SOURCE: YAHOO

BY: BRENT LANG

Hollywood is rolling out the red carpet for Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Rupert Murdoch will host a dinner for the Saudi leader on Monday night at his Bel Air estate, according to knowledgeable insiders. The guest list is filled with moguls and A-listers. Disney chief Bob Iger, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Jeff Shell, NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer, and 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice. Other investors and media barons are expected to attend, but the dinner is being masked in secrecy.

A spokesman for 21st Century Fox, Murdoch’s media empire, declined to comment. The dinner will likely bring together Murdoch and Iger at a time when Disney is trying to wrap up its $52.4 billion purchaseof the bulk of Fox’s film and television assets.

Bin Salman will also reportedly meet with WME CEO Ari Emanuel and Apple CEO Tim Cook during his trip to the West Coast. The move comes as Saudi Arabia is lifting a three-decade ban on movie theaters and ramping up its investments in media. The country is launching a $64 billion fund to support entertainment projects, with some $10 billion of that money earmarked for film investments. New movie theaters in Saudi Arabia could open as early as April.

The Crown Prince has been on a multi-city tour of the U.S. His trip has included an Oval Office sit down with President Donald Trump. CNN first reported the news of Murdoch’s dinner.