Over a personalised meal in New York, the media mogul talks about surviving the 1970s, making movies, the art of reinvention and why Rupert Murdoch stands out from the conglomerate crowd
He has been responsible for some of the key moments that have shaped the US media landscape. While in charge of programming at ABC in the late 1960s, Diller introduced the TV “movie of the week”, giving a new generation of directors (including a certain Steven Spielberg, with Duel) a chance to shine. In the mid-1970s, he was appointed chairman of the then struggling Paramount Pictures and restored sheen to the studio with movies such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as small-screen hits such as Taxi and Cheers. Moving to 20th Century Fox in the 1980s, he launched Fox, America’s first new broadcast network for decades, inadvertently turning Rupert Murdoch into a broadcasting force. He also gave the go-ahead to The Simpsons (“my absolute favourite”). A pioneer of interactive television, in the early 1990s he bought (and sold) the home shopping network QVC, before returning to movies to run Universal, when the studio and theme parks group was owned by the French conglomerate Vivendi.
He has been responsible for some of the key moments that have shaped the US media landscape. While in charge of programming at ABC in the late 1960s, Diller introduced the TV “movie of the week”, giving a new generation of directors (including a certain Steven Spielberg, with Duel) a chance to shine. In the mid-1970s, he was appointed chairman of the then struggling Paramount Pictures and restored sheen to the studio with movies such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as small-screen hits such as Taxi and Cheers. Moving to 20th Century Fox in the 1980s, he launched Fox, America’s first new broadcast network for decades, inadvertently turning Rupert Murdoch into a broadcasting force. He also gave the go-ahead to The Simpsons (“my absolute favourite”). A pioneer of interactive television, in the early 1990s he bought (and sold) the home shopping network QVC, before returning to movies to run Universal, when the studio and theme parks group was owned by the French conglomerate Vivendi.
