

The Netflix chief who insists he won’t ruin Hollywood
Mark Shapiro, president of WME Group and TKO Group, parent of Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment. He “is completely comfortable with change and evolution.”“Half the town wants to do business with him, and the other half wants an invite just to hang,” Shapiro said.Those invitations are often to Sarandos’s Southern California homes, which include a residence in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and a mansion in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, that he purchased from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi for $34 million.
His neighbors there include Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, as well as Oprah Winfrey.Sarandos declined to comment.Whichever company ends up winning Warner is likely to face a lengthy regulatory review in the U.S. and abroad.
Sarandos has met with President Trump as well as others to press his case.Growing up in Phoenix, Sarandos, 61 years old, initially wanted to be a journalist and subscribed to out-of-town newspapers to keep up on world events, he has said in interviews.At the same time, he became obsessed with indie films that never played in Phoenix-area theaters. His self-described “lightning-strike moment” came with a job in a Tempe, Ariz., video store, which allowed him to indulge his favorite hobby, watching movies.He soon went from store clerk to regional distributor, quickly gaining a reputation as a sharp dealmaker.
Read on livemint.com