Rock.
My primary news source Ancient Aliens on The History Channel.
How Trump has changed my job and life Trump is good for the business of escapism.
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Scott Rudin
Image Credit: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images In Hollywood and on Broadway, no active producer is more admired or feared than the 58-year-old EGOT behind Scott Rudin Productions, who demonstrated in 2017, as he has for decades, unparalleled taste in material and drive to get his work seen and recognized.
BIG WIN He had hits on the screen (Oscar winner Fences) and on the boards (Tony winner Hello, Dolly!).
BIG BET A Broadway revival of Carousel in spring 2018.
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Kevin Beggs
Image Credit: Araya Diaz/WireImage Beggs, 51, has seen his studio's scripted revenue more than triple in the past six years thanks to an originals roster that includes Orange Is the New Black, Greenleaf and Dear White People. With the $4.4 billion acquisition of Starz in December, the studio has become the largest independent TV business, with a 16,000-title film and TV library.
BIG WIN Post-merger, the combined company now boasts 87 series on 42 networks.
BIG BET Finding a breakout among the seven new series Lionsgate has in development at Starz.
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My primary news source The New York Times, The Manchester Guardian.
How my assistant would describe me in one word He would say "task-oriented" or maybe just "task master!"
How Trump has changed my job and life What is unfolding in the White House is a powerful reminder that politics matter. Complacency is the enemy of democracy, and it feels like after decades of relative disinterest or disgust with the political process that people across the socio-economic spectrum are paying attention. The surge in news readership and viewership is truly inspiring.
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Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges
Image Credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images (2); Courtesy Photo Not even Harvey Weinstein has pulled off an Oscar upset this big. With Moonlight grossing $65 million worldwide on a $1.5 million budget, Katz, 38, Fenkel, 39, and Hodges, 39, put their 5-year-old company on the map.
BIG WIN Snatching the best pic Oscar from La La Land.
BIG BET Jonah Hill's directorial debut, Mid '90s.
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Chris Pratt
Image Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage Despite Passengers, which disappointed with a $303 million global haul, the 37-year-old star is one of the most in-demand leading men in the business, headlining the Guardians and Jurassic franchises.
BIG WIN Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 grossed $844 million worldwide, more than the original.
BIG BET Finding a project outside his comfort zone.
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Dan Fogelman
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Fogelman, 41, who moves fluidly between film and TV, did the seemingly impossible with NBC’s This is Us: he created a broadcast drama that drew massive ratings (15.3 million weekly viewers) and heaps of critical praise. Proof of the prolific producer’s current clout: He got NBC to overhaul its entire fall schedule to accommodate his series.
BIG WIN This Is Us, now the No. 1 drama on TV.
BIG BET He's directing a multigenerational drama set in New York and Spain.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Milo Ventimiglia. It'd be nice to have that ass for a day.
The travel perk I can't live without My wife, Cait. Also my Bose headphones. In no particular order.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there I have a photo of my wife's vicious poodle named Wesley who bites men and draws blood and we have to put him in a Hannibal Lecter mask when we have guests over. I make quite a show of hating that dog, so I guess it would surprise people.
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Robert Downey Jr.
Image Credit: Jerod Harris/WireImage At 52, he's still rocking that Iron Man suit; the big metal guy will be back in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War.
BIG WIN Captain America: Civil War ($1.1 billion worldwide).
BIG BET A half-dozen producing projects in development, including series for HBO and Showtime.
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Skip Brittenham
Image Credit: Getty Images The 74-year-old power lawyer brokers upward of $1 billion in deals a year for such clients as Jeffrey Katzenberg, Thomas Tull, Ridley Scott and a bunch of other people on this list.
BIG WIN Helping former Fox chief Jim Gianopulos take the helm as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures.
BIG BET Easing Harrison Ford into a role he hasn't played in 35 years: Deckard in Blade Runner 2049.
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How my assistant would describe me in one word Happy.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My 16-year-old daughter is better at predicting the failure or success of movies than I am.
I can't get through the workday without Texting my three daughters.
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Damien Chazelle
Image Credit: John Phillips/Getty Images La La Land tied with All About Eve and Titanic for most Oscar noms — 14 — although it ended up losing best picture to Moonlight in a spectacular snafu. The happy ending: $443 million worldwide, setting up Chazelle, who previously wrote and directed Sundance breakout Whiplash, as Hollywood's hottest young filmmaker.
BIG WIN At 32, he became the youngest helmer to win a best director Oscar.
BIG BET A Neil Armstrong biopic starring Ryan Gosling.
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How my assistant would describe me in one word Forgetful.
I can't get through the workday without Watching at least part of a movie — sometimes a full one, sometimes just a scene or two.
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Steve Harvey
Image Credit: Santiago Felipe/FilmMagic There's a reason Harvey had to make those now-infamous rules (gone viral via a leaked memo) about not bothering him in the hallway; at 60, he's never been more in-demand, hosting five primetime shows across three broadcast networks, including ABC's new Funderdome and NBC's upcoming Little Big Shots spinoff. The last year also saw him make a huge power play, canceling his own successful daytime talk show to launch a new one with an ownership stake.
BIG WIN Announcing the correct winner of the 2017 Miss Universe pageant.
BIG BET A new syndicated talk show with IMG (more Ellen, less Maury).
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Peter Roth, and then I'd greenlight every show I ever took to him.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Unstoppable.
I can't get through the workday without A cigar.
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Jeff Skoll and David Linde
Image Credit: Courtesy of Participant Media Outside of Participant's $200 million investment in Spielberg's new Amblin Partners, Skoll, 52, and Linde, 57, are making plenty of movies of their own. They launched four films — including A Monster Calls — at Toronto but didn't see much awards action. The Andrew Garfield-Claire Foy romance Breathe is this year's bet.
BIG WIN An Inconvenient Sequel (July 28), now more relevant than ever.
BIG BET The 2018 terrorism drama Entebbe.
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Best advice I've received about power
Linde: A very good boss once told me to read the entire room, not just those who are speaking.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Linde: Magnanimous … to a point.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Skoll: The fellow who welcomes people onto the Universal studio lot.
Linde: My assistant.My primary news source
Skoll: Mix of mainstream print, issue-based publications and alternative short-form video outlets. Plus the NHL app!The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Skoll: No computer. I work entirely from mobile devices.
Linde: Oregon Ducks Nerf football.I can’t get through the workday without
Linde: Decaf coffee! -
Brett Ratner and Len Blavatnik
Image Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images; David M. Benett/Getty Images The Pac in RatPac — billionaire James Packer — broke ranks with Ratner, 48, in April. Now that Steve Mnuchin has become U.S. Treasury secretary, he's divesting his stake in the venture known as RatPac-Dune Entertainment, which covers up to 75 films, including Dunkirk and Justice League. But Blavatnik, 60, who's worth nearly $20 billion, should be able to cover.
BIG WIN RatPac-Dune's share in the Wonder Woman booty.
BIG BET Co-financing multiple TV series.
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Best advice I've received about power
Ratner: Len Blavatnik told me that Theodore Roosevelt said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Ratner: Dwayne Johnson. He has great calves.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Ratner: Exhausting.What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected
Ratner: I learned from Steve Wynn that anything I could do to help people in my movies resonate with their own aspirations would be the most profound thing I could ever do.My primary news source
Ratner: MediaREDEF.I can't get through the workday without
Ratner: Talking to my grandmother.The travel perk I can't live without
Ratner: My TSA Global Entry card.How Trump has changed my job and life
Ratner: He let me take his name off my movie Tower Heist, which was originally called Trump Heist. -
Shawn Levy
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/WireImage Once mostly known for his directorial family fare like the Night at the Museum franchise, Levy, 48, has branched out into grown-up projects like the sci-fi feature Arrival and the trippy Netflix hit Stranger Things (the second season debuts in October). Other upcoming projects from his 21 Laps include action/sci-fi film Kin with Carrie Coon and James Franco, Jennifer Yuh Nelson’s live-action movie The Darkest Minds, and Kodachrome, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jason Sudeikis.
BIG WIN Arrival's eight Oscar noms (and $202 million in earnings).
BIG BET Finding his next directorial project (he's attached to helm an adaptation of Sony video game Uncharted starring Tom Holland)
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Literally no one. I love my job.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Specific.
What I've learned about my job from my kids With four daughters, I've learned that the way to best be heard requires constant adjustments in how you communicate. No single approach and language works universally with everyone. This lesson of parenthood has proven helpful with studio execs and also actors.
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Kevin Hart
Image Credit: Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic The 37-year-old had his biggest hit with The Secret Life of Pets ($875 million worldwide), while Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson ($216 million) and Ride Along 2 ($124 million) also scored, even if Captain Underpants drooped ($47 million).
BIG WIN Teaming with Johnson worked; they'll do it again in Jumanji (Dec. 20).
BIG BET Launching his own all-comedy streaming service, Laugh Out Loud.
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Best advice I've received about power You can judge a man's power by looking at his team. The more successful his team, the more successful that individual is.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose I'd take my job. I love what I do. I don't want to do anything else.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Determined.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My kids are real big on laughter. There's a lot of laughter every day. So I learned from my kids is that life is too short to not laugh.
My primary news source My phone. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook — nothing happens that doesn't hit one of those.
I can't get through the workday without My gym routine. I need my gym routine. Every day, at 5 or 5:30 a.m., for an hour.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A Thighmaster. It was a gift — I never use it. It just sits on my desk.
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Frank Marshall
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/BAFTA LA/Getty Images The BFG and Assassin's Creed flopped, but Jason Bourne grossed $415 million worldwide, and Sully made $238 million. The former long-distance runner also produced marathon documentary Boston via The Kennedy/Marshall Company, his banner with wife Kathleen Kennedy, and the Jimmy Buffett musical Escape to Margaritaville, which had its world premiere at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse on May 9 and will move to Broadway next February. Marshall, 70, will next reteam with Steven Spielberg for a Jurassic World sequel.
BIG WIN Bringing Matt Damon back to Bourne.
BIG BET Completing Orson Welles' final film, The Other Side of the Wind, for Netflix.
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My primary news source The New York Times.
The travel perk I can't live without TSA Global Entry.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A goTenna.
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Ridley Scott
Image Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage Alien: Covenant didn't wow ($215 million worldwide), but as a producer, the 79-year-old has projects including Murder on the Orient Express and Blade Runner 2049.
BIG WIN The Good Fight just got its season-two order upped to 13 episodes.
BIG BET Directing the Getty kidnap drama All the Money in the World.
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Chris Silbermann
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images ICM Partners, which installed new signage atop the Century City skycraper housing its impressive new headquarters, is a major player in television and comedy — see Chris Rock's $40 million for two Netflix specials. The agency also represented author Margaret Atwood in Hulu's timely adaptation of her novel The Handmaid's Tale. Silbermann, 49, succeeded Sherry Lansing this year as chair of the Entertainment Industry Foundation and is a member of the LA2024 Olympic bid committee.
BIG WIN A new broadcast division (via the acquisition of Headline Media Management) added such clients as Savannah Guthrie.
