In the show, Gold is renowned for his arrogance, bravado and for having the vernacular of a street pimp mixed with a college grad. He’s a bully but has an unusually likable character that associates say is characteristic of Emanuel as well.

Many believe that the loud-mouthed Gold character portrayed in the show is a caricature of Emanuel, who in his younger days was described as volatile but is said to have mellowed considerably in recent years. Even Emanuel has acknowledged that there are aspects of himself in Gold.

However, what’s beneath the surface of the real-life Ari Gold? Emanuel is the younger brother of Rahm Emanuel, who is the Chief of Staff to President Obama’s administration. Ari Emanuel founded the ‘Endeavour Talent Agency’, which recently merged with powerhouse agency ‘William Morris’. The combined behemoth is now known as the ‘WME Agency’ and is the largest talent agency in the US, apart from CAA. Emanuel represents the likes of Martin Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg (interesting, considering that Wahlberg is executive producer of Entourage) and Matt Damon.

Ari Emanuel recently articulated his vision for the future of entertainment agencies – it could have come straight from Gold’s mouth:

“In order to survive, talent firms are going to have to do more. They must stop being simple deal-makers [and] become “mega-agencies” – vast, multi-faceted companies with marketing departments, events divisions, and new media offshoots which help clients to leverage income from a wider variety of sources.

Agents will also have to take a more pro-active role in the actual creation of films, making them more likely to be called upon to “package” a production: attaching directors, producers, and actors from their own stable to a particular project, before selling it to the studios.”

If Emanuel’s vision does come to fruition, how will his ego cope?

Music

• Who will be the first artist on CAA’s label? [Briefs: Best Buy, Live Nation, CAA]

Entertainment Agents

• Does Ari have the dominoes? [Ari Emanuel: Hollywood's Next Don]

Law

• A win for the doctrine of innocent until proven guilty [French Court to Pirates: Three Strikes and ... Then What?].

Agents

• Ari Emanuel has a fan site [Ari Emanuel]
• Anyone headed to the Edinburgh International Film Festival? [Hollywood agents to play starring role in hunt for Scots talent]
• Olivia Metzger will be representing news talent, hosts and on-air personalities out of the agency’s New York office [NBC Exec Joins Talent Agency CAA].
• A lot of WMA employees have been fired since the merger with Endeavor [Good for Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, bad for William Morris employees in merger]

Music

• Former CAA music agent answers some questions about the business [Seven Questions with Paola Palazzo, Senior Director of Talent for Nederlander Concerts].

Film

• Filming in India sometime soon? [Choice of Law & Fair Use]

Copyright

• The Associated Press may soon be launching more attacks [All's Fair Under Fair Use?].
• The U.S. wants Canada to start getting serious about its piracy problems [New media, old rules].

Entertainment Business

• Is the economy killing Cannes? [Subdued Market at Cannes]