Barry Diller, IAC

Barry Diller is one of the world’s most influential and experienced media moguls. The chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, he has run ABC, Paramount Pictures and created the Fox network. In this first part of a wide-ranging interview, Diller talks exclusively to TBI about his plans to re-enter the movie business.

“The movie business has become primarily about tentpole movies, which are often sequels and franchises that are designed as much to sell hats as they are to tell stories. These movies are primarily uninteresting,” says Diller, who has executive produced features including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Beverly Hills Cop.

Diller believes the Hollywood studios will continue to operate this way, but that some of the smaller companies will develop more interesting feature films. “There’s a trend beginning to somewhat counteract that, but I don’t think the major studios will change. I think it will be from companies like New Line and The Weinstein Company.”

IAC, itself, is about to enter into the movie business for the first time, a move that will reunite Barry Diller with the big screen, with Jake and Amir: Fired. “We’re actually making our first movie. It’s being done by a subsidiary of CollegeHumor that doesn’t have a name yet. It’s a comedy movie. We’re fully financing it and hopefully we’ll make more movies. We don’t want to make franchises or elephantine sci-fi films