by Former president of the Paramount of which he was at the head for ten years, from 1974 to 1984, Barry Diller has just released his memories, entitled “Who Knew”. And to deliver some tasty anecdotes, sometimes bleeding, unveiled by the New York Post.
For 99.9% of people, the name of Barry Diller will absolutely do not resonate. 83 years old today, he has just published his memoirs in the United States, entitled Who Knew. And it is an understatement to say that Diller weighed heavy in the film industry. At 32, in 1974, he was appointed Chairman of the Management Board of Paramount Pictures, and was at the head of the studio for ten years.
It is under his direction that the studio produced major television successes such as Cheers (1982), as well as films like the three days of Condor (1975), La Fuve of Saturday evening (1977), Grease (1978), the adventurers of the Lost Ark (1981) and his Indiana Jones and Le Temple Maudit (1984), Tender Passions (1983), Le Flic de Beverly Hills (1984) …
“John Travolta is a problem …”
The New York Post has just published some (short) extracted from his memoirs, revealing tasty anecdotes on some films, including the Saturday evening fever. During the film's preview, held at the famous Chinese Theater cinema in Los Angeles, an publicist came to see him by slipping in his ear: “John Travolta is a problem. He's a guy on television. You don't put someone on a movie. The kid will not fill the armchairs. “ Aimable commentary, at a time when television and cinema were still well compartmentalized and wrestled cheerfully …
The film was released throughout the country two weeks later, becoming immense success overnight. “There were immense queues in all the cinemas in America”writes Diller. Paramount, which had fallen to a distant fifth place among the major studios after the arrival of Diller, has become number one again.
Paramount Pictures
“Saturday evening fever has changed the way the films are made” tells Diller, who recalls that the scenario was not presented as a project intended for a pre -established show. “No stars, no pedigree, no package, nothing – just a good idea”. Even the director John Badham, who came from the world of television and who had not yet proven himself, represented a risk.
Diller admits that he has always had a hollow nose. As for Greasethat he found absolutely catastrophic and that he did not see John Travolta in it, despite the success of the Saturday evening fever. To the point of pushing the actor to accept the role of American Gigolo. But Travolta held out, and the main role of Paul Schrader's film went to Richard Gere. Again, Grease will be a massive success for the studio.
“It will take twenty years before he made another film”
Another sympathetic anecdote is delivered, this time about Terrence Malick. The Paramount studio was behind the production of its harvests from the sky; A pure masterpiece rented by criticism. In the wake of the film's release, in 1978, Barry Diller let go of the filmmaker a staggering salary of $ 500,000 (the equivalent of $ 2.5 million today), so that he can “Just experiment with things”. A real carte blanche.
But Diller bit his fingers. Every four or five months, he called the director to ask him for news, and did not get anything other than a wave “I progress”. From time to time, Malick gave him a vague idea of his next film, as “I have the idea of following a paraplegic in new-mexic in a running”by being careful not to give the slightest detail, explaining that it was a “secret”. Lunar … Exasperated, Diller ended up cutting his food. “It will take twenty years before he made another film” writes Diller. The name of the film? A certain red line …