BIG BET The summer launch of a speakers division, which would be ICM's 17th department.
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How my assistant would describe me in one word Coach.
What I've learned about my job from my kids From my kids, I've learned patience — and how to listen.
My primary news source Newspapers. I'm oldschool.
The travel perk I can't live without Red-eyes. I don't like to waste time, so you can usually find me on a late-night flight.
How Trump has changed my job and my life Having what's going on in D.C. become the new normal troubles me. We need to engage more deeply and thoughtfully, which is what prompted us to bring in Hannah Linkenhoker to help guide and galvanize the agency and our clients.
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Noah Hawley
With his first two seasons of Fargo, novelist-turned-screenwriter Hawley, 50, racked up five Emmys and two Golden Globes for FX, including one for himself — season one’s best limited series win. And the current third season, starring Ewan McGregor and Carrie Coon, is sure to give the Coen brothers-inspired anthology a few slots on this year’s Emmy ballot. As will Hawley’s critically acclaimed, mind-bending X-Men drama Legion. To critics’ dismay, Hawley says he has no immediate plans for a fourth installment of Fargo. “We’re at the point now where there’s just no breathing room in which to figure it out,” he says. “But [an idea for] it could strike me in the middle of the night tonight or next year or two years from now.”
BIG WIN Launching two hit shows within two months of each other and scoring a second season of Legion (his first for a continuing series).
BIG BET Trying his hand at film with Sony's Before the Fall and Fox's Man Alive.
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Best advice I've received about power I had a conversation with Damon Lindelof at one point when I was struggling on My Generation, which was this fake documentary show. There was an executive there at ABC who just didn't get the show and it was just a really hard process. Damon said, "If it's not a show you would watch, you shouldn't be able to give notes on it." I thought that was a really important thing to think about [with] power. When you have the power to shape something, you have to understand: Is it for you or is it for somebody else? And if it's for somebody else, you shouldn't try to shape it into something it's not.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Wes Anderson. He just looks like he has so much fun. There's something to the level of playfulness and just really chasing something that's in his head that seems disconnected from any kind of note process. Plus, doesn't he live in Paris? It's a whole thing.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Busy. Absent. I talk to him on the phone more than anything. I live in Austin, so I'm not actually in the office that much.
My primary news source The New York Times. I try to read the physical paper. It's just a different experience.
I can't get through the workday without Music.
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Meryl Streep
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images Honored at January’s Golden Globes with its Cecil B. DeMille Award, Streep, 67, used the moment to attack Donald Trump’s bullying campaign appearances, and while he called her “overrated,” she refused to back down, calling him out at a subsequent Human Rights Campaign dinner and taking part in an ACLU telethon. Constantly in demand, she’s got upcoming roles in Mary Poppins Returns and a Mamma Mia! sequel.
BIG WIN Her 20th Oscar nom (extending her record) for Florence Foster Jenkins.
BIG BET Starring in Steven Spielberg's Watergate drama The Papers (Dec. 22) as Washington Post publisher Kay Graham.
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Arnon Milchan
Image Credit: Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic Despite his 2016 flops — Assassin's Creed, Warren Beatty's Rules Don't Apply — don't ever discount the deep-pocketed mogul, 72, who makes what he wants.
BIG WIN A deal granting Amazon international streaming rights to its film library.
BIG BET Steve McQueen's 2018 heist film, Widows.
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Denzel Washington
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images The two-time Oscar winner, 62, will shoot The Equalizer 2 after he wraps production on Dan Gilroy’s Inner City.
BIG WIN Acting and best picture Oscar noms for Fences, and a trophy for Viola Davis.
BIG BET Producing Iraq War drama Journal for Jordan.
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Peter Roth
Image Credit: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic TV’s biggest studio player not directly tied to a network, Roth is rowing against the tide of vertical integration with key sales, including fall’s most likely hit, Young Sheldon for CBS.
BIG WIN Warner Bros. TV got 11 new series orders in May.
BIG BET Ellen DeGeneres’ return to primetime with NBC’s Game of Games.
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Kelly Kahl and Thom Sherman
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Handpicked by Leslie Moonves to assume their positions in June, longtime CBS scheduler Kahl, 50, and CW programmer Sherman, 52, immediately became the industry's biggest buyers of multicams and procedurals. Looking ahead, they will need to unlock the next NCIS and Big Bang Theory to maintain CBS’ most watched standing — and Moonves’ confidence.
BIG WIN Scoring the top jobs.
BIG BET What to do with them.
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Best advice I've received about power
Kahl: "All glory is fleeting." — General George S. PattonIf I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Kahl: Stephen Colbert or James Corden.
Sherman: Jim Nantz.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Kahl: Disorganized.What I've learned about my job from my kids
Sherman: "Daddy, it's too complicated" reminds me to keep show concepts easily digestible.I can't get through the workday without
Sherman: Several triple tall americanos.
Kahl: Multiple espressos.My primary news source
Kahl: For better or worse, Twitter.The travel perk I can't live without
Kahl: Little Bose noise-canceling ear buds.
Sherman: Warm salted nuts (On the plane! Get your minds out of the gutter!)The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Kahl: Little replica chairs from the University of Wisconsin union terrace. Actually that wouldn't surprise anyone. -
Ava DuVernay
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage The 44-year-old prolific creator had a critical hit on OWN with Queen Sugar (produced by DuVernay and directed exclusively by women), which will debut its second season with a two-night premiere on June 20 and June 21. Plus, she's in post on Disney’s big-budget A Wrinkle in Time, starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and newcomer Storm Reid.
BIG WIN The Oscar-nominated Netflix doc 13th.
BIG BET Wrinkle is the first $100 million film to be directed by a black woman.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Ted Sarandos. I'd like to know how it feels to be the industry's biggest disruptor and have those deep pockets too. I'd make it a shopping day.
My primary news source My social media feeds that aggregate headlines from multiple sources around the world.
I can't get through the workday without Boring answer, but true — my phone.
How Trump has changed my job and life He's devastated me in many ways, but each of those ways has made me more determined than before.
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Eddy Cue, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht
Image Credit: Getty Images Promoted to the studio’s top TV position a year ago, Erlicht, 48, and Van Amburg, 46, have overseen Sony’s crown jewel, a highly profitable, global TV division that churns out programming for broadcast (CBS’ Kevin Can Wait), cable (AMC’s Better Call Saul), premium cable (Starz’ Outlander) and streaming (Amazon’s Sneaky Pete). Then, in mid-June, the longtime creative partners sent shock waves through Hollywood with their June 16 announcement that they’re moving to Apple at summer’s end. They’ll report to Cue, 52, as they lead the tech giant’s long-awaited push into original video programming.
BIG WIN Sony’s Golden Globe winner The Crown.
BIG BET Building Apple TV.
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Best advice I've received about power
Van Amburg: "With great power comes great responsibility." I think Spider-Man told me this.
Erlicht: The advice was more about success than power, per se, but early in my career when I was offered a job as director of current at Columbia TriStar, I was worried about being pigeon-holed in current and sacrificing the other ambitions I had in television. My first mentor (I was lucky enough to have two), Mike Ogiens, gave me great advice, telling me, "Talented people can't be pigeon-holed," and if it's a good opportunity and an interesting job, I should take it and a path would be-come clear. He was right.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Van Amburg: Ari Emanuel. He says what he means, is fearless, hard-charging, and is a voracious reader. Plus, I'd get to tell agents what to do instead of the other way around!How my assistant would describe me in one word
Van Amburg: Busy.What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected
Van Amburg: I've learned my job matters from my dentist. He's inspired and sometimes disappointed by our shows. I don't want to disappoint someone with a drill.My primary news source
Van Amburg: My kids. Sure, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times. My kids teach me more.The travel perk I can't live without
Erlicht: American Air Concierge!The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Van Amburg: Silly Putty. The best stress/creativity tool ever invented. -
James Cameron
Image Credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic He’s on this list because he made the No. 1 box office hit of all time (Avatar, $2.8 billion) — and the No. 2 (Titanic, which made nearly $2.2 billion) — and can do what he wants. The first Avatar sequel from Cameron, 62, has been pushed to December 2020. He spoke of his ambitious plans for the sequels last fall when he received honorary membership in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. He said: "I'm going to push. Not only for better tools, workflow, high dynamic range and high frame rates — the things we are working toward. I'm still very bullish on 3D, but we need brighter projection, and ultimately I think it can happen — with no glasses. We'll get there."
BIG WIN Opening Pandora — The World of Avatar at Walt Disney World in Orlando in May.
BIG BET Avatars 2, 3, 4 and 5.
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Tyler Perry
Image Credit: Lester Cohen/WireImage As the prolific creator (945 episodes of TV, 18 features) nears completion on his 330-acre compound in Atlanta, he's poised to build a physical studio that rivals anything in Hollywood. He has already built an entertainment empire that has generated more than $2 billion and Boo! A Madea Halloween took in nearly $75 million at the box office on a $20 million budget. A sequel, set for October, will be the latest test of Perry’s durable franchise.
BIG WIN Twelve soundstages.
BIG BET Twelve soundstages.
•••
Best advice I’ve received about power "Don't let this shit go to your head" — My mother
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Kathy Griffin, on the day she took the photo with Trump's head so I could have talked her out of it.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Savant.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My son taught me that family is more important than the work.
My primary news source CNN.
I can't get through the workday without Prayer, and sometimes vodka.
The travel perk I can't live without My down pillow.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there Children's books I read to my son on lunch break.
How Trump has changed my job and life Reinvigorated my resolve to bring light and laughter and healing to this world.
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Robert Simonds and Adam Fogelson
Image Credit: Gary Gershoff/WireImage; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images Simonds, 53, is working to grow the 3-year-old company, with its television division turning out shows like Number One Surprise, which attracted 1 billion viewers in China, and STXsurreal producing more than 100 pieces of VR and augmented reality content. Fogelson, 50, is setting up films with Melissa McCarthy (The Happytime Murders) and Amy Schumer (I Feel Pretty).
BIG WIN Bad Moms, the only breakout on its 2016 slate, which scored $183.9 million worldwide.
BIG BET Brad Peyton action thriller Black Hole, on which STX has world rights, and Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World, on which STX secured foreign rights.
•••
Best advice I've received about power
Fogelson: I've never gotten any. Should I be worried?If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Fogelson: Chris Pratt.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Fogelson: Hillary (my wife).My primary news source
Fogelson: CNN.I can't get through the workday without
Fogelson: Calling home.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Fogelson: An invitation to the Furious 7 premiere. -
Christopher Nolan
Image Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images Rare auteur-hitmaker Nolan, 46, is re-creating one of World War II’s pivotal battles with a Stanley Kurbrick-like obsession with detail, shooting Dunkirk (July 21) on the beaches where the fighting took place and using vintage boats and Spitfires and as many as 1,300 extras in some scenes.
BIG WIN Exhibitors cheered him at CinemaCon when he declared his allegiance to theatrical distribution.
BIG BET A WWII film in the thick of superhero season.
