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The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Margaret Pomeranz remembers David Stratton: ‘I feel as though one half of me has gone'
I know I have been reticent about commenting on David Stratton's death (he didn't want to 'pass', he wanted to die – no euphemisms for him!). But apart from wanting to hug my grief to myself, I felt that it was his family who should be considered, not me. And if anyone should have a tribute it is Strats' wife, Susie, who was the most wonderful support to him over these difficult years. I told him he was lucky to have married a younger woman! David was a stoic, he never wallowed in his deteriorating health. He continued to watch a new movie every day and revisit old favourites. He would enthuse about a new Australian film he'd just seen – he never lost that absolute passion for cinema. So much has been written about David's and my partnership over the years that there's not much more to be said, but I have a few recollections that aren't so well known. When we met I was a cinema enthusiast, not a walking encyclopedia of film like David. When he first came into SBS and I tried to talk to him, he brushed me off unceremoniously. I imagine a few people have had that experience with him but over the years he became much more welcoming of people approaching him – especially young film enthusiasts, many of whom he mentored and promoted. He was unstintingly generous in that way. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning When Peter Barrett, the head of programming at SBS, told me I was to become David's producer, I said I didn't think it was a good idea; he didn't think that much of me. But David seemed to welcome someone, anyone, helping him. So I became the producer of his movie introductions, to Movie of the Week and his beloved Cinema Classics. I had to create new lead-ins to these, and David and I decided to use Nino Rota's music. I had such fun with the introduction to the Classics, with images of Polanski's Knife in the Water, Bergman's The Seventh Seal and from Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. Of course David had to approve everything, and we formed a good working relationship. Our first film discussion, or vague disagreement, was about the Australian film The Empty Beach, directed by Chris Thomson, based on a novel by Peter Corris. I was dismissive but, as I listened to David's support for the film, I realised that my reaction had been too facile. It was the beginning of Strats' education of my film appreciation. David was renowned for giving people nicknames. He got the order of my maiden name, Jones-Owen, deliberately wrong and I became Moj to him and everyone who worked on the shows from then on. And I remained Moj to the end. I'm glad I'm still Moj to his family – and all our film show family. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion I think it's extraordinary that, over all the time that David and I worked together, we never had a falling out. Minor disagreements maybe, and maybe more spirited ones on air, but it was a relationship of deep respect – certainly of me for him, maybe a little bit less of him for me – and of deep friendship. Once David took you into the fold you had someone whose loyalty was unquestioned. And it was reciprocal. During all those years we've had family traumas and setbacks, and we always had each other's backs. I knew that if I was in trouble David would be one of the first people I'd turn to. We went to the ABC because I had his back. And when my husband was in hospital with a life-threatening illness he had mine. So maybe you can understand the loss I feel, of this man with whom I had a conversation at least once every week, whom I loved, who was so fine, such a gentle man, who decided to give me credibility in insisting that I sit beside him in those chairs, week after week, discussing films. I woke up in the middle of the night in the immediate aftermath of his death and, in trying to work out how I felt, I decided that I felt amputated – as though one half of me has gone. There's no more Margaret and David. Just as there is no more David and Susie.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The 4 biggest revelations from media mogul Barry Diller's new memoir
