Robin Williams' ‘Popeye' movie ‘made while the set was snowed in cocaine'
The troubled comic, who took his life in August 2014 aged 63 after well-documented battles with drugs, alcohol and depression, starred as the spinach-gobbling sailor in the 1980 Robert Altman movie – and former movie boss Barry Diller has now spoken about the extent of substance abuse that went on behind the scenes.
The 82-year-old media mogul, who served as CEO of Paramount Pictures from 1974 to 1984, made the comments during an on-stage conversation with journalist Anderson Cooper at the 92nd Street Y in New York while promoting his new autobiography 'Who Knew', saying there was so much cocaine on the set of 'Popeye' 'you couldn't escape it'.
Barry added during the production of the movie, which also starred Shelley Duvall and was shot in Malta, the drug was so prevalent it was being transported alongside reels of film.
He said: 'Film cans would be sent back to LA daily for processing the film.
'And we found out the film cans were actually being used to ship cocaine back and forth to the set. Everyone was stoned.'
Diller added the influence of the drug may be apparent in the final cut of the film, which he described as playing like a vinyl record at an unnaturally fast speed.
'Think of… record speeds,' he said. 'If 33rpm is the standard speed for playing an LP on a record player, this is a movie that runs at 78 rpm.'
The film's orchestrator, Van Dyke Parks, 81, previously recounted similar experiences during the production.
In an interview with The Telegraph, he said: 'I was the hero of the regiment for opening up a walkie-talkie to change the battery and finding a bag of cocaine.
'I don't remember how much there was or to whom I gave it. But I remember that I recoiled, because I knew that it would be a component in the way people behaved, and the difficulties of the production right up to the top.'
Van Dyke also recalled famed film producer Robert Evans, who was behind 'The Godfather' and 'Chinatown', narrowly avoided arrest when his cocaine-filled luggage went missing during the shoot.
Robert was later arrested on unrelated cocaine trafficking charges while 'Popeye' was in post-production.
Even though the charge was eventually cleared, Robert told an interviewer in 1994: 'Bob 'Cocaine' Evans is how I'll be known to my grave.'
Robin Williams was very open about his struggles with cocaine addiction during the time 'Popeye' was shot.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
18-07-2025
- Perth Now
Matt Shakman addresses Star Trek 4: ‘It changed dramatically'
Director Matt Shakman has revealed the fourth Star Trek movie had 'changed dramatically' before he exited the project in August 2022. The 49-year-old filmmaker was due to helm the next instalment in the Star Trek franchise, though had left the movie by the summer of 2022 due to scheduling conflicts with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Now, Shakman has revealed that his Star Trek movie was already in pre-production before he parted ways with the project. He explained to Variety: 'We had stages, we had crew, we were moving ahead.' However, Shakman admitted that plans for the fourth Star Trek movie had shifted significantly: the crew were let go, the stages were removed and the film 'didn't have a start date anymore'. Meanwhile, good progress on The Fantastic Four: First Steps was being made, and so Shakman dropped out of Star Trek to focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster. While the director refused to give any details on what his Star Trek movie would have looked like, Shakman teased the main concept of the film hadn't been changed to his knowledge. He said: 'The core idea, I think, remains the same. I really hope they get a chance to make that movie.' Shakman was announced as the director for the fourth Star Trek film back in 2021, and the movie would have seen the return of Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock. While updates on the next Star Trek movie have been slow, Paramount Pictures has confirmed the project is still in development, though has not announced a release date for the film yet. Despite its development difficulties, the cast is still keen to return for another Star Trek movie. Zoe Saldana - who portrayed Nyota Uhura from 2009's Star Trek to 2016's Star Trek Beyond - said she would be 'grateful' if she were given the chance to make another Star Trek film. The 47-year-old actress told 'I just heard they're gearing up to do a new one with a younger, sort of, take on it ... I don't know if it's from the before or the after, but that they really still hope to grab all of us veterans and bring us back for one last round. 'Listen, I know it's a lot to wrangle a whole bunch of people with busy schedules. But working with [director] J.J. Abrams, and for J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot, was always just a wonderful and beautiful experience for me. So, if I get to do that one last time, I would be so grateful.' Meanwhile, Simon Pegg - who played Scotty in the Star Trek trilogy - said he would want to appear in a fourth Star Trek movie, though insisted the film would be 'forever tainted' by the untimely death of Pavel Chekov actor Anton Yelchin, who passed away at the age of 27 in June 2016 following a car accident. Appearing on Katee Sackhoff's podcast The Sackhoff Show, the Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning star said: 'I'd love to do more. Obviously it's been forever tainted because we lost Anton, and that was a really hard thing for everyone involved, and for the real world, let alone anything else. 'If we do come back, if there is another opportunity to come back, then I'd love to. Because as we were saying earlier on, it's a group of guys that I dearly, dearly love and don't get to see very often. It would be good to get back together with them.'
