For the sharp viewer, there’s a lot happening in this scene beyond a surface level exchange between a boss and employee. Standards are being set and information is being exchanged. Importantly, there is some high-stakes gift giving. Where did the exchange begin? Before even one word was spoken.
According to Entourage creator Doug Ellin, most entertainment industry agents drive BMWs and Mercedes. Ari, the head of his agency, drives a BMW 745. So when he comes home to find a Bentley Continental GT parked in the driveway, he’s forced to double-take. Without a word, the car announces the status, longevity and earnings gap between Ari and his business partner.
Aside from being Ari’s business partner, Terrence McQuewick is also his business rival. He founded AMA, the agency Ari has been running for the past eight years. Although Ari is “one of the most powerful men in Hollywood” and runs the place, it’s Terrence’s agency. Terrence is the boss and ranking partner, and reminds Ari of this fact by ’staking a claim’ in Ari’s top earner. Sitting there, smoking a cigar with a Bentley parked in the driveway, Terrence’s alpha male behavior sends a clear message: He’s the big dog.
Terrence further indicates the size of his bankroll by handing Ari a check for $50,000. As Michael Kaplan writes in his book on probability Chances Are…, “Your chances in this world are proportional to the depth of your pockets.” Terrence’s check is an early signal that if the two were ‘to go to war,’ he would have enough resources to ensure that it’ll be a long one.
Behavioral economists have found that given the opportunity, members of gift giving societies will sometimes reject gifts. The Au and Gnau of Papua New Guinea, for example, reject both unfair and hyper-fair (a division greater than 50 percent) offers in the Dictator Game with nearly equal frequency. The idea is that the recipient sees the gift as not good will, but the bestowal of some sort of obligation as well. We can speculate Terrence’s check for $50,000 might be the kind of gift that Ari would reject, given the chance.
Taken off-guard by Terrence’s surprise visit and overwhelming presence, we can see that Ari lacks the appropriate ‘game face.’ While he’s usually cool and collected, throughout the scene you can see ‘tells’ and physical illustrations of his uneasiness. Pacing inside his house, he worriedly fiddles with his wedding ring. Shaking hands, Terrence makes a remark about his sweaty his palms. Discussing Vince, Ari nervously scratches his ear. This is not the “Gold standard” of negotiation that we are used to seeing from Ari.
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Blue Chips