Barry Diller has seen nearly every evolution of the entertainment business. He pioneered the "Movie of the Week" at ABC, instituted the miniseries, embraced home video and propelled reality TV with the inception of "Cops" at Fox. Then, after years of running major studios, Diller pivoted to QVC, latching onto the idea that screens could be two-way conversations with consumers — this later led to his investment in online companies Expedia, and Tinder. Diller, 83, expands on his life and career decisions in his new memoir, "Who Knew," out Tuesday. In it, Diller comes out as gay, describes his longtime marriage with fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and details his many business interactions over the years with fellow media titans, including Rupert Murdoch, Michael Eisner (whom he mentored), Brian Roberts and Sumner Redstone. Diller credits a "fake it until you make it" mentality for his career, which began in the mailroom of talent agency William Morris. He then had a swift rise at ABC before becoming the 32-year-old chief executive and chairman of Paramount Pictures, a role he held for 10 years before jumping to Fox. Aside from a short-lived bid for Paramount Global last year, he's been relatively absent from the entertainment industry since stepping down as chairman of Live Nation Entertainment in 2010. Today, he spends months sailing on his schooner, Eos, with Von Furstenberg and one of their cloned Jack Russell terriers (they have five), while still serving as chairman of digital media company IAC. "The most of it was building, always building," Diller writes of his career. "And even better than that was being lucky enough to let a family build me into something resembling a person." Here are four takeaways from the memoir. Read more: Ahead of his memoir, Barry Diller comes out publicly as gay — and in love with his wife Diller grew up in Beverly Hills, where his father's construction supply family business benefited from Southern California's post-World War II boom in housing. But his home life was chaotic. "My parents separated often and came a day short of divorce several times before I was ten," he writes. "My brother was a drug addict by age 13; and I was a sexually confused holder of secrets from the age of 11." There were silent Sunday night dinners at restaurants and essentially no contact with any extended relatives. One particularly traumatizing childhood experience came when Diller was sent to sleepaway camp at age 7. He had attended that particular camp before when he was 4 — a few years below the minimum age requirement — but spent that summer living with the camp owners, "cozied into the structure of a real family unit," he writes. At 7, Diller was placed with the rest of the campers and said he felt isolated and alone. When he called his mother, begging her to pick him up, she told him she'd come immediately. He waited all day and she never showed up. "I gave up on my mother that night. There would be no rescue," he writes. "As I walked down that driveway back to the life of the camp, I buried that fear and resolved never to trust anyone other than myself again. That summer at camp, I cemented myself shut." Read more: Blink-182 saved Mark Hoppus' life when he had cancer. His new book helped him heal Bluhdorn, the head of massive conglomerate Gulf+Western Industries, purchased Paramount Pictures in 1966. One day, Bluhdorn wanted to negotiate with someone from ABC's programming department. Leonard Goldberg, who was head of programming at the time, was unavailable, so Diller, who worked for him, was sent to meet Bluhdorn for the first time. The two clashed on a deal Bluhdorn had made with ABC to buy more than 100 Paramount movies to air on television, many of which Diller said were duds. Diller, then 23, bluffed a "big boy voice" and pushed back, resulting in an amended deal for the rights of new Paramount films that were better than the old ones, landing "The Godfather" and "Love Story" for ABC. It would be the beginning of Diller's long relationship with Bluhdorn, which led to him becoming chairman of Paramount. "He liked me because I was probably the only person in the entertainment business, probably in any business at this time in his ginormous career, who didn't tell him exactly what he wanted to hear," Diller writes. Read more: Barry Diller expresses interest in Redstone family firm (and Paramount controlling shareholder) After seven years at Fox, Diller approached Murdoch to ask to become a partner in the enterprise. Diller writes that Murdoch said he would think about it but came back a few days later and said, "There's really only one principal in this company. I mean, you make decisions, and that's been fine for me and for you. But this is a family company, and you're not a member." Their relationship slowly deteriorated after that, and Diller resigned as chairman and CEO in 1992. He writes that he has "not had a harsh word with Rupert since." In the early 1990s, Steve Jobs showed Diller a few scenes from the movie "Toy Story." After the screening, he asked Diller to join the board of Pixar, which Jobs had recently acquired. Diller, by his own admission, "didn't get any of the charm of 'Toy Story'" and had never been interested in animation. He said he didn't want to make any commitments in the aftermath of his departure from Fox before eventually giving Jobs a firm no. "I completely underestimated the company and the man," Diller writes. "What a dunce." Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The 4 biggest revelations from media mogul Barry Diller's new memoir