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Diane Nelson, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment (Berg); Michael Tran/FilmMagic (Nelson); Nicholas Hunt/FilmMagic (Johns) Under Nelson, 50, DC is flying high across all platforms. Lieutenant Johns, 44, helped overhaul Wonder Woman during rewrites and is working with Berg, 45, to chart the future of DC film.
BIG WIN It took years if not decades, but Wonder Woman made it to the big screen with a box-office bang (and a female director).
BIG BET The all-star Justice League (Nov. 17).
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Best advice I've received about power
Nelson: In the context of conversations around Wonder Woman, I was sharing my belief that power does not equate to strength, but strength may connote power. Simply put, power allows the [positive] impacting of people's lives and careers.
Johns: Dick Donner always said to listen to people. He did it on every set, in every story meeting and in the editing room. He had his vision, but he was always willing to hear another point of view.
Berg: Watching Alan Horn. You can be strong, fair and warm-hearted all at once. Lead with a smile.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Nelson: Patty Jenkins. To feel demand for your talent, regardless of gender, and knowing you are creating films that are going to leave lifetime imprints.
Johns: Working on bringing DC's heroes and villains to the screen is the greatest job I could've dreamed of. But if it was one day, I would pull a Freaky Friday with Steven Spielberg so I could read the new Indiana Jones script, get the new Gremlins movie greenlighted and have lunch with Harrison Ford.
Berg: Clint Eastwood. Who wouldn't want to be Clint for one day? I'd just keep giving myself his patented "what you looking at" stare.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Nelson: Kind.
Johns: Busy.
Berg: Hungry. I'm always eating.What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected
Nelson: That over 21 years of working on the greatest films and content any studio could put out, I was only "cool mom" when I ran the video game division.
Johns: This guy who ran a huge investment corporation — Larry Clemmensen — who I met gave me some of the best advice ever: Always go to talk to people in their offices, not yours. It's a small idea, but for connecting with people, a great one. Connecting with people is the most important part of any business or creative endeavor. It's all about people.
Berg: My kids are my biggest fans. Making a movie that they like is the greatest joy. Ultimately they want the movie to be about something emotionally. That's what I always try to achieve.My primary news source
Nelson: CNN, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times. Fox News for a reality check.
Johns: Twitter. My favorite echo chamber!
Berg: Apple News feed and The New York Times.I can't get through the workday without
Nelson: An iced tea and a laugh with my chief creative officer, Geoff.
Johns: Wearing comfortable clothes. I don't do well with jackets and ties. It makes me feel like a banker. (No offense, dad.)
Berg: Burritos and Sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.The travel perk I can't live without
Nelson: First class sleeping pods on overseas flights.
Johns: Potato chips.
Berg: A few very good meals!The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Nelson: A Batman head Magic 8 Ball, given to me by a friend.
Johns: A Magic 8 Ball. It's at least 50 percent right!
Berg: Lots. Pellet guns, football, throwing star, pocket knife, lots of paperwork.How Trump has changed my job and life
Nelson: He has horrified me and forced me to think deeply about all sorts of people — good and bad. It's put a fine point on the definition of integrity for me.
Johns: Trump is low-hanging fruit and gets lower all the time — I find it's more important than ever to remind the world that hope still exists, optimism is not a fool's mindset, and tomorrow will be better because the majority of the world wants it to be. Superman taught me that and the great people in my life confirmed it.
Berg: Not at all, except I'm really eager for 2020 to roll around for some reason. -
Clint Eastwood
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI After directing nearly 40 films during the past five decades, Eastwood, 87, is one of few who can get a green light for just about anything he wants (in the $50 million range).
BIG WIN Sully’s $238 million.
BIG BET The 15:17 to Paris.
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Melissa McCarthy
Image Credit: JB Lacroix/WireImage Despite Ghostbusters' epic fail, McCarthy, 46, stayed in the spotlight with headline-grabbing turns as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on SNL. Her TV Land comedy, Nobodies, earned a second-season renewal ahead of its debut. Next, she'll star in New Line's Life of the Party (May 11, 2018).
BIG WIN Capturing the zeitgeist as Spicer.
BIG BET She'll take a dramatic turn in Fox Searchlight's Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018).
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Chris Albrecht
Image Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images Subscriptions have skyrocketed 40 percent under Albrecht, 64, with Starz's 24.2 million putting it behind only HBO in premium cable. His network's prestige push also continues to pay cultural dividends, with recent launch American Gods emerging as a potential awards contender.
BIG WIN The $4.4 billion sale of Starz to Lionsgate.
BIG BET American Gods as the channel's new flagship.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Jeff Bezos.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Oy!
What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected A doctor once told me, "After all is said and done, it's not that important."
The travel perk I can't live without Delta VIP Select service.
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Mark Pedowitz
Image Credit: Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic Thanks to a Netflix pact, Pedowitz's younger-skewing, genre-heavy network is evolving into a "digital-linear hybrid," as the 64-year-old told ad buyers at The CW's upfront: Digital viewing numbers have doubled in the past year.
BIG WIN That Netflix deal has opened up a new audience.
BIG BET Military drama Valor, "unlike anything else on our schedule," says Pedowitz.
•••
Best advice I've received about power From Ron Sunderland at ABC: "If people think you have power, then you have it, but use it wisely."
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose I wouldn't switch jobs with anyone, I have the best job around.
My primary news source ?Starting at about 6 a.m.?, I read at least five newspapers every day (The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and of course, the New York Post).
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there Just how many pictures I have of my wife, Carolyn, and my basset hounds and bloodhounds.
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Simon Kinberg
Image Credit: Venturelli/WireImage One of the town's highest-paid writer-producers, with a geek specialty, Kinberg, 43, helps steer Fox's X-Men film and TV universe (Legion). He also has a hand in the Star Wars franchise via a spinoff movie and the Rebels animated TV series.
BIG WIN Hugh Jackman's Wolverine swan song Logan, a commercial ($617 million) and critical hit.
BIG BET Making his directorial debut with 2018's X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
•••
Best advice I've received about power The best advice I've gotten about power was from my dad. And it was simply that it's fleeting.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Bob Iger. ESPN, Star Wars, and Disneyland in a day.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Sleepless.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My older son said something to me a long time ago. He said, "Dad, work soft," rather than "work hard." I'm not sure I learned it, but it's a good lesson.
My primary news source Eavesdropping.
I can't get through the workday without Erin Foster's Instagram feed.
The travel perk I can't live without Aisle, not window.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A phone. Since I almost never use it.
How Trump has changed my job and life It's harder to make science fiction seem fantastical now, because reality is so surreal.
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Kevin Reilly
Image Credit: Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage Since the 54-year-old programmer's move to Turner in 2014, he's launched and renewed a collection of high-profile dramas (Animal Kingdom), celebrated comedies (Search Party) and a zeitgeist breakout, Full Frontal With Samantha Bee. The TV vet is also making strides in redefining how traditional TV is packaged for advertisers, offering up aggressive stats on how, where and when his series are being consumed.
BIG WIN TNT is on track to be the No. 1 entertainment cable network in primetime with adults 18-to-49.
BIG BET Lorne Michaels' anthology Miracle Workers.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Jay-Z (we're very similar).
How my assistant would describe me in one word Genius … but call me on my private line.
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Mike Hopkins
Image Credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic Former Fox exec Hopkins, 48, has brought much-needed heat to the streamer, which reported 12 million subscribers as of May 2016, in the nearly four years since he took the helm. Last summer, Hopkins did away with Hulu's free tier, focusing on the company's subscription efforts as it placed a greater emphasis on exclusive programming deals — Golden Girls and Seinfeld are two of its tentpoles — as well as original programming.
BIG WIN The Handmaid's Tale, an adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel that stars Elisabeth Moss, has given Hulu major Emmy buzz.
BIG BET A $40 live TV bundle launched in May now puts the streamer — jointly owned by NBCUniversal, 21st Century Fox and Disney — in competition with Dish, DirecTV, YouTube and others for a piece of the cord-cutting market.
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How my assistant would describe me in one word Overly caffeinated.
I can't get through the workday without My damn reading glasses.
The travel perk I can't live without Those occasional times when the plane's Wi-Fi is down.
My primary news source My daughter's Snapchat stories.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A rainbow-colored hacky sack.
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David Zaslav
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images Tune-in for Zaslav's U.S. cable networks remains soft, but a continued focus on digital is paying off. The company's Eurosport Player direct-to-consumer offering continues its growth in Europe, and Discovery's Go TV app in the U.S., which launched in August, is in more than 70 million homes and projected to reach 115 million connected devices by the end of the year.
BIG WIN In 2016, Zaslav, 57, invested $100 million in millennial-focused digital native Group Nine Media, which includes Thrillist, NowThisNews and Discovery's Seeker. Today the portfolio is driving 4.4 billion monthly streams.
BIG WIN Eurosport's coverage of the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea will include more than 100 events across linear TV and digital in more than 50 European markets.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Ron Meyer, because I’d know what it feels like to be loved by everyone.
My primary news source Early morning read of newspapers and online chatter … The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York Post and NowThis … plus Googling Trump news.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there It's under my desk … a treadmill.
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Channing Dungey
Though Dungey built her summer schedule around Bachelorette star Lindsay, THR's June 9 photo shoot at a Burbank studio is actually the first meeting between the two — who instantly bond over their shared unfamiliarity with the spotlight. "Up until a year and a half ago, I only had my makeup done professionally once in my life," says Dungey, 48. The ABC Entertainment president has held the top post at Disney's broadcast flagship since February 2016, and Lindsay, a 31-year-old lawyer, was living in blissful anonymity in Dallas until this year. The last Bachelor finished its season as TV's highest-rated reality show for the first time in 15 years. And Lindsay, the series' first black lead, is holding down Monday nights with 7.2 million weekly viewers for summer's No. 3 show. "Our audience has become very passionate about the people on these [reality] shows," says Dungey, new to the genre after more than a decade in drama. But Lindsay displays no desire to become a TV fixture. "I was back at the office on Monday," she says, shaking her head at the prospect of a Hollywood move. Dungey seems to approve: "She was in trial between the two cycles of the series, which is kind of incredible."
BIG WIN Kiefer Sutherland's Designated Survivor, the No. 2 new show of the 2016-17 season.
BIG BET Rebooting American Idol, a pricey gamble set for early 2018.
•••
How my assistant would describe me in one word Dungey: Animated — I'm a pretty high-energy person. I talk fast, I'm always running from one thing to another, and I tend to gesture a lot with my hands when I talk.
I can't get through the workday without Dungey: A grande dirty chai with soy milk and no water.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there Dungey: A little clay turtle that I use as a paperweight for buckslips and notes. It is a souvenir from my honeymoon at Las Ventanas in Los Cabos.
