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

Haute Living launched its Los Angeles edition in 2008, and since that time has profiled some of the biggest names in a variety of industries. We even presented our “Haute 100” list, a ranking of the 100 hautest individuals in Los Angeles and Orange County. But it’s awards season, and a global spotlight has been cast upon one of the region’s biggest—if not the biggest—industries: Hollywood.

It may be the name for a town, but Hollywood is synonymous worldwide with the film industry. So in honor of our Hollywood edition, we are presenting our choices for the people who run the biz in a variety of categories. Make some big moves this year and maybe you will be considered haute enough to make the cut next.

[highlight_text] In early 2010, Avatar surpassed Titanic as the highest-grossing film of all time, earning $1.292 billion worldwide as of the end of January [/highlight_text]

Hautest Director
James Cameron

It may seem like an obvious choice, but Haute Living is not about subtlety. Cameron is not only behind the year’s biggest movie (Avatar); he is behind some of the biggest movies of all time. He is responsible for writing Terminator and Rambo: First Blood, and earned his first directing role for his screenplay Aliens. He followed that up with Terminator 2: Judgment Day and True Lies. But he gained true iconic status for Titanic, which cost $200 million to make—a truly exorbitant amount, considering a typical movie at that time managed to work within a budget of $20 to $30 million. But all of his efforts were worth it. The movie made some $1,835,300,000 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of all time, despite being the priciest to make. Titanic broke box office records the world over and brought home a slew of awards, including 11 Oscars. Cameron himself earned a golden statue as “Best Director,” and the film was named “Best Picture.”

This year, he outdid himself. Avatar, the most buzzed-about film since Titanic, is also Cameron’s most ambitious project. If you are one of the few who hasn’t seen it, it’s a science-fiction epic shot in 3D. The production is so cutting-edge that Cameron had to develop the revolutionary camera technology he used himself. Cameron first wrote the script in 1994, and production took four years. But it was worth it; in early 2010, Avatar surpassed Titanic as the highest-grossing film of all time, earning $1.292 billion worldwide as of the end of January. And with the flick still being shown in IMAX, 3D, and conventional screen formats, that number is still growing. (But keep in mind that Titanic is still the highest-grossing film of all time in the States, and take into consideration the cost of tickets for IMAX films and the inflation of ticket prices since Titanic’s release in 1997.) Avatar, like Titanic, is up for “Best Picture,” although isn’t favored to win (that honor goes to The Hurt Locker), and Cameron has been nominated once again for “Best Director”. If he does win, we are hoping he makes reference once again to being “King of the World”. He deserves it.

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.

Hautest Actor
Johnny Depp

While George Clooney and Jeff Bridges are both up for the “Best Actor” nod at this year’s Academy Awards, our pick for this year’s hautest goes to the venerable Johnny Depp. Because he’s not only hot, he’s über haute: he owns his own island, Little Hall’s Pond Cay. It’s a 45-acre tropical paradise that the notoriously private actor uses to escape and decompress after directors call “That’s a wrap” on the sets of his blockbuster films (because it seems whatever Depp stars in ends up being a blockbuster). And we are sure it’s a very-much-needed sanctuary, as Depp takes on some rather intense characters, such as Edward Scissorhands for a movie of the same name, Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the notorious Jack Sparrow in the highly lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

He’s quite the box-office draw; films starring Depp have grossed billions worldwide. He’s been nominated for a slew of awards, including three “Best Actor” nominations from the Academy Awards. This season, audiences are lining up to see Depp’s portrayal of the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s adaptation of fairytale classic Alice in Wonderland, which is one of the most anticipated releases of 2010.

Hautest Actress
Meryl Streep

What’s most notable about Streep’s career, other than her inherent and obvious talent, is its longevity. Now 60 years old, Ms. Streep just keeps getting better and better, and continues to rack up the accolades to prove it. In an industry that is obsessed with youth and the next best thing, Streep has proven staying—and leading—power. Vanity Fair’s recent cover feature on the actress refers to her as the new box-office queen, and rightfully so. She’s up for a yet another Oscar this year for her portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, which puts her at a record 16 nominations. The closest runner-ups are Katherine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, both of whom have earned 12 nominations.