Barry Diller has seen nearly every evolution of the entertainment business. He pioneered the 'Movie of the Week' at ABC, instituted the miniseries, embraced home video and propelled reality TV with the inception of 'Cops' at Fox. Then, after years of running major studios, Diller pivoted to QVC, latching onto the idea that screens could be two-way conversations with consumers — this later led to his investment in online companies Expedia, and Tinder. Diller, 83, expands on his life and career decisions in his new memoir, 'Who Knew,' out Tuesday. In it, Diller comes out as gay, describes his longtime marriage with fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and details his many business interactions over the years with fellow media titans, including Rupert Murdoch, Michael Eisner (whom he mentored), Brian Roberts and Sumner Redstone. Diller credits a 'fake it until you make it' mentality for his career, which began in the mailroom of talent agency William Morris. He then had a swift rise at ABC before becoming the 32-year-old chief executive and chairman of Paramount Pictures, a role he held for 10 years before jumping to Fox. Aside from a short-lived bid for Paramount Global last year, he's been relatively absent from the entertainment industry since stepping down as chairman of Live Nation Entertainment in 2010. Today, he spends months sailing on his schooner, Eos, with Von Furstenberg and one of their cloned Jack Russell terriers (they have five), while still serving as chairman of digital media company IAC. 'The most of it was building, always building,' Diller writes of his career. 'And even better than that was being lucky enough to let a family build me into something resembling a person.' Here are four takeaways from the memoir. Diller grew up in Beverly Hills, where his father's construction supply family business benefited from Southern California's post-World War II boom in housing. But his home life was chaotic. 'My parents separated often and came a day short of divorce several times before I was ten,' he writes. 'My brother was a drug addict by age 13; and I was a sexually confused holder of secrets from the age of 11.' There were silent Sunday night dinners at restaurants and essentially no contact with any extended relatives. One particularly traumatizing childhood experience came when Diller was sent to sleepaway camp at age 7. He had attended that particular camp before when he was 4 — a few years below the minimum age requirement — but spent that summer living with the camp owners, 'cozied into the structure of a real family unit,' he writes. At 7, Diller was placed with the rest of the campers and said he felt isolated and alone. When he called his mother, begging her to pick him up, she told him she'd come immediately. He waited all day and she never showed up. 'I gave up on my mother that night. There would be no rescue,' he writes. 'As I walked down that driveway back to the life of the camp, I buried that fear and resolved never to trust anyone other than myself again. That summer at camp, I cemented myself shut.' Bluhdorn, the head of massive conglomerate Gulf+Western Industries, purchased Paramount Pictures in 1966. One day, Bluhdorn wanted to negotiate with someone from ABC's programming department. Leonard Goldberg, who was head of programming at the time, was unavailable, so Diller, who worked for him, was sent to meet Bluhdorn for the first time. The two clashed on a deal Bluhdorn had made with ABC to buy more than 100 Paramount movies to air on television, many of which Diller said were duds. Diller, then 23, bluffed a 'big boy voice' and pushed back, resulting in an amended deal for the rights of new Paramount films that were better than the old ones, landing 'The Godfather' and 'Love Story' for ABC. It would be the beginning of Diller's long relationship with Bluhdorn, which led to him becoming chairman of Paramount. 'He liked me because I was probably the only person in the entertainment business, probably in any business at this time in his ginormous career, who didn't tell him exactly what he wanted to hear,' Diller writes. After seven years at Fox, Diller approached Murdoch to ask to become a partner in the enterprise. Diller writes that Murdoch said he would think about it but came back a few days later and said, 'There's really only one principal in this company. I mean, you make decisions, and that's been fine for me and for you. But this is a family company, and you're not a member.' Their relationship slowly deteriorated after that, and Diller resigned as chairman and CEO in 1992. He writes that he has 'not had a harsh word with Rupert since.' In the early 1990s, Steve Jobs showed Diller a few scenes from the movie 'Toy Story.' After the screening, he asked Diller to join the board of Pixar, which Jobs had recently acquired. Diller, by his own admission, 'didn't get any of the charm of 'Toy Story'' and had never been interested in animation. He said he didn't want to make any commitments in the aftermath of his departure from Fox before eventually giving Jobs a firm no. 'I completely underestimated the company and the man,' Diller writes. 'What a dunce.'