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Gary Barber and Mark Burnett
Image Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images MGM became the sole owner of Epix under a $1.03 billion deal Barber, 60, engineered that saw Viacom sell its 49.8 percent stake and Lionsgate, its 31.2 percent share. Ben-Hur crashed and burned (grossing $94 million worldwide), but MGM has select international rights to Annapurna's Detroit and is rebooting Death Wish with Bruce Willis (Nov. 22). Burnett, 56, gets his clout from his reality portfolio (Survivor, The Voice and Shark Tank) but MGM's TV push includes critical hits in FX's Fargo and Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale.
BIG WIN MGM raised its credit to $2.1 billion, and Barber promises to spend $440 million on fresh content.
BIG BET MGM and EON will decide which studio gets the next 007 movie.
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Best advice I've received about power
Barber: "Never abuse it." — Anonymous.
Burnett: Jeffrey Katzenberg. He has always been and continues to be my mentor. He has continued to wield enormous power globally and yet is the kindest and most charitable person I know. That's real power.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Barber: Sports agent
Burnett: Bob Iger. This needs no explanation.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Barber: Loyal.
Burnett: Sagacious.My primary news source
Barber: Twitter.I can't get through the workday without
Barber: Phone.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Barber: Invictus paperweight [that says]: "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." -
Jack Gao and Mary Parent
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images Gao, 58, was instrumental in negotiating the Chinese company's $3.5 billion buyout of Legendary, and now is interim CEO until a replacement can be found for Thomas Tull, who exited in January. Parent, 49, whose credits include Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, is helping him find his way around Hollywood.
BIG WIN Skull Island grossed $566 million worldwide.
BIG BET Pacific Rim: Uprising, the first project shot at Wanda's Qingdao studio.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Parent: Anything related to reality TV, which I love. Casting director or editor ideally.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Parent: Intense.
Gao: Crazy to perform.I can't get through the workday without
Parent: Caffeine.
Gao: A 7.5 mile run.What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected
Gao: My daughter, Jessica. She is an AFI graduate who is directing a movie in L.A. about teenagers and said to me last night, "I feel so old and behind the trends because I've been stunningly surprised by the way those 15-year-old kids are interacting with each other and how knowledgeable they are on everything. She is only 25! If she has a hard time to chase after the trends, what about us, the senior Hollywood executives on the other side of the digital divide? -
Greg Berlanti
Image Credit: Amanda Edwards/WireImage The 45-year-old phenom is breaking Jerry Bruckheimer's decade-old record with a whopping 10 scripted dramas in production, including The CW's Archie-inspired Riverdale, romantic thriller You for Lifetime and a live-action take on DC Comics' Teen Titans.
BIG WIN Black Lightning's move from Fox to The CW, where it got a series pickup.
BIG BET Titans, which DC will use to launch its new streaming service in 2018.
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Best advice I've received about power "Treat people how you would want to be treated" — My dad, a businessman for 40 years.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose A young staff writer on any show. I loved being a baby writer when all I had to worry about was the script I was working on.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Hypochondriac.
My primary news source An actual print copy of The New York Times that I read in the morning.
The travel perk I can't live without Aisle seat. I have to get up to pee too much and it's embarrassing to keep asking to be let out.
How Trump has changed my job and life I finally watch reality TV full time when I get home: the news.
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Judd Apatow
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images A door closes (Girls) and a window opens (Crashing) for Apatow, 49, who also produced The Big Sick (sold to Amazon at Sundance for $12 million). The comedy veteran also has two projects at Netflix, the acclaimed comedy series Love and his upcoming stand-up special set to premiere in December. Apatow is also diving into documentary work with May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, which recently landed at Oscilloscope after winning a SXSW audience award, and his upcoming film about the late Garry Shandling.
BIG WIN A season two renewal for Crashing, which Apatow also directs.
BIG BET The Big Sick.
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What I've learned about my job from my kids My daughter said, "I find your jokes so annoying that sometimes my friends make jokes which are funny, and I don't laugh."
My primary news source The twitter rants of Patton Oswalt.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Disenchanted.
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Peter Chernin
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images The 66-year-old former News Corp. exec's 7-year-old company is releasing War for the Planet of the Apes on July 14 (the last two movies in the franchise have grossed nearly $1.2 billion worldwide) and just saw its Fox series New Girl renewed for a seventh and final season. And his joint venture with AT&T, Otter Media, signed a deal with Reese Witherspoon to create a new brand, Hello Sunshine, to tell female-driven stories.
BIG WIN Surprise hit Hidden Figures grossed $230 million and nabbed three Oscar noms, including best picture.
BIG BET Musical The Greatest Showman (Dec. 25) with songs from La La Land's Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
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My primary news source The New York Times.
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John Skipper
Image Credit: Cooper Neill/Getty Images A rough year culminated with layoffs in April of 100 staffers, many on-air veterans, but ESPN is still a major profit center; its Disney division reported $2.2 billion in operating income for the quarter that ended April 1, a 3 percent decline. Its site remains the top digital sports destination, with 84.1 million unique visitors logging 5.2 billion minutes in April. In June, Skipper, 61, shook up the ranks, adding Connor Schell as executive vp content.
BIG WIN Leading the charge to monetize out-of-home viewing, with ESPN the first big network to sign on to a Nielsen service that measures viewers in bars, hotels and health clubs.
BIG BET A streaming service via Disney's $1 billion stake in MLB's BAMTech.
•••
My primary news source The New York Times and ABC News.
I can't get through the workday without Sleep the night before.
The travel perk you can’t live without Airline status.
What object on your desk would people be surprised to see there People are always surprised to see I have nothing on my desk.
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Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/WireImage For the second time in four years, Plan B — fronted by Pitt, 53, and driven by Kleiner, 41, and Gardner, 49 — took the best picture Oscar with its Moonlight win (making Gardner, a Dolby no-show, the first woman to nab the top prize twice). The company is deep in business with both Netflix (War Machine, The OA) and Amazon (Steve Carell starrer Beautiful Boy).
BIG WIN Moonlight.
BIG BET A three-year production deal with Annapurna, with Mike White's Brad's Status (Sept. 15) marking their first joint effort.
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Chuck Lorre
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images The scripted empire under Lorre, 64, will grow with the August launch of Netflix pot comedy Disjointed, starring Kathy Bates, followed by the CBS premiere of Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon.
BIG WIN A two-year renewal for top-rated Big Bang.
BIG BET Young Sheldon, which gets the post-Bang time slot.
•••
Best advice I've received about power Steven Bochco once told me, "Network executives treat writers like children partly because they dress like children." Sadly, I didn't listen to him.
My primary news source John Oliver.
I can't get through the workday without Coffee.
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Dick Wolf
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Despite the cancellation of spinoff Chicago Justice, Wolf, 70, continues to play a key role in NBC's lineup, where he has three Chicago series, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders and Law & Order: SVU (heading into season 19). His unscripted slate keeps pace with his dramas, thanks to Inside the FBI: New York at USA and A&E's Nightwatch franchise. In the film world, Wolf is producing the James Ellroy crime thriller 77 that Jared Leto is attached to direct for Paramount, and the indie thriller The Super starring Val Kilmer.
BIG WIN Oxygen's crime-centered rebrand led to two series orders: Cold Justice and Criminal Confessions.
BIG BET Law & Order: True Crime, Wolf's first anthology foray, will air after This Is Us.
•••
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A plaque (which I gave to network heads) that says, "It's the Writing, Stupid."
My primary news source Depends on the day.
What I've learned about my job from my kids When one of my daughters [at 8 years old] was asked what her father did. She said he was a producer. When asked what a producer did her response was, "He talks on the phone and yells at people." Still true 22 years later.
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Cindy Holland and Scott Stuber
Image Credit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images; Jason Kempin/Getty Images Sarandos' longtime TV lieutenant Holland, 47, has been critical to Netflix's shift from new entrant to dominant player, with a $6 billion content budget making her the deepest-pocketed buyer in town. In March, Sarandos enlisted former Universal exec Stuber, 48, hoping for The Crown-esque success in film.
BIG WIN Stranger Things.
BIG BET For Holland, a reimagining of Lost in Space. For Stuber, Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie's Outlaw King with Chris Pine and Ben Foster.
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Best advice I've received about power
Holland: "Remember it's the seat, not your ass." — Paula Weinstein
Stuber: "When you're an executive, always remember you don't own the chair, you rent it." — Ron MeyerIf I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Stuber: John Williams. I lack musical talent and I would love to be inside the head of someone who has elevated so many films with his brilliance.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Holland: Compassionate.I can't get through my workday without
Stuber: Iced tea.My primary news source
Holland: KCRW/NPR. -
Nancy Dubuc
Image Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images After several quarters of falling ratings (a trend across basic cable), the 48-year-old's A&E in the second quarter is up 9 percent in viewers and 8 percent in the 25-to-54 demo. A&E and History are top 10 cable entertainment networks, and SNL Kagan estimates the company earned $3.9 billion in 2016 revenue.
BIG WIN Four-year-old A+E Studios' 25 Emmy noms.
BIG BET Building on the cred of Lifetime's UnREAL and A&E's Roots with History's 10-episode series Knightfall and Lifetime's You.
•••
Best advice I've received about power I can't say there's been any specific advice that I could quote. But, so many people that I admire, especially those women who have climbed the ranks, from superagents to gifted storytellers and mentors — all taught me by example to respect your use of power and never assume it's a given, certainly as a woman. ?
How my assistant would describe me in one word Misunderstood.
My primary news source The key these days is not to have one. It's amazing how challenging it's becoming to just get the facts. ??
The travel perk I can't live without The years (and years!) of patronage I have invested in the Four Seasons in L.A. The little details they go out of their way to do make a world of difference when you are on the road. ?
How Trump has changed my job and life Our allegiance is to our audience. We're careful to listen and represent diverse points of view and bring forward tough issues through the power of storytelling, when warranted.
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Ellen DeGeneres
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images The Finding Dory star and go-to emcee, 59, is hoping to parlay her daytime dominance (The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the top-rated series in the genre, has been renewed through 2020) to success on a younger-skewing platform: YouTube Red, where her twice-a-week series Ellen's Show Me More Show goes behind the scenes at her talker.
BIG WIN A record 10th Emmy for her daytime show.
BIG BET Returning to stand-up for the first time in 15 years with a special on Netflix.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Whoever has to wake up The Bachelor contestants every morning. I bet that'd be a real sight to see.
I can't get through the workday without Well, dancing.
What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected I get strangers telling me all the time that my show has gotten them through some really rough times, and that's taught me people just really want a little break in the middle of their day to relax and have fun.
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Josh Sapan and Charlie Collier
Image Credit: Alexander Tamargo/WireImage; Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic The flagship boasts more hit dramas than any other cable network, making Sapan, 66, and Collier, 47, one of the most formidable duos in ad-supported cable. Now several years after the end of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, series such as Better Call Saul and Halt & Catch Fire keep them prestige power players — as some of their rivals are forced to flee the scripted business altogether.
BIG WIN Four of the top five cable dramas and TV's No. 1 show, The Walking Dead.
BIG BET A push for in-house efforts from AMC Studios, including for Charter Communications' Spectrum.
