About 40 seconds after I sit down across from Ari Emanuel, his phone rings. “I think you’re going to owe me money,” Hollywood’s superagent tells his interlocutor.
Emanuel—who represents Oprah Winfrey, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Adele, Denzel Washington, and many more—doesn’t do hellos. His friend on the phone lost a bet and owes him two bucks. But Emanuel...