Her career began on the stage in New York in the 1960s. Her first feature film, Julia, was released in 1977, and the talented actress followed it up the next year with The Deer Hunter, which earned her the first Academy Award nomination, this time for “Best Supporting Actress.” She won the “Best Actress” category in 1982 for her work in Sophie’s Choice.

In recent years, she chilled the hearts of aspiring magazine writers and editors everywhere with her portrayal of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, which earned her Academy Award, SAG, and Golden Globe nominations in the “Best Actress” categories. Then she switched gears and played a country music singer in A Prairie Home Companion, following that up with another musical role in a silver screen adaptation of ABBA musical Mamma Mia! She then transformed into a nun for Doubt, which again earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, securing her the SAG award for “Best Actress.” This winter, she starred alongside Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin in It’s Complicated, a film in which the three stars found themselves in a tangled love triangle.

Hautest Agency
Creative Artist Agency

While Ari Emanuel’s WME may be the agency making the most headlines, the power house that is CAA earns a spot on our haute list as the best agency in general. See for yourself: Google CAA + WME. The top results are almost all stories of big-name stars leaving WME for CAA…or returning to CAA, as the case may be. Robert De Niro just made the switch, as did Ryan Seacrest. In Vanity Fair’s top Hollywood earners list, 18 of the top 40 were repped by CAA, while WME only has 14 of those artists under its umbrella.

The agency is led by six aggressive Hollywood big shots: Richard Lovett (president), Kevin Huvane (managing partner), Steve Lafferty (head of television), Rob Light (managing partner and head of music), Bryan Lourd (managing partner), and David O’Conner (managing partner), but Lovett and Lourd are the main honchos. It is an intensely private firm run by men whose minions strive to keep the company name out of the media, and the company website lists nothing more than contact info. However, CAA has the star-power clientele to be able to do whatever it very well pleases.

Hautest Law Firm
Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman & Goodman, LLP

This law firm isn’t one that will keep the stars out of trouble (or out of jail, as the case may be), but they are just as important. They focus on employment contracts with studios and networks, advise on taxes and real estate purchases, and generally keep the business-side of things running smoothly. And in the case of Bloom, Hergott, et al., they keep it running smoothly for the top writers, actors, talent agents, and pretty much anyone else who makes Hollywood-sized deals in this town. For example, the firm’s Leigh Brecheen is the woman behind Conan O’Brien’s entertainment contracts. The firm also represents the likes of Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Britney Spears, Jerry Bruckheimer, Imagine Entertainment, Nicolas Cage, M. Night Shyamalan, Russell Crowe, and many other top directors, actors, and producers in the business.

Hautest Film Festival
Sundance

Every January, Sundance Film Festival draws in thousands of independent movie lovers as well as a smattering of stars who take roles in the films to exercise their acting abilities. The festival is part of the Sundance Institute, which was founded in the 1981 by Robert Redford, who had a goal of creating an environment that would foster independence, discovery, and new voices in American film. The festival is considered the premier showcase for American and international independent film, although in recent years, it had embarked on a more commercial path.

But then John Cooper was named director of the festival in March last year. In this role, he is responsible for anything and everything dealing with the festival, from the artistic approach to picking out the films and determining the overall tone. The theme of the 2010 show was “Sundance Reminded,” because “it’s kind of our artwork,” explains Cooper. “I wanted to remind ours team why we were there in the first place, and also remind the audiences. Lots of people thought we were all about sales and the marketplace, and yeah, we do like sales at the film festival, and we do like filmmakers to make their money back for the films they created, but at the same time, the event itself isn’t based on selecting films to sell, it’s about selecting the films that are the best, the most original—the most original stories, and the most original ways those stories are told on film.”

More from John Cooper’s interview with Haute Living can be seen on our website: .

The Next Haute Players
Brian Roberts and Stephen Burke

Roberts and Burke are CEO and COO of Comcast, respectively. So when (if? Lawmakers are currently weighing in) the deal for Comcast to take over NBC Universal goes through, Roberts and Burke are in a position to become two of the hautest names in Hollywood. The $30-billion deal was announced in December, and media watchdogs are up in arms. If it closes, NBC Universal, (including TV channels NBC, CNBC, USA, and Bravo; the Universal Pictures movie studio; and Universal Studios theme parks) would be under the control of the nation’s largest cable TV operator. So it’s also no wonder it would put the men who control Comcast in a position to control Hollywood.

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