•••
Best advice I've received about power
Collier: "You rent the chair you're in and should never confuse the chair's power with your own." — Peter GuberIf I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Collier: Bob Iger. What breadth of perspective.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Collier: (Two words) "Please hold."The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Sapan: An Amazon Echo and a Google Home. -
Jennifer Lawrence
Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Passengers wasn't the blockbuster Sony was banking on, grossing $303 million worldwide off a budget reported at $125 million ($20 million of which went to Lawrence), and X-Men: Apocalypse underperformed. But Oscar winner Lawrence, 26, is still the most in-demand female star on the planet.
BIG WIN Franchises fini, she can focus on ambitious fare.
BIG BET Mother! (Oct. 13), directed by her new beau, Darren Aronofsky.
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Jason Blum
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic The 48-year-old producer had an enormous year as he added more box-office hits to a microbudget résumé that includes the Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge and Sinister franchises.
BIG WIN Get Out and Split, which together cost $14 million, have earned more than $525 million worldwide for Blumhouse and Universal.
BIG BET Blumhouse (The Normal Heart, The Jinx) is expanding its television presence, launching an independent TV studio this year with an investment from ITV Studios. Current projects include HBO's Sharp Objects, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee and starring Amy Adams, a Showtime miniseries about Roger Ailes that's based on Gabriel Sherman's biography, The Loudest Voice in the Room, and a TV series based on The Purge.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Richard Plepler.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Exhausting.
What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected I am constantly reminded how challenging our business is by watching movies come and go on the marquee across the street from my house.
I can't get through the workday without Crossfit.
The travel perk I can't live without My Citibike fob and my 2-year-old daughter, whom I bring everywhere — including Sundance!
How Trump has changed my job and life I have more bad dreams.
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Leonardo DiCaprio
Image Credit: C Flanigan/FilmMagic Given recent headlines over his ties to a Malaysian company that's alleged to have used dirty money to finance movies including The Wolf of Wall Street, it's just as well the 42-year-old star has been steering clear of the spotlight since his 2016 Oscar win, concentrating on producing (The Ballad of Richard Jewell, Akira). But no other star can turn a prestige play into a box-office hit.
BIG WIN Saving porpoises in the Gulf of California.
BIG BET 2018 Paramount mob drama The Black Hand.
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Lorne Michaels
Image Credit: Amanda Edwards/WireImage With the addition of Alec Baldwin (as President Trump) and Melissa McCarthy (as press secretary Sean Spicer), Michaels, 72, managed to make his long-running variety show as relevant as ever in its 42nd season. With the White House watching, Saturday Night Live nabbed its best ratings since the 1993-94 season, and now is a shoo-in for multiple Emmy nominations. Elsewhere in his portfolio, Late Night With Seth Meyers has seen renewed relevance in the Trump era, while The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon has been challenged.
BIG WIN 11 million weekly SNL viewers in the most watched season in 23 years.
BIG BET Turning around his Tonight Show.
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Shonda Rhimes
Image Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty Images As many ABC freshman dramas faltered, Rhimes' stable of established hits (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder) proved as sturdy as ever. And even though she had a few misses of her own (The Catch, Still Star-Crossed), ABC is placing more chips on 47-year-old Rhimes, with a Grey's spinoff and legal entry For the People.
BIG WIN Rhimes' TGIT trifecta all ranked in the 20 highest-rated shows of the season.
BIG BET The fall launch of her news and content site Shondaland.com.
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David Nevins
Image Credit: Amanda Edwards/WireImage While newer entries I'm Dying Up Here and Roadies have struggled, ambitious doc series (The Circus) and older dramas (Homeland) have the 51-year-old chief growing his subscriber base, aided by a streaming service that has topped 1.5 million users. In an era of countless platforms, the network also remains a go-to destination for top talent, making pacts with the likes of John Ridley, Daniel Craig and Benedict Cumberbatch.
BIG WIN Finally premiering David Lynch's Twin Peaks follow-up, however weird.
BIG BET A push into limited series, including Ben Stiller's Escape at Dannemora.
•••
Best advice I've received about power "Take care of your talent." — Brian Grazer
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Terry Gross or Howard Stern. I'd like to ask the questions.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Inscrutable.
My primary news source Twitter, newspapers on my iPad.
I can't get through the workday without Multiple cups of coffee with cream and without, just for variety.
The travel perk I can't live without Lie-flat beds for coast-to-coast flights.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there Multiple yo-yo's.
How Trump has changed my job and life More political documentaries.
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Roy Price and Jason Ropell
Image Credit: ibrina Hobson/Getty Images With Amazon having established itself as an Emmy regular, with series like Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle, Price, 49, and Ropell, 45, are stepping up its movie game. Licensing tens of thousands of movies from the major studios, they continued to move aggressively on the acquisition front, dominating dealmaking at Sundance, buying five films outright and picking up streaming rights to another dozen after the fest, while also funding such projects as Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck, invited into competition at Cannes, along with Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here, for which they beat out A24 to snap up U.S. rights.
BIG WIN With Manchester by the Sea, Amazon is the first streamer to earn a best picture Oscar nom (it won for screenplay and actor). And it also claimed a best foreign film win for Asghar Fahardi's The Salesman.
BIG BET Dropping $12 million at Sundance for comedy The Big Sick that hits theaters, via Lionsgate, on July 14.
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Dwayne Johnson
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Despite Baywatch's fizzle ($120 million worldwide, off a $69 million budget), Johnson, 45, is a producing force, a TV star (HBO's Ballers) and Hollywood's highest-paid actor; he's at the top of every list.
BIG WIN Fate of the Furious ($1.2 billion worldwide).
BIG BET Of 12 projects in the pipeline (a Jumanji sequel, DC Comics spinoff Black Adam), the riskiest may be Lifeline, a YouTube series about insurance agents.
•••
Best advice I've received about power I wrestled in a small-time wrestling circuit through the South, in flea markets and used car dealerships and sometimes even bars, with haystacks and shit. Probably the biggest lesson I learned was listen to the audience. If you listen to them and you have your finger on the pulse and your ear to the ground of where they stand, they'll direct you on what they want. And I'm in the business of giving the audience what they want.
How my assistant would describe me in one word I have multiple assistants and I think they would all say anything from "driven" to "sexy" to "kind." And [prone to] cheesy jokes.
My primary news source Twitter.
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Jeremy Zimmer, David Kramer and Jay Sures
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; George Pimentel/WireImage; John Lamparski/Getty Images Led by Zimmer, 59, Kramer, 48, and Sures, 50, along with co-founders Jim Berkus and Peter Benedek, UTA boasts stars Chris Pratt, Angelina Jolie, Channing Tatum and Benedict Cumberbatch, with broadcast division Bienstock representing Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper and Norah O'Donnell.
BIG WIN Of the 12 directors whose movies have earned more than $100 million in 2017, UTA represents seven.
BIG BET A new stake in boutique bank AGM Partners may point to more diversified investments.
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Best advice I've received about power
Sures: Jeffrey Katzenberg told me, "Whatever you will do inevitably, do immediately."If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Zimmer: Jay-Z. I would enjoy having his perspective and impact on pop culture.
Kramer: Samantha Bee. I'd be brilliant, hilarious and my teenage daughters would worship me.
Sures: Tim Cook. I am endlessly fascinated by technology and the way it impacts the world.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Zimmer: Nonstop.
Kramer: I beg you to not ask my assistant to describe me.
Sures: Relentless.What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected
Zimmer: My wife. She taught me that if I don't like what I'm seeing then move my head.
Sures: It doesn't matter how successful you are, your kids still demand love, attention and compassion.My primary news source
Kramer: These days, I seem to be paying attention to news more than ever before. I listen to a lot of NPR and Pod Save America, read The New York Times and watch a lot of Chuck Todd, Jake Tapper and Rachel Maddow, to name a few.
Sures: All my news clients — I can't pick favorites!I can't get through the workday without
Zimmer: A siesta from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sures: Conferring with my colleagues and learning something new.The travel perk I can't live without
Kramer: TSA Precheck.
Sures: Delta One.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Zimmer: A turntable.
Kramer: I have a coffee mug on my desk (a gift from a fellow agent) that says, "Your enthusiasm is scaring everyone." I don't get it, but everyone else seems to.
Sures: A paper printout with all my clients' direct dials.How Trump has changed my job and life
Zimmer: He has made my kids think that I am highly moral and incredibly smart.
Kramer: Since Trump became president, I can tell you that the TVs in the office are on a lot more often and people are very focused on the news in anticipation of what he will do next.
Sures: How to expect the worst and hope for the best. -
Steven Spielberg
Image Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Currently in post on Ready Player One, Spielberg, 70, deepened his relationship with Universal, Amblin Pictures' distributor, when the studio took a 4 percent stake in Amblin in February.
BIG WIN Amblin and Alibaba signed a deal in October to co-produce films for China and global audiences.
BIG BET Watergate drama The Papers (Dec. 22).
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J.J. Abrams
Image Credit: John Lamparski/WireImage The town's most in-demand filmmaker had a quiet past 12 months, with Star Trek Beyond his only big-screen credit (as producer). Though Roadies was a miss for Showtime, Westworld aired on HBO to acclaim and a second-season pickup. Abrams, 50, also is an exec producer on Star Wars: The Last Jedi and is producing Mission: Impossible 6 along with the next Cloverfield movie through Bad Robot.
BIG WIN Westworld, which had the most watched first season of any HBO original series.
BIG BET Horror anthology Lovecraft Country, from Bad Robot and Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw, straight to series at HBO.
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Megan Ellison
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic She's turning her production company into a mini-studio, setting up marketing and distribution arms and hiring studio alums like ex-Fox exec Marc Weinstock as president, former Weinstein distribution president Erik Lomis and Ex-Sony president of marketing David Kaminow. She's also acquiring prestige packages like The Sisters Brothers starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney film. Ellison, 31, also inked international distribution deals with MGM and Entertainment One.
BIG WIN Production deals with Plan B and Moonlight helmer Barry Jenkins' Pastel.
BIG BET Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit (Aug. 4), the first film to be distributed under Annapurna's new banner.
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Chris Meledandri
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images Without abandoning his cost-consciousness — Illumination's movies typically cost a thrifty $75 million or so — the 58-year-old stepped up the pace at his Universal-based animation studio, for the first time issuing two films in a year — The Secret Life of Pets ($875.5 million worldwide) and Sing ($632.4 million). The Minion Park, a new theme park attraction with shops, restaurant and a 3D ride, opened in April at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.
BIG WIN Pets became an instant franchise, with a sequel scheduled for 2019.
BIG BET The minions' June 30 return in Despicable Me 3 with Steve Carell voicing the dual roles of Gru and his brother Dru.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Jeff Bezos, just to see the world through his eyes.
How my assistant would describe me in one word I did ask and her response was: "Nonstop, like that Hamilton song."
My primary news source The New York Times.
I can’t get through the workday without Unsweetened iced green tea.
The travel perk I can't live without A bed without bed bugs.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A family photo with my ex-wife in it.
How Trump has changed my job and life It is now even more important to make films that bring joy into people's lives.
