Former Paramount chief Barry Diller recalled that the Malta set of Robert Altman’s 1980 Popeye was the most “coked-up” film set he had visited. He said film cans sent to Los Angeles for processing were used to move cocaine to and from the production. Those are Diller’s retrospective claims, not independently verified findings about the cast or crew.
What Barry Diller said about the Popeye set
Diller made the remarks at a public conversation with Anderson Cooper at 92NY while promoting his memoir, Who Knew. According to the Variety report of the event, Cooper asked him to name the most coked-up film set he had visited as Paramount’s chief.
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Diller described a specific alleged route: film cans from the Malta production went to Los Angeles for daily processing, and, he said, the cans were used to ship cocaine back and forth to the set. The San Francisco Chronicle quoted him: “We found out that the film cans were actually being used to ship cocaine back and forth to this set. Everyone was stoned.”
He also described the film’s pace with the line, “This is a movie that runs at 78 RPM and 33 speed,” and added, “You couldn’t escape it,” as reported by Variety. The record-speed comparison is a colorful metaphor for the movie, not a measured production detail.
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What is established—and what remains an allegation
The available reports establish that Diller made these comments and recount what he said. They do not independently verify a particular shipment, determine how many people used cocaine, or identify individual participants. “Everyone was stoned” is Diller’s phrasing; it should not be read as a documented finding about every cast or crew member.
The production context is clear: Popeye was Robert Altman’s 1980 live-action adaptation, starring Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl, and it was filmed in Malta. The Times of Malta’s account of the production identifies the purpose-built set in Mellieħa, now known as Popeye Village. That context does not independently substantiate Diller’s account of drug use or film-can shipments.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Diller’s recollection does not establish about Robin Williams
Diller’s comments concern his recollection of the production environment, not a named account of Williams’s conduct. The reports cited here do not establish that Williams personally used cocaine on the Popeye set, and his presence in the film is not evidence that he did. The Chronicle separately mentions Williams discussing his own addiction in a 1988 interview; that is a different account and does not verify Diller’s broader allegation.
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