Ari Emanuel Compares CAA To Walmart, Talks LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia & Endeavor Succession Plans In ‘Freakonomics’ Interview

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It is an interesting time to be Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd. Last summer, he was criss-crossing North America on his “After Hours Til Dawn” stadium tour while simultaneously doing reshoots for his HBO series, “The Idol.” This summer, he’s watching the reactions to the deeply controversial show while criss-crossing Europe on the second leg of the tour, which will move to Latin America and Asia into next year. He’s also doing press for the Emmy campaign for his HBO concert documentary released earlier this year, “The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium.” All the while, he’s been recording, as he always is. Despite, and because of, the polarized reactions to the first episodes of “The Idol,” the show has scored big ratings and even bigger conversation.

As expected, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have agreed that they won’t sue each other, ending a long legal battle.

J. Kim Murphy “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” will not be released in the United Arab Emirates after failing to pass the country’s censorship requirements, Variety has confirmed. A scene featuring a poster in the background of the frame that depicts the transgender flag and reads “Protect Trans Lives” is said to be one of the concerns that prevented a release from being approved, sources said. The United Arab Emirates ban comes only a week ahead of the Sony Pictures film’s intended release date in the region of June 22. However, it isn’t uncommon for the country’s censorship board to axe the imminent release of films featuring LGBTQ+ content. Another animated film faced a similar predicament last summer, when Disney and Pixar’s “Lightyear” was not released in the country due to a scene depicting a same-sex kiss between two lesbian space rangers. The “Toy Story” spinoff was also banned from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Malaysia.

regulatory filing Monday that said he was selling nearly 155,000 shares. The form was dated Saturday, after the stock closed Friday’s trading session at $22.55, which would bring the sale total to around $3.48 million.The stock, which is basically flat for the year, was trading at $22.38 at midday Tuesday.

A Senate committee has launched an investigation into the agreement between the PGA and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, announced last week despite legal and public acrimony between the two organizations.

As the shockwaves continue to reverberate from Tuesday’s news of the planned merger of Saudi-backed LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, it appears likely that a lot more foreign money will soon start to flow into U.S. sports.

become a regular part of the “Gutfeld!” schtick on Fox News late night, and the namesake host dropped a doozy amid a monologue about the merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia-based LIV Golf. This time, the unwise wisecrack earned him 10 seconds of near-silence.Gutfeld served up the blockbuster sports merger as the main topic of his opening monologue, fully aware he was out of his element.

Former Manchester United loanee Odion Ighalo has been named in the Saudi Pro-League team of the season ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who misses out entirely.

Piers Morgan claims Lionel Messi is 'quitting elite football' ahead of his proposed move to Inter Miami - and yet he will avoid the 'scathing' criticism that Cristiano Ronaldo faced when he headed to Saudi Arabia.  Ronaldo forced his way out of Manchester United following a damning interview with Morgan that targeted the club and its manager Erik ten Hag. The Portuguese star was widely derided for being a mercenary and taking a mega-money deal to join Al-Nassr, rather than continue at the highest level in Europe.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The most traditional purveyor of golf and the upstart that hoped to take away its business have agreed to merge, In a stunning development. the PGA Tour agreed to combine its commercial and business rights with the golf-related operations of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which includes the upstart league LIV Golf as well as Europe’s DP World Tour. The two sides had been locked in litigation for months. “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour Commissioner. “Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.”

The PGA and Saudi-backed LIV Golf announced a merger on Tuesday (June 6) which ends a bitter rivalry and numerous antitrust lawsuits.

Ending years of rancor and legal disputes, the PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

An ongoing war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has ended with the two entities merging. This will put an end to the lawsuits stemming from LIV Golf poaching the PGA Tour’s players.Furthermore, PGA players who hopped ship to join LIV Golf will be able to regain membership once the 2023 season wraps up.Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf bring unique benefits to the table.

Fight Island” COVID bubble events that inspired other pro leagues to continue amid travel and social distancing restrictions.“Keeping the UFC on, you know, we did about — I might be wrong here — but I think about 70 percent of our revenue in the COVID year,” Emanuel said. “We had our ESPN deal. We then started making deals for writers.

Ari Emanuel believes artificial intelligence wil help the entertainment industry, not destroy it.

The leaders of the Writers Guild, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and the Teamsters have issued a “joint statement of solidarity” with the Directors Guild in its final scheduled week of contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, saying that they “stand alongside our sisters, brothers, and kin in the DGA in their pursuit of a fair contract.” Their statement comes on the 30th day of the ongoing WGA strike and 21 days after the DGA began its contract talks with the AMPTP.

The Middle East and North Africa region’s cinema star is rising across every aspect of the chain from production to exhibition to streaming.

The cast of Vanderpump Rules is coming back together for a three-part reunion that will see Ariana Madix coming face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval and ex-best friend Raquel Leviss. Bravo is airing the first part of the reunion on Wednesday, May 24 starting at 9 p.m. ET with Peacock making the episode available online the next day.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Film Productions has launched a new film fund that aims to attract international filmmakers to shoot fully-financed movies in the kingdom on which local talents and crews can cut their teeth. Ithra Film — which is a unit of The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, financed by Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development – is looking to commission and fund up to five films annually. The level of funding was not disclosed, nor was the criteria for selection besides the requirement that they contribute to foster the growth of Saudi Arabia’s embryonic film industry. “We invite international filmmakers to collaborate with filmmakers in the kingdom and join us on our journey to accelerate talent and sector development in Saudi,” said Majed Z. Samman, who is head of performing arts and cinema at Ithra, announcing the fund at the Cannes market during a panel at the Saudi pavilion.

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) marked its 10th anniversary yesterday, reflecting on a decade of life-saving service to communities in every corner of Scotland.