Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire
English
By (author): James B. Stewart Rachel Abrams
The Instant New York Times Bestseller
The Times, Sunday Times, Financial Times and Economist 'Best Books of the Year'
Longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award
'A racy tale of big money, bigger egos and #MeToo disgrace . . . Like a real-life blueprint for the TV show Succession' The Times
'Jaw-dropping . . . So weird and compelling - I lost some sleep unable to put this book down - that the reader may be the only witness to this spectacle who never feels manipulated' New York Times
'A real-life Succession . . . A deeply reported account of one of the trashiest episodes in recent business history' Financial Times
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How dysfunction, sexual misconduct and scandal almost brought down one of Hollywood's greatest companies.
Unscripted is the inside story of the struggle to control one of the world's great entertainment empires.
It is the story of the last great Hollywood mogul, Sumner Redstone: the ninety-something founder of Paramount Global who, well into his dotage and facing a scandalous lawsuit, proves increasingly unable to run the sprawling company he has built.
It is the story of his daughter, Shari Redstone: Sumner's heir apparent who, despite being groomed for power for six decades, struggles to assert her authority over the company and her family's legacy.
And it is the story of her challenger, Leslie Moonves: the well-liked CEO of CBS who plots a coup to take control of the business - until news leaks that he is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct (allegations he has spent years trying to hush up).
The result is damning portrait of how money and power works in Hollywood now. It illuminates an industry struggling to adapt to the revolution brought by streaming, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. And it reveals the lengths people will go to in pursuit of power - and the carnage that ensues when they do.
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'Has a business book ever made you blush? . . . With soap-operatic twists and turns, Unscripted makes the amped-up historical fiction of Babylon feel downright chaste by comparison' Washington Post
'The sordid family saga that makes Succession look tame' Esquire
'Addicted to Succession? Well, here's the real thing.' Hollywood Reporter
'The riveting, Succession-esque tale of the fight for control of Paramount Global' Vanity Fair
The Instant New York Times bestseller, March 2023
Featured in The Times Best Business and Technology Books of 2023
Featured in The Sunday Times Best Business Books of 2023
Financial Times Best Business Books of 2023, Longlisted
The Economist Best Business and Economics Books of 2023, Longlisted
FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year 2023, Longlisted
James B Stewart, Pultizer Prize winner, 1988; Rachel Abrams, Pulitzer Prize winner, 2018