At any time when a memoir is about to be launched, it may well often result in some very attention-grabbing tales from the previous. Former Paramount Footage CEO Barry Diller is at the moment on a e-book tour selling his lately launched memoir, Who Knew, and with it got here a really attention-grabbing Q&A reveal in regards to the 1980 live-action adaptation of Popeye, starring Robin Williams,
and the way, based mostly on his assertion, the antics on set might possibly rival an evening at Studio 54.
Throughout a Q&A moderated by Anderson Cooper (through Selection), Diller was requested what was “essentially the most coked-up movie set” he ever visited throughout his tenure as Paramount Footage CEO. It did not take Diller lengthy to disclose that it was Popeye, launched in 1980. The previous CEO mentioned:
“Coked-up movie set? Oh, ‘Popeye.’ By the best way, you’ll be able to watch it. When you watch Popeye, you are watching a film that, you consider it within the factor they used to do about file speeds, 33 [RPM], no matter. This can be a film that runs at 78 RPM and 33 velocity.”

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Popeye Sounds Like a Very Vigorous Movie Set
Diller served on his share of hits throughout his time as Paramount CEO, together with Saturday Night time Fever, Grease and Beverly Hills Cop. Given the interval of his work being between 1974 and 1984, cocaine being prevalent through the filming of a Hollywood film is not actually surprising, however Popeye is not a movie that screams of that exercise working rampant on set. Nevertheless, a have a look at the film now might make Diller’s revelation really feel completely correct. In line with Diller, “everybody was stoned” through the making of the movie.
“You could not escape it. They have been really delivery in movie cans on the time. Movie cans can be despatched again to L.A. for every day processing movie. This was shot in Malta. And we discovered that the movie cans have been really getting used to ship cocaine forwards and backwards to this set. Everybody was stoned.”
Directed by Robert Altman from a screenplay by Jules Feiffer, Popeye relies on E.C. Segar’s comedian character and follows the titular character upon his arrival in Sweethaven. Along with Williams, the movie stars Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl, and it was Williams’ first starring efficiency in a significant movement image following tv success within the hit sitcom Mork & Mindy, which ran from 1978-1982.
Popeye was negatively reviewed by critics on the time of its launch, nevertheless it was a reasonable field workplace performer, grossing $60 million worldwide on a $20 million funds. Over time, the movie has gained a cult following and has been reevaluated by critics extra positively. The movie at the moment carries a 60 % on Rotten Tomatoes with a consensus that reads, “Altman’s tackle the long-lasting cartoon is messy and wildly uneven, however its sturdy humor and manic attraction are exhausting to withstand.” A number of creatives in Hollywood additionally positively talk about Popeye, together with director Paul Thomas Anderson, who used Duvall’s tune from the movie, “He Wants Me,” in his 2002 movie Punch Drunk Love.
Supply: Selection

Popeye
- Launch Date
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December 12, 1980
- Runtime
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114 Minutes
- Director
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Robert Altman