Roll the Calls: A Memoir

by Ari Emanuel

An upcoming book from the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Business

424 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 22, 2026

Reviews

[Julie]

Bob Odenkirk did a great job reading this audiobook. Ari is a very complicated human. Gave me lots to think about for sure! Wouldn't want his tortured life for sure. Glad he didn't slam his ex. very self deprecating in a way.. Complicated

[pascal hughes]

Forget Ari Gold - he's an impostor. This is the real thing!

Some memoirs are tales of serendipity and good fortune while others, of which this one is top of the stack, are tales of sheer relentless hard work, ambition and ‘delusional’ drive. The opening pages set the tone and it doesn't let up.

I got introduced to Ari Em by Ari Gold 20 years ago and been following from afar ever since. Reading this made me want to watch the series all over again except the book, as always, is better.

He doesn't hold back on his drivers - the shame and rage he feels about his dyslexia - and is open about his failures, but that makes his journey to the top all the more impressive; and he also doesn't name drop, unlike others in this genre from Hollywood.

Above all Ari Em knows how to tell a good story and this is a great one.

“The HBO people look at each other and then ask for a word with me alone. Everybody clears the room. As the door closes, before the HBO people can say whatever it is they want to say, I tell them that I’m not in the mood to hear no today. They stare. I’m not kidding, guys, I came here for a yes, I’m leaving with a yes. Furtive glances. Awkward silence. Okay, Ari.”

If you came here thinking of getting this book, looking for a yes - THIS IS A YES!

[Jill]

What a ride! Listened via audio, Bob Odenkirk, as narrator, especially on 1.2x, was perfect. I believe at 1.2x it likely best reflects Emanuel’s absolutely manic energy, fire in the belly. There is a fair amount (fair as an adjective is an understatement) of profanity, yet it’s Emanuel. Take out the profanity and the memoir would be half its word length. Must say - whereas so many memoirs that plod over the memoirist’s early years are just flat out dull - this is not the case with this memoir. Frequently laugh out loud funny given a completely wry sense of humor and engaging writing style. And surprisingly vulnerable. Entertaining, illuminating and with many great stories, the man is an open book and truly a character. I read once in the New York Times Science section (long ago) that the youngest of a brood (the runt) in the animal kingdom has through gestation a higher level of testosterone which is necessary in the fight to survive, fight for that teat. Maybe Emanuel got his from report cards posted on the refrigerator or from his two older brothers at the dinner table as kids. Nonetheless, clearly, he got it. “Are you entertained?” Yes.

[Bernie]

Wow. Even if you're interested in "Hollywood", agents, entertainment culture from the 90s to today...don't waste your time. Couldn't even be bothered to try to make coherent paragraphs, just random memories and opinions in disjointed short bursts. Really disappointed.

[Lisa]

I really enjoyed this book. It’s an excellent audiobook. Ari Emmanuel is really fascinating guy. And I can see why he has been as successful as he has been. He works harder and longer than anyone I can think of. By force of his will he Pushes his way into the lives of some of the richest most successful people in a very bold way. Came from humble beginnings. Really admirable. Loved when he talked about his family, Zeke and rahm.
This is really a business book. He didn’t speak at length about his clients, famous actors and other creatives. I thought he would do that. But in hindsight, I think he didn’t want to break confidentiality in his agent. Client relationships with them, but he talked a lot about business executives in media and outside and a ton of deals that he drove or was involved with so if you like business, I think you would really like this. If you’re looking for a lot of dish on Hollywood celebs, this isn’t that. Unique guy, entertaining book.

[CHRISTOPHER STONE]

Good book. Ari Emanuel is a name I’ve been curious about for years, so it was really interesting to finally learn more about him and how he became such a powerful name in the entertainment industry.

There’s a lot about his family and upbringing, the relationships he built, the risks he took, and how his career developed over the years. There are also some pretty interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the entertainment business.

I definitely came away knowing a lot more about someone whose name I’ve heard for years but really didn’t know much about. Good book and a fascinating story.

[Jahdin]

Extremely entertaining, with the exact amount of colorful language you'd expect from the inspiration for Ari Gold.

In all, the theory put forth that Ari's inordinate success is derived from his inordinate RAGE is interesting and thought provoking. In an age of glamorizing stoicism, Roll The Calls presents the anti stoic blueprint to success.

[Mel Platt]

Well, I can see this being interesting to anyone who worked in this orbit in the last 20 ish years....other than that it's just deep, deep inside stuff that almost borderline won't make sense to anyone else. I enjoy books about Hollywood shenanigans but this is too insider. Almost 700 pages of him yelling at people the reader has never heard of. Go rewatch Entourage, much more entertaining

[Joth Bhullar]

Awesome read if you’re obsessed with this space like I am.

Turns out Ari Emanuel is a hyper obsessive, neurotic a-hole, like every other memoir I’ve read this year (see: Bonds, Jordan, Demis).

[Scot Moser]

A good but not great book. I would have given it 3 stars but was worried Ari would call me daily for months to raise my rating so went with 4 stars.

[Emily Wang]

ChatGPT - the ghostwriter’s ghostwriter

[Barry Groves]

You’ll either hate this book or love this book. I loved it. It was funny, exciting informational and a wild ride.

[Glenn]

I get the feeling he doesn’t like Katzenberg.