”Short temper. Short fuse,“ one insider says of shortlived CEO
Rich Battista quit Imagine Entertainment after a short but stormy tenure as CEO in which he clashed with co-founder Brian Grazer and won a reputation for being “combustible” and a “hothead,” a knowledgeable insider told TheWrap.
The former Time Inc. president and CEO was hired in late August to oversee the film and TV production company founded by Grazer and Ron Howard in 1986 — but quit just nine weeks later after numerous contentious encounters which included pounding on a desk in frustration and suddenly walking out of meetings and not returning, according to one insider.

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Another individual with knowledge of the situation disputed the characterization of Battista’s personality and said his departure was a mutual decision. News of Battista’s exit came late last week over what the second insider called a difference of opinion over the best way to manage Imagine’s business divisions in seeking strategic growth opportunities.
Update: In a statement to TheWrap on Tuesday, Imagine said: “Brian and Ron never experienced or observed the behavior reported by TheWrap regarding Rich Battista. His interaction with them was always professional and of a high standard. And as the company stated, ‘His departure was a mutual decision based on philosophical differences on how to globalize the Imagine brand.'”
Also Read: Imagine Entertainment CEO Rich Battista Exits After 4 Months

Imagine’s Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg
Battista declined to comment for this article.
Imagine previously issued a joint statement by Grazer and Howard: “Rich Battista has left Imagine Entertainment. We thank Rich for the time he spent working with us and the contributions he made, and we wish him the best going forward.”
But the former Time and Fox top executive was clearly not a fit with the culture of Imagine. According to one insider, Battista would get up in the middle of meetings and not come back and even yelled at employees seemingly out of nowhere, and on one occasion hit his fists on the table and shouted, “I’m the f—ing CEO.”
As CEO, Battista was meant to run the business side while Grazer and Howard continued to oversee the creative side of the company, whose recent projects include Howard’s “Pavarotti” documentary, the ABC sitcom “The Conners” and the CBS All Access series “Why Women Kill.” Rosenberg is a longtime executive who is now co-chair of the company.
Battista was brought in during a period of growth for the company and in the wake of a $125 million investment led by the Raine Group in 2016. Howard and Grazer needed someone who could operate the company’s seven different divisions, raise capital and expand into territories like China.
According to both insiders, Battista was frustrated by his lack of control at a company smaller than he was accustomed to running. Most of Imagine’s 100-person staff didn’t report to Battista, and he had no dominion over the creative aspects of the business.
The final straw came when Battista called Howard early in the morning in early November to tell him he was resigning, according to the insider. Despite attempts to iron out differences with Imagine co-chairman Michael Rosenberg and Grazer, Battista exited in early November and took no severance. His last official day was Nov. 30.
Prior to Imagine and Time Inc., Battista spent two years as CEO of Mandalay Sports Media, which created, acquired and invested in businesses and content across the sports media landscape. For roughly 20 years before that, Battista held several senior management roles across Fox, specifically in leading its portfolio of cable networks. As president of Fox’s National Cable Networks, he oversaw FX, National Geographic Channel, Speed Channel and Fox Deportes.
“He was supposed to strategize global expansion, get us into China,” the individual said. “He didn’t speak the language. He didn’t do his homework. It was just bizarre.”
19 Golden Globes Nominations Snubs and Surprises, From 'When They See Us' to Cate Blanchett (Photos)
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Who was a surprise, and who was left out in the Golden Globe Award nominations on Dec. 9?
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Netflix
Snub: Robert De Niro
“The Irishman” got a lot of love at the Globes, including nods for both of his co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in the Supporting Actor category, but De Niro himself came away empty-handed.
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Annapurna
Surprise: Cate Blanchett for "Where'd You Go Bernadette?"
Cate Blanchett’s performance in Richard Linklater’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” was fairly forgotten, as the movie was a late summer release that didn’t play the festival circuit, and the film was a critical and box office disappointment considering its pedigree. It’s a good thing the HFPA remembered though, because she’s phenomenal in a light-hearted, but complex role.
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HBO
Snub: "Game of Thrones"
"Game of Thrones," one of the most critically acclaimed shows ever, received no love on Monday except for lead actor Kit Harington. At the Emmys this year, the show swooped five awards, out of its 10 nominations.
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Surprise: Ana de Armas for "Knives Out"
Ana de Armas was great in "Knives Out," but her nomination came as a bit of a surprise to some, especially because "Hustlers'" Constance Wu was shut out.
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Hulu
Snub: "The Handmaid's Tale"
The Hulu show has seen major wins in previous year for "The Handmaid's Tale," but this year, the Elisabeth Moss-fronted show couldn't even score a nomination.