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Ryan Murphy
Image Credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic TV’s top tastemaker, Murphy, 52, has displayed an unparalleled ability to not only court stars (Lady Gaga in American Horror Story, John Travolta in American Crime Story, Susan Sarandon in Feud) and viewers but also drive the cultural conversation with his eerily timely output. His impact is being felt offscreen, too, where the prolific showrunner has revolutionized the anthology format along with Hollywood’s hiring practices via his Half Foundation, which puts more women and minorities in the director's chair.
BIG WIN FX's Feud: Bette and Joan prompted think pieces and heaps of critical praise.
BIG BET A second chance at Fox broadcast success with 911, starring Angela Bassett.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose The person who does the topiaries on the Fox lot. That's a great gig, and my kids would be so impressed. They are obsessed with those topiaries. And I used to be a gardening designer.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My children have taught me that it’s a really good foundation for a life, but it's not a life.
My primary news source It used to be The New York Times, but now I have MSNBC on in a loop in my house.
I can't get through the workday without Espresso.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there I have a lamp that was given to me that was one of Jack Warner's lamps. It's one of the ugliest lamps I've ever seen and I love it.
How Trump has changed my job and life It's changed my life in that I find in my writers rooms — and I have four or five different shows going on, so there are four or five different writers rooms — at least the first hour of every day is dedicated to talking about the writers and staffers' anxieties about the world, vis-a-vis the Trump administration, and then how are we going to put those anxieties into art. That's new.
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Bob Greenblatt, Jennifer Salke and Paul Telegdy
Image Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBCUniversal Shepherded by Greenblatt, 56, lieutenant Salke, 53, and reality rainmaker Telegdy, 46, the firm leader in the 18-to-49 demo across all of television boasts enviable success in scripted (This Is Us) unscripted (The Voice, World of Dance) and, to their ratings benefit, sports. But its their consistent lineup of originals that make their network among the most steadfast in a time of increased pressure, though much of the buying they do is now in-house — NBCUniversal having added an alternative studio to their already substantial comedy and drama factory.
BIG WIN The No. 1 TV network for the 2016-17 season.
BIG BET A Will & Grace revival.
•••
Best advice I've received about power
Salke: My dad was kind and interested in all people — no matter what their position.
Telegdy: It's nice to be important, but it is important to be nice.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Telegdy: Chris Meledandri, I think I could learn a lot from him in a day.I can't get through the workday without
Greenblatt: Looking at our stock price.What I've learned about my job from someone unexpected
Greenblatt: My dog taught me to ignore overnight ratings because they only tell half the story.
Salke: My kids inspire me to put down the electronics and be a more active listener. I need more improvement.How Trump has changed my job and life
Greenblatt: We have one less reality show on our schedule. -
Tony Vinciquerra and Tom Rothman
Image Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images; Todd Williamson/Getty Images The former Fox colleagues were reunited in May when Sony Corp. CEO Kazuo Hirai tapped Vinciquerra, 62, to lead film (run by Rothman, 62), TV and worldwide media. After a $962 million write-down in 2016 and several film misses, Sony's entertainment division is positioning itself for a turnaround (but not a sale, Hirai insists), with Vinciquerra looking to replace departing TV chiefs Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht.
BIG WIN Vinciquerra's new job.
BIG BET Spider-man: Homecoming (July 7) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Dec. 20).
•••
Best advice I've received about power
Vinciquerra: A great leader is not always the smartest person in the room. Great leaders succeed by empowering the people they surround themselves with.
Rothman: I asked Meryl [Streep] why her Devil Wears Prada character whispered, and she told me that the most powerful person in a room always spoke the softest. Superb advice that I have never successfully followed.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Vinciquerra: I just did that!
Rothman: Is this a trick question? Hello, Leo.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Vinciquerra: Unflappable.
Rothman: Eccentric.My primary news source
Vinciquerra: Multiple sources — and lately it's like drinking from a fire hose.
Rothman: I read four newspapers every day, on actual newspaper — The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.I can't get through the workday without
Vinciquerra: Unlike many, I can get through the workday without a cup of coffee.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Rothman: A script that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote three weeks before he died.The travel perk I can't live without
Vinciquerra: An aisle seat. -
Jim Gianopulos
Image Credit: Austin Hargrave It's straight out of Greek mythology: A Hollywood studio chief is blindsided and fired after 16 years of service to a powerful family, only to rise from the proverbial ashes and take the helm of a rival family-owned studio in desperate need of rescue. In August, Jim Gianopulos was on his annual summer sojourn to the Greek isle of Antiparos, his parents' homeland, when news broke in Los Angeles that his new bosses, James and Lachlan Murdoch, were replacing him with Stacey Snider at 20th Century Fox a year ahead of schedule.
Gianopulos, 65, suddenly found himself without a job for the first time since he delivered newspapers in his youth. Rumors immediately swirled that he would replace Brad Grey at Paramount, where a disastrous run at the box office and leadership turmoil at parent company Viacom under CEO Philippe Dauman had left the storied studio in shambles, capped by an operating loss of $445 million in fiscal 2016. After flirting with the top roles at Sony Pictures and Wanda's Legendary Pictures, Gianopulos decided on the Paramount job once he was assured by Viacom vice chairman Shari Redstone — daughter of Viacom founder Sumner Redstone, who now guides her ailing father's empire — and new Viacom CEO Bob Bakish and CFO Wade Davis that he would enjoy the autonomy traditionally afforded studio heads. It took some negotiation, but the Viacom board offered Gianopulos full greenlight authority for films with budgets up to about $100 million. In March, he closed a deal to run the studio where he once worked in business affairs (for five years starting in the late '80s) before moving to Fox.
Read Gianopulos' full cover story here.
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John Landgraf
Image Credit: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic Working with a fraction of the budget of HBO or Netflix, FX’s Landgraf has managed to churn out an unprecedented slew of critical darlings, from Atlanta to Feud: Bette and Joan. Viewers have followed, with FX and FXX wrapping the year with two of cable's top five scripted dramas (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, American Horror Story: Roanoke) and three of its top five comedies (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer and Atlanta).
BIG WIN A basic cable network record of 18 Emmy wins.
BIG BET Two more chapters (Versace, Katrina) of American Crime Story.
•••
Best advice I've received about power "There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it." — Lord Acton. To paraphrase: Bad behavior or deceit is much more easily justified when it is perpetrated by people in power.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose My present self in this same job 10 years ago — now that I know how easy the job used to be.
How Trump has changed my job and life Trump has made me way more anxious, almost every day. It's not about politics. It's about integrity. Judging by his behavior, he is completely amoral, does not believe in the democratic separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution, and recognizes no truth beyond himself — beyond what he needs to be the true for his own emotional comfort in any given moment. It is scary to me that I have fellow citizens who still think he should be our president.
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Richard Plepler and Casey Bloys
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Plepler, 58, is positioning his network for the realities of cord-cutting, growth on HBO’s over-the-top channels (including HBO Now, and virtual MVPDs) is three times what it was about a year ago, from 800,000 at the end of 2015 to over 2.4 million subscribers today. Bloys, 45, has — in one year on the job — maintained HBO's pedigree with ambitious plays like Big Little Lies, The Young Pope and Westworld. Jon Stewart's animation project was scrapped prelaunch and Bill Simmons' show flamed out fast, but the net notched record income growth in 2017's first quarter; adjusted operating income was up 22 percent to $595 million on revenues of $1.6 billion.
BIG WIN Westworld was HBO's most watched first-season show ever.
BIG BET Stewart's next project — whatever it is.
•••
Best advice I've received about power
Plepler: "Always beware of hubris." — My dad
Bloys: From Game of Thrones: "You can be an old king or a brave king, but not an old, brave king."If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Plepler: Jimmy Iovine. Nobody's living better than Jimmy.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Plepler: Overscheduled.
Bloys: Nerd.What I've learned about my job from my kids
Plepler: My 14-year-old daughter reminds me that "screens" mean many different things.My primary news source
Plepler: Print — The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post; TV — CNN.
Bloys: The New York Times.I can't get through the workday without …
Plepler: My nightly run.
Bloys: Double tall nonfat latte.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Plepler: A pile and folder of weathered op-eds and essays, which I've saved over the years. -
Ben Sherwood
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images Sherwood, 53, oversees ABC's entertainment and news divisions, ABC Studios, Disney's 50 percent stake in A+E Networks and Disney Channel, a global brand that reaches viewers in 162 countries. Disney Media Networks — which Sherwood heads with ESPN's John Skipper — ended fiscal 2016 with $23.7 billion in revenue on operating income of $7.7 billion.
BIG WIN A deal to premiere Marvel drama Inhumans in Imax in 74 countries.
BIG BET American Idol reboot.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Dave Roberts, manager of the Dodgers. Go Blue!
What I've learned about my job from my kids Every day, every hour, my young boys are a living laboratory for all the changes and disruptions in media consumption and behavior.
I can't get through the workday without The GameChanger Little League App.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A silver necklace and medal depicting Saint Jude, the patron saint of hope in impossible situations, which was worn by Ray Liotta, who played a fireman in the film adaptation of one of my novels, Charlie St. Cloud.
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Bonnie Hammer
Image Credit: Courtesy of Mary Rozzi/NBCUniversal New York-based Hammer, 66, spends next to no time rubbing Hollywood elbows, but her cable portfolio, which includes seven major networks (former big bet Esquire no longer among them) and two studios, is still the biggest profit contributor to NBCUniversal. Despite softening ratings and ad dollars, her group grew in profit and revenue for the 13th year in a row.
BIG WIN USA was the most watched ad-supported cable entertainment network for the 11th straight year.
BIG BET A fall play for the pint-size set with Universal Kids.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I’d choose Maitre d' at one of the top industry restaurants. Imagine the relationships you'd forge, the stories you'd hear, your control over the pecking order! Talk about power!
How my assistant would describe me in one word Two words actually…control freak.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there An old-school week-at-a-glance calendar…with entries made in pencil so they can be erased! I think of it as an analog backup to my digital schedule.
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Jon Feltheimer
Image Credit: Mike Pont/FilmMagic Feltheimer, 65, led the company’s $4.4 billion acquisition of Starz (Lionsgate’s market cap is now over $5 billion), a string of box-office wins and 26 Oscar nominations, the most of any film studio, including 14 for La La Land.
BIG WIN La La's Oscar burn was soothed by its $444 million global box-office haul. On the TV side, the buzzy new series Dear White People debuted last month on Netflix.
BIG BET Wonder (Nov. 17), starring Julia Roberts, Jacob Tremblay and Owen Wilson, hopes to put Lionsgate back in the awards conversation.
•••
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose I wouldn’t.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Hardworking.
My primary news source At the office, CNBC. At home, CNN.
I can't get through the workday without My team.
The travel perk I can't live without My iPad.
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Kathleen Kennedy
Image Credit: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images Whispers that extensive retooling spelled trouble for Rogue One proved moot when Star Wars' first stand-alone became 2016's second-highest-grossing film. Now Kennedy, 64, is moving ahead on the first installment of a Han Solo anthology (despite losing directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in the middle of production) while juggling Episodes VIII and IX.