Perth Now
18-07-2025
- Perth Now
Alice Cooper believes Johnny Depp's problems are 'easily fixed'
Alice Cooper is convinced Johnny Depp can fix his "problems" by marrying a woman closer to his own age and reading the Bible. The rock legend has played alongside Depp in their band Hollywood Vampires since 2012, but the 62-year-old actor has been busy dealing with a number of personal issues including long-running legal battles over his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard, 39. Alice is convinced his friend is now "doing well" but could do with some sage advice for the future. Alice, 77, told The Times newspaper: "I thought if he loses that [second lawsuit] suit, he could go down a rabbit hole and not come back. "But I think he's doing well now and I'm hoping he's gonna come and play with us at our London show. But Johnny's problems are easily fixed. "I keep telling him: quit marrying girls and marry a woman ... "I've read it [the Bible] 14 or 15 times. He'd do well to do the same amount. At least!" The Pirates of the Caribbean actor split from Heard in 2016 and his career went into freefall when she later wrote an op-ed about being a victim of domestic abuse, which led to a lengthy court battle after he sued her for defamation. He won the case and is now getting back to work in the movie business, and he recently insisted he's not holding a grudge. Depp previously told The Telegraph: "This sounds like horses*** but one can simply hold hate [until it] inspires some species of malice in your skull. "Makes you think of revenge. But hating someone is a great big responsibility to hang on to. "The real truth of it, that I won't allow, is that in order for me to hate, I have to care first. And I don't care. What should I care about? That I got done wrong to [by others]? Plenty of people get done wrong." When asked why he took his grievances to court, Depp insisted he didn't want "a lie" to do be the "deciding factor of whether or not I have the capability of making movies in Hollywood." Depp went on to insist he's learned a lot from the last few years and is determined to move on with his life. He added: "Going through all that in real time amounted to seven or eight years. "It was a harsh, painful internal journey. Would I rather not have gone through something like that? Absolutely. But I learnt far more than I ever dreamed I could.'
Perth Now
18-07-2025
- Perth Now
Danny Dyer pulled out his BAFTA during wedding speech
Danny Dyer pulled out his BAFTA award during his speech at his daughter Dani Dyer's wedding. The Human Traffic star has admitted he was thrilled to win a prize for his role in TV comedy Mr. Bigstuff earlier this year and he even took the trophy to his daughter's wedding in May and used it as part of his toast at the reception after Dany tied the knot with West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen. Danny told The Telegraph newspaper: "The first six months have been incredibly emotional ... I won the Bafta. I didn't think I would win it. It's the first time I've been acknowledged really, so to actually win it, and win it for a comedy performance, for Mr Bigstuff, which is me going into territory I'm not known for, I was just so happy. "And then, of course, my daughter getting married to the man of my dreams. It doesn't happen often. I'm sure there's many men who give away their daughters to a********. "You can't choose who your kid falls in love with, but I think for the first time in history I'm more in love with him than she is." Danny went on to reveal he used the award during his father-of-the bride speech, adding: "I wanted to keep it [the speech] light. "So I said: 'Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, today's not about me, it's about this wonderful couple.' "Then I go under the table and bring out my BAFTA. I thought: 'Oh my God, is this narcissistic?' But the cheer it got … "I needed to make people laugh, so that's what I did." He went on to reveal he then used his speech to get guests to sing an updated version of a West Ham football chant, adding: "The speech was written for me really because I alluded to me being more in love with him than her. "Then I got us all to stand up and sing 'Bowen's on fire and he's married Dani Dyer'." Danny previously opened up about his daughter's big day during an appearance on Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, saying: "I was in pieces. The best day of my life, it was unbelievable, honestly it was just so beautiful. "I managed to give my daughter away to the man of my dreams. I don't think that's ever happened in the history of any father giving away their daughter. It was the perfect day, it was just beautiful."