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Amazon
Surprise: Annette Bening for "The Report"
Annette Bening plays Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Scott Z. Burns’ dense but scathing drama about how the CIA aimed to cover up its use of torture and “enhanced interrogation techniques” following 9/11. Her co-star Adam Driver as investigator Daniel J. Jones is deserving as well, but he got nominated for his work in “Marriage Story”
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Netflix
Snub: "When They See Us"
Niecy Nash and Jharrel Jerome were predicted nominees, and the show was expected to get a Best TV Limited Series nod, at least -- but it got absolutely nothing. Shocking, especially because it received the most love at the Critics Choice Awards just the day before, and Jerome won the Emmy.
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Hulu
Surprise: "Catch-22"
The underrated Hulu wartime drama “Catch-22” scored some surprise nominations in the Limited Series category and for star Christopher Abbott. And this will give the HFPA an opportunity to invite George Clooney to the ceremony.
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Netflix
Snub: Noah Baumbach for Best Director
Baumbach was left out of the Best Director nominations for his film "Marriage Story," in a category that included Bong Joon Ho ("Parasite"), Sam Mendes ("1917"), Todd Phillips ("Joker"), Martin Scorsese ("The Irishman") and Quentin Tarantino ("Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"). Stiff competition, but still a surprise.
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Netflix
Surprise: "Two Popes" in Best Drama and Jonathan Pryce in Best Actor
“The Two Popes” is a delightful movie, but it might be the lightest among the other very serious drama nominees. And Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis, though he bears a splitting resemblance to the pontiff, is a surprise for having beaten out guys like Robert De Niro in “The Irishman.”
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Universal
Snub: Lupita Nyong'o for "Us"
After Nyong'o won the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Actress for her role in Jordan Peele's "Us," we thought the HFPA might do the same. However, the actress got no love on Monday.
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Apple TV +
Surprise: Reese Witherspoon for "Morning Show"
Those Apple TV+ subscriptions must be fresh for voters, because they didn’t just nominate Jennifer Aniston for her work on “The Morning Show,” they also nominated Reese Witherspoon to give the show two Lead Actress nominations in the same category.
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A24
Snub: "Uncut Gems"
There was no love at all for Adam Sandler's "Uncut Gems," although the National Board of Review just named it one of the 10 best films of the year, and Sandler even won Best Actor. The New York Film Critics Circle gave the Best Director Award to the Safdie Brothers for the film.
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Netflix
Surprise: Christina Applegate
Applegate was wonderful in "Dead To Me" and definitely deserves recognition, but the could be deemed a surprise given the other heavy hitters that could've received a nomination. For example, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was left out for "Veep."
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Netflix
Snub: "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie"
What's the opposite of "Yeah, bitch!"? Oh, right: No, bitch!
We waited six years to find out what happened to Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and actually got a very good movie along with that answer -- and yet no Golden Globe nomination?!? Even Aaron himself was left out in the cold -- and we're not talking about where he ends up. C'mon, dog.
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Hulu
Surprise: Ramy Youssef
Youssef was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy category, alongside Ben Platt, Bill Hader, Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd. Ted Danson ("The Good Place") was shut out.
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HBO
Snub: Jeremy Strong
The amount of crap that Kendall Roy (Strong) had to suffer this season on "Succession" and not even a lousy Golden Globe nomination? OK, so there's nothing "lousy" about a Globes nod, but this snub sure is. Don't get us wrong, Brian Cox is very deserving and likely split the vote in a Christian Bale-Matt Damon "Ford v. Ferrari" scenario, but Jeremy was just as deserving as his small-screen big poppa. That rap alone!
Happy to see (TV) lil' bro Roman (Kieran Culkin, the actual lil' bro of Macauley Culkin) recognized in his own category.
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Sony
Snub: Female Directors
Once again, not one woman was nominated in the Best Director category, although this year was stacked with critically-acclaimed films directed by women. Lulu Wang ("The Farewell"), Melisa Matsoukas ("Queen & Slim"), Marielle Heller ("A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood") and Greta Gerwig ("Little Women"), for example, were left out.
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Snub: "Honey Boy"
Alma Har'el's film was completely shut out as well -- not even Shia LaBeouf received a nod for portraying his own father in the film based on his own life.
Cate Blanchett and Reese Witherspoon also received surprise nods, while ”Succession’s“ Jeremy Strong was shut out
Who was a surprise, and who was left out in the Golden Globe Award nominations on Dec. 9?
Sharon Waxman
Sharon Waxman, is the founder, CEO and Editor in Chief of TheWrap. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and was a Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times. Twitter: @sharonwaxman
Trey Williams
Film Reporter covering the biz • trey.williams@thewrap.com • Twitter: @trey3williams