BIG WIN Rogue One made $1 billion-plus worldwide.
BIG BET Keeping the Force with The Last Jedi (Dec. 15).
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Kevin Feige
Image Credit: Koury Angelo Feige remembers a day not too long ago when he was mistaken for a valet attendant. "I'm fine with that," says the Marvel Studios president, 44, as he settles into a chair (right next to the sofa that Kurt Russell's character lounged on in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) in his Marvel office on the Disney lot in Burbank. "People hand me their car keys, and that's OK. You see people walking around like they are the top dog — they're usually nobody. Because it's the people who pretend to have power that have none."
Feige has got some. Running Marvel puts him firmly in control of the most successful cinematic superhero universe — a concept he pretty much invented — on Earth. And in a landscape where it's hard enough to produce one hit, he has 15 in a row. Captain America: Civil War was the No. 1 film of 2016 worldwide. Guardians 2, still in theaters, so far has grossed $844 million, while Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, raked in $678 million. All of it, over the past nine years, adding up to a staggering total of $11.4 billion in grosses since Feige (and Robert Downey Jr.) reinvented Marvel with the first Iron Man. And now that Feige has wrested creative control over No. 1 superhero Spider-Man from Sony, that number is likely to soar even higher. Spider-Man: Homecoming arrives in theaters July 7, with Sony distributing. "He's ahead of most people; he has a plan," says Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, the first African-American actor to headline a Marvel superhero movie (the film comes out Feb. 16; its trailer got 89 million views in its first 24 hours). "He's thinking five movies ahead. Maybe more than that."
BIG WIN Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 surpassed the original domestically and internationally.
BIG BET Black Panther (Feb. 16, 2018) and its unprecedented all-black cast.
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John Lasseter
Image Credit: Vincent Sandoval/WireImage Purists may grumble about Pixar's sequels, but no one can argue with 60-year-old Lasseter's success: Finding Dory swam to $1 billion-plus.
BIG WIN Billion-dollar smash Zootopia also won the 2017 animated film Oscar.
BIG BET Coco (Nov. 22), an original film based on Mexico's Day of the Dead.
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Best advice I've received about power From Steve Jobs: "Don't worry about power, just make our movies insanely great."
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose I think I have the best job in Hollywood, so I would switch with a ride operator at the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland — which is the best job in the world.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Passionate.
My primary news source Apple News.
I can't get through the workday without Laughing.
The travel perk I can't live without My Disneyland silver pass.
The object on your desk people would be surprised to see there No one can see my desk because of all the toys that are on it.
How Trump has changed my job and life I read the news a lot more.
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Dana Walden and Gary Newman
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox Broadcasting Co. With a sweeping portfolio on the studio side — No. 1 series on five networks, including their own (Empire) — Walden, 52, and Newman, 63, produced 41 shows over the past year across 12 networks. They are the driving force behind more than $7 billion in revenue for 21st Century Fox, and their third year atop the flagship net also saw it inch up to No. 2 of the Big Four — thanks to the Super Bowl and World Series, which overcompensated for scripted slides. The duo also remain among the biggest risk-takers in broadcast TV, boasting a roster of quirky comedies (2017 breakout The Mick) and giving creators such as Ryan Murphy carte blanche (see his upcoming Angela Bassett vehicle, straight-to-series sans script) with precious scheduling real estate.
BIG WIN NBC's hit This Is Us, produced by 20th TV.
BIG BET Moving Fox linchpin Empire to 8 p.m. to boost sister series Star.
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Best advice I've received about power
Walden: From Peter Chernin. He told me a long time ago that the power is in the chair, and it’s rented. Don't abuse it. Try to do some good while you have it.
Newman: My parents taught me not to take myself too seriously. The power is in the job, not the person.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Walden: Ted Sarandos, so that I could see Netflix's ratings.
Newman: I would like to work as an executive producer of one of our series to see whether studio and network input is helping or hurting.My primary news source
Walden: Gary Newman
Newman: A number of email updates from various services for breaking news, [but] I like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for more in-depth reporting.How Trump has changed my job and life
Walden: I’m not talking about him right now. Too depressing. -
Kevin Tsujihara and Toby Emmerich
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images Following a number of box-office mishaps, Tsujihara, 52, shook things up in a major way when putting Emmerich, longtime New Line chief, in charge of all film production efforts and giving Emmerich, 54, co-greenlight authority. The promotion was announced in December, not long after AT&T announced its $85.4 billion bid to acquire parent company Time Warner (that deal is still pending). Tsujihara oversees all divisions of Warner Bros., including TV and digital.
BIG WIN Wonder Woman, grossing $578 million worldwide so far, is a milestone for DC's Extended Universe
BIG BET Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (July 21), Alcon's Blade Runner 2049 (Oct. 10) and DC’s next outing, Justice League (Nov. 17).
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Richard Lovett, Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images (3) Despite August's tell-all book, Lovett, 57, Huvane, 58, and Lourd, 56 — who, the tome reported, each earned $40 million when TPG took a majority stake in 2014 — have kept on chugging, with 115 Oscar winners, 115 scripted TV packages and sports contracts worth $7.9 billion. And CAA was the agency of choice for star politicos including Joe Biden and Barbara Boxer, both new clients.
BIG WIN Franchises from CAA producers (such as Kathleen Kennedy) earned more than $4.1 billion in the last year.
BIG BET Will CAA test the IPO waters with CAA China?
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Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell
Image Credit: Miller Mobley Emanuel, 56, and Whitesell, 52, continue to grow their mega-agency from seller to owner, partnering with clients to produce everything from a Steve Harvey talk show to a Michael Moore Broadway play. But WME hasn't abandoned its bread and butter, buying literary agency RWSG in 2016 and packaging TV hits This Is Us and Westworld.
BIG WIN July's $4 billion purchase of client UFC gave WME rights to one of sports' fastest-growing leagues.
BIG BET UFC hopes to quadruple the value of its media rights to $450 million a year.
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Best advice I've received about power
Emanuel: Never received any, but it's fleeting and not an accurate reflection of anything. People who are insecure think there is something in power. It's a false sense of security for insecure people.
Whitesell: Always remember the power is the position you hold, not you.My primary news source
Emanuel: The Washington Post.
Whitesell: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Flipboard.I can't get through the workday without
Emanuel: Exercise and meditation. -
Stacey Snider and Emma Watts
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images (2) Snider, 56, who officially succeeded Jim Gianopulos in September, has been making her mark while avoiding any big-budget disasters. She hired Pamela Levine to run worldwide marketing and, in the biggest move, elevated Watts, 47, to vice chairman (Watts also remains president of production).
BIG WIN Hidden Figures and Logan both scored with critics and at the box office.
BIG BET War for the Planet of the Apes (July 14) hopes to beat sequel fatigue, while Fox is counting on Steven Spielberg's The Papers (Dec. 22) to be an awards contender. On Christmas Day, Hugh Jackman's The Greatest Showman on Earth hits theaters.
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Best advice I've received about power
Watts: "Never take no for an answer and always be suspicious of yes." — Oliver StoneIf I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Watts: Skip Brittenham.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Watts: Direct.My primary news source
Watts: The New York Times and The Washington Post.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Watts: A mug from Baltimore that says "hon" on it. -
Jeff Shell, Donna Langley and Ron Meyer
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Universal Pictures currently ranks No. 2 in domestic market share behind Disney, thanks to Shell, 51, Langley, 49, and Meyer, 72 — with a major assist from Chris Meledandri's Illumination. The studio continues to focus on an eclectic slate of films, ranging from micro-budgeted genre titles (including Get Out and Split), midsize franchises (Fifty Shades) and big-budget tentpoles.
BIG WIN The Fate of the Furious raced to $1.23 billion at the global box office.
BIG BET The studio's Dark Universe, a series of interconnected monster movies, got a scary start with dud The Mummy. Starring Tom Cruise, The Mummy has grossed a dismal $58.7 million in North America since its debut June 9, but has fared better overseas with $236.8 million to date. Next up from the Dark Universe is Bill Condon’s Bride of Frankenstein, due out in 2019.
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Best advice I've received about power
Shell: From Chase Carey to Tony Ball to Steve Burke, I received the same advice: Things are never as bad or as good as they seem, so take a deep breath.
Langley: "Power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." — Margaret Thatcher
Meyer: Assumption is the mother of all f—-ups.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Shell: Relentless.
Meyer: Anal retentive.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Langley: Princess Catherine doll.I can't get through the workday without
Shell: That first cup of coffee.
Langley: Checking in with my kids to hear about their day.
Meyer: Telephones. -
Peter Rice
Image Credit: Courtesy of Kwaku Alston/FOX Rice, 50, the highest-ranking and most plugged in 21st Century Fox executive without the name Murdoch, counts the broadcast and cable networks as well as the sports nets, studios and international TV division in his purview. Not included: scandal-torn Fox News, which this year went from a point of profit envy for him to a costly headache for his bosses. Given Rice’s experience in both film (formerly ran Fox Searchlight) and TV (where his group scored 103 Emmy noms last year), his name is often bandied about for other top Hollywood gigs.
BIG WIN With 114 million viewers, the Super Bowl was the most watched telecast in Fox's history.
BIG BET A push to stabilize the challenged broadcast net.
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Best advice I've received about power Lew Wasserman told me never to greenlight a movie without looking in the mirror and asking if I truly believed in it or if I were doing it to appease someone else.
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose A National Geographic photographer — Paul Nicklen.
How my assistant would describe me in one word "British" in all its aspects.
My primary news source My iPhone.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A picture of Malcolm Allison.
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Oprah Winfrey
Image Credit: Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc. If the self-made billionaire said “Jump,” nearly everyone in Hollywood would respond, “How high?” Such is the unparalleled power of Winfrey, 63, whose been busy adding to her portfolio (starring in HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, contributing to CBS' 60 Minutes) now that her cable network OWN is in growth mode. In fact, with lauded scripted bets Queen Sugar and Greenleaf as well as popular Tyler Perry fare, the former industry punching bag is enjoying its most watched and highest rated year yet.
BIG WIN OWN elbowed into prestige TV with Greenleaf and Queen Sugar.
BIG BET Asking the questions again, now on 60 Minutes.
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Best advice I've received about power From author Gary Zukav: "The only power that lasts is authentic power; using your personality to serve your soul."
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Bob Iger, CEO of Happiness.
I can't get through the workday without Something crunchy — either a hard Snyder's Pretzel or a super crisp apple.
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Alan Horn
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images Five years into the job, Horn, 74, is the maestro of Disney's box-office domination after hitting a record-shattering $7.6 billion in 2016 global revenue. Disney's live-action studio, run by Sean Bailey, is humming (Beauty and the Beast), along with its Marvel (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Lucasfilm (Rogue One) and animation (Cars 3, Moana) houses. Beauty and the Beast waltzed to $1.25 globally and is the top film of 2017 so far.
