Hollywood Power Players: James Cameron, Ryan Kavanaugh, Ari Emanuel and more

Hautest Producer
Ryan Kavanaugh

Whereas Cameron is in the art of making films, Kavanaugh is in the business of making movies, meaning he’s in the business of making money. Kavanaugh is the CEO of Relativity Media, which is behind some movies you may have heard of this past year: Zombieland, Couples Retreat, The Ugly Truth, Public Enemies, Fast and the Furious, and Mall Cop. Sure, these flicks may not be earning Oscar nods or racking up accolades at any film festival, but dammit they are entertaining, and the masses are eating them up. Relativity has had some Oscar success in the past, earning 35 nominations for films such as Frost/Nixon, Atonement, American Gangster, and 3:10 to Yuma, which are just as entertaining but not as embarrassing to admit you watched. (That’s what’s great about Netflix. No one sees you renting the movie. It’s like the new version of the discrete brown paper package delivered to your door.) Almost 30 of Relativity’s films have opened at No. 1, and some 40 films have earned more than $100 million at the box office. Relativity also owns and operates Rogue, dedicated to lower-budget genre films, which found success in the horror category (think The Unborn). The reality TV arm, RelativityREAL, is the company behind Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Kid Nation. The company also is branching into music, sports, and television, with even a clothing line in the works. In total, Relativity is expected to be behind 35 films in 2010 alone.

Kavanaugh, the CEO, has been a principal of the company since 2004. What sets him apart from other Hollywood producers is his youth: he’s 34. And wildly successful. While other companies are on the brink of extinction, Kavanaugh seems to be rolling in the dough. He’s a former venture capitalist with a penchant for Converse sneakers—Esquire reported that he wears nothing but Chucks. It’s estimated that he has about $2 billion in liquid assets, so his firm has had a hand in a good majority of the films being made in Hollywood in recent years. Industry giants like Sony, Universal, Warner Bros., Marvel, and Atlas Entertainment have been known to turn to Kavanaugh for financing.

Hautest Agent
Ari Emanuel

He’s the inspirational source for the Ari Gold character on HBO’s hit Entourage, the hard-hitting, trash-talking, dream-chasing, deal-making, larger-than-life Hollywood agent who takes no prisoners when it comes to making things happen for his clients. While Ari Gold’s client list includes the fictional superstar Vincent Chase, Ari Emanuel can count names like Martin Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Douglas, Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry David, and writer/producers Greg Daniels (The Office) and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing).

His firm, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, was created last April when Endeavor merged with the William Morris Agency, which caused quite the stir throughout the industry. Emanuel serves as a co-CEO with Patrick Whitesell (formerly of Endeavor, along with Emanuel), and Dave Wirtschafter (formerly of William Morris). Emanuel is credited with being the strong unifying force within the company, according to Variety, which has been one of the reasons the firm has been so strong in the first year; many were worried that clients would get lost in the shuffle.

Oh, and his brother is White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, so he essentially has a direct line to the leaders of the country. Some have said that the success of Rahm is part of what drives Ari to create a legacy for himself. He is succeeding.

Hautest Film Studio
Warner Bros. Pictures Group

Last year was a record-breaking one for Warner Bros., as the company earned $4.01 billion in worldwide box office sales. Internationally, it is the No. 1 studio, with a 14-percent world market share and a 21-percent share amongst other Hollywood studios, which is why we named this studio the hautest.

The Pictures Group is part of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., a division of Time Warner. The umbrella company has a hand in everything from feature films to television, with products and brand licensing and interactive entertainment galore. The company’s library is made up of more than 6,650 feature films, 40,000 television titles, and 14,000 animated titles. There can be as many as 15,000 people in North America working for the company on any given day (the exact number depends on how many films are in production).

The Pictures Group is where you will find motion picture production as well as the marketing and distribution entities. The group puts out an average of 18 to 22 films each year, and in 2010, audiences have already been lining up to see Valentine’s Day and Clash of the Titans. Excitement is building for Sex and the City 2, Inception, Guardians of Ga’Hoole, and the next installment of the highly successful Harry Potter series.