BIG WIN All five top-grossing films in 2016 were Disney releases; Captain America: Civil War at No. 1, followed by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, Zootopia and The Jungle Book.
BIG BET Last Jedi (Dec. 15) has Force Awakens' $2.07 billion shoes to fill.
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Best advice I've received about power My dear friend Jerry Perenchio had a quote in his office, which came from a quote on Ronald Reagan's desk in the Oval Office: "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit."
My primary news source The New York Times.
I can't get through the workday without A cup of coffee after lunch with skim milk.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there I have a Morgan Freeman clock where his hands are pointing to the hour and his feet are pointing to the minutes. Someone gave it to me a year ago. It's pretty funny.
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Jeff Bewkes
Image Credit: Courtesy of Time Warner With Bewkes, 65, soon to close an $85.4 billion merger with AT&T (and eyeing a post-deal exit), Time Warner beat the street for the first quarter of 2017, with operating income up 4 percent to $2.1 billion and revenue up 6 percent to $7.7 billion. HBO is recovering its creative mojo, CNN is seeing record profits amid a Trump bump, and Warner Bros. scored a win with Wonder Woman, which has earned $578 million worldwide. And the company just finalized a two-year, $100 million deal to make shows for Snapchat.
BIG WIN Turning down Rupert Murdoch's 2015 bid of $85 a share; AT&T will pay $107.50.
BIG BET The deal will mean access to millions more consumers, including DirecTV's 21 million subscribers.
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Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish
Image Credit: Gary Gershoff/WireImage; Jenny Anderson/Getty Images After ousting Viacom chairman and CEO Philippe Dauman, Redstone, 63, withdrew her proposal for a CBS-Viacom merger and tapped Bakish, 53, to run the family business. The stock bounced from $34.99 on the day he was named CEO to $46.62 March 31, but has since returned to the mid-30s. Bakish also acted decisively, tapping Jim Gianopulos in March to head the struggling Paramount studio, and has made initial moves to reverse negative momentum at the cable networks MTV, Comedy Central and BET.
BIG WIN Vanquishing Dauman.
BIG BET A new focus on six core flagships, including MTV, Nickelodeon and BET.
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Best advice I've received about power
Bakish: Be nice to people on your way up, which my father told me long, long ago. He's 91 now and thankfully doing fine.If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Bakish: [Universal Music Group CEO] Lucian Grainge. I always loved music and still do.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Bakish: Pragmatic.My primary news source
Bakish: Google Alerts.I can't get through the workday without
Bakish: My Android BlackBerry.The travel perk I can't live without
Bakish: As a prior head of our international division with close to 4 million AAdvantage miles, I have to say the six months of Air Viacom.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Bakish: A white marble elephant, which is the Indian symbol of wisdom.How Trump has changed my job and life
Bakish: We speak about politics today far more than we used to. Everywhere. With your family. With your co-workers. I don't really like politics much and don't talk about politics. But you can't not talk about politics now. It's crazy. -
James Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic In the first nine months of its fiscal year, the $50.4 billion conglomerate notched a 5 percent increase in revenue to $21.8 billion and 11 percent boost in operating income to $5.7 billion. But troubles over sexual harassment allegations against Roger Ailes (who died May 18) and ousted star Bill O'Reilly plagued Fox News, which ceded ratings ground to MSNBC and CNN. Rupert Murdoch, 86, is working to steady Fox News, while sons James, 44, and Lachlan, 45, run its parent. Meanwhile, FX Networks took home 18 Emmys, a record for basic cable, thanks to The People v. O.J. Simpson, while 20th Century Fox Television delivered the No. 1 shows at five networks, including Empire on Fox, Modern Family on ABC, This Is Us at NBC and Homeland on Showtime.
BIG WIN Fox consistently notches subscriber growth at FXX, Nat Geo, Fox Sports 1 and more, helping its Cable Network Programming segment score a 6 percent lift to $11.8 billion in revenue in its first three fiscal quarters.
BIG BET Six years after a hacking scandal derailed plans to take over the U.K.'s Sky pay TV service, the Murdochs are trying again.
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Lachlan: One of our National Geographic photographers or cinematographers, whose work I think is consistently awesome.
James: Jason Momoa for the tomahawks and Guinness.I can't get through the workday without
Lachlan: Quietly acknowledging the responsibilities we have to both employees and our customers around the world.
James: Laughing out loud at least once.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Lachlan: An issue of Rock and Ice magazine.
James: My Saad Mohseni bobblehead and a cricket ball. -
Leslie Moonves
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Despite broadcast TV's challenges, the hands-on Moonves, 67, saw his company, which airs such hits as The Big Bang Theory and NCIS, post its best year yet, with revenue up 4 percent to a record high $13.2 billion and operating income rising 12 percent to $2.9 billion. For the first quarter of 2017, the company — run by the last of the true Hollywood showman in an industry now dominated by corporate suits — posted its 29th consecutive quarter of earnings-per-share growth.
BIG WIN Late Show, fronted by a reenergized Stephen Colbert, won in total viewers for the first time in 22 years.
BIG BET New programming leadership at CBS.
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Best advice I've received about power "Be tough, but be fair." — Jerry Perenchio
If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Charlie Rose.
What I've learned about my job from my kids My 7½-year-old son thinks all I do is watch pilots and then he and I pick the shows.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there A feng shui dragon.
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Steve Burke
Image Credit: Courtesy of Lisa Berg/NBC NBCUniversal has been on a tear since Comcast purchased what was practically a distressed asset from General Electric in 2011. Burke, 58, has taken operating cash flow from $3.5 billion six years ago to close to $8.5 billion today. His network has been No. 1 in primetime for four seasons and boasts a vast sports portfolio that includes the Olympics and the NFL. On the film side, in 2016 the company purchased Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion — bringing franchises such as How to Train Your Dragon and Madagascar into the fold and doubling the studio's potential animation output to four films a year. The company also paid $2.3 billion for the remaining shares of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka (global theme park revenue is up 9 percent in the first quarter, to $1.2 billion), with another park set to open in Shanghai in 2020.
There's room for improvement: Cable operations have shown lagging growth amid softening ratings and ad revenue, though Burke is quick to point out the unit is still profitable. But the Harvard MBA and father of five — all in their 20s — can see the future of entertainment, which is why he has led investments in Snapchat ($500 million), BuzzFeed ($400 million) and Vox Media ($200 million). Stephen Colbert's late-night winning streak doesn't concern Burke, who notes that NBC's Jimmy Fallon is still No. 1 in the critical 18-to-49 demographic (he was meeting the host for lunch the day he spoke to THR). "It was a big risk to give him the show," says Burke. "But I think Jimmy is so likeable and talented and so much better than the other guys."
Burke, who escapes the rigors of his day job by fly-fishing in Montana, is not given to the hyperbole of some of his industry CEO peers. "Not everything works out, and we have had our share of mistakes," he says. "But if you are optimistic and you hire the right people, you can do great, despite the fact that this is a time of great challenges posed by the internet." The best business advice he ever got, he says, came from his father, who ran ABC before it was sold to Disney (Dan Burke's picture still hangs at ABC's headquarters in New York). "He once told me, 'Hire people who act like owners, not renters,' " says Burke. "An owner fixes the cracks in the wall."
BIG WIN The TV network isn't the only part of the company thriving: Universal Pictures is having its best three-year run in the studio's 102-year history, thanks to blockbuster franchise entries such as Fate of the Furious, Minions and Jurassic World.
BIG BET Megyn Kelly. "She's a big star, and there aren't that many big stars in the news business," he says. "Somebody with that kind of star power, it is complicated bringing her over without disturbing other people, but I think she's doing a great job."
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If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose Lorne Michaels.
How my assistant would describe me in one word On time.
The travel perk I can't live without My iPad.
The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there My desk itself was made by a guy in Montana, who makes a dozen desk a year and has never left the state of Montana.
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Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos
Image Credit: Getty Images There are few conversations in Hollywood without a reference to the streaming giant co-founded by Hastings, 56. With Sarandos, 52, as the company's longtime industry face, Netflix has upended TV's ecosystem and become the industry's most prolific buyer of content, with piles of acclaimed originals, including The Crown, Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why. Now, with 100 million subscribers, a $6 billion content budget and $8.8 billion in annual revenue (but just $187 million in net income, rivals note), it will look to have the same impact in film, with Sarandos bringing in veteran studio executive Scott Stuber to lead the charge.
BIG WIN Amping up local originals abroad following its 190-country rollout.
BIG BET Proving Netflix as a film destination with the 2017 release of such titles as Will Smith starrer Bright.
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Best advice I've received about power
Sarandos: Advice from my wife, former ambassador Nicole Avant: "There is more power in saying 'yes' than saying 'no.'"If I could switch jobs with anyone in Hollywood for a day, I'd choose
Sarandos: He is in New York, but I would switch jobs with Lorne Michaels for a day anytime.The object on my desk people would be surprised to see there
Sarandos: I don't have a desk.How my assistant would describe me in one word
Sarandos: Blur.How many unread emails are in my inbox right now
Sarandos: Which inbox? -
Bob Iger
Image Credit: Kimberly White/Getty Images Film, TV, theme parks, digital, consumer products: No Hollywood executive oversees more and with as much success as Iger. Under his tenure, Disney's market cap has risen from $46 billion to $165 billion. Revenue for fiscal 2016 was up 6 percent to a record $55.6 billion, and net income increased 12 percent to an all-time high of $9.4 billion. Thanks to Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar, all Iger acquisitions, the company commanded the top five slots at the worldwide box office in 2016 and currently leads the 2017 list, with its Beauty and the Beast climbing to $1.29 billion. Around the world, its parks continued to expand. The new Shanghai Disneyland, which opened last June, attracted 11 million visitors in its first year, and a new extension, Toy Story Land, is scheduled to open in 2018, while in Orlando, Fla., Pandora — The World of Avatar threw open its doors at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in May. The Disney board in March extended his contract through July 2, 2019, as the hunt for a successor continues. But not everything was rosy for Iger, 66: ABC ranks fourth among adults 18-to-49, and ESPN, which has lost 10 million subscribers in the past five years, continues to drag on the stock price.
BIG WIN Its global box office hit $7.6 billion in 2016.
BIG BET Leaning on his entire portfolio — channels, digital entities, parks — to ensure ABC's pricey American Idol reboot cuts through.
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Best advice I've received about power Always be humble. No matter how successful you are or how good the world thinks you are, it's very important not to let that go to your head.
How my assistant would describe me in one word Tenacious.
What is your primary news source?? ABC News, major national newspapers and online news aggregators.
I can't get through the workday without A workout and my iPad.
Profiles written by Paul Bond, Patrick Brzeski, Ashley Cullins, Scott Feinberg, Rebecca Ford, Carolyn Giardina, Marisa Guthrie, Natalie Jarvey, Gregg Kilday, Borys Kit, Pamela McClintock, Michael O’Connell, Lacey Rose, Bryn Elise Sandberg, Tatiana Siegel, Kate Stanhope, Rebecca Sun and Benjamin Svetkey. This story first appeared in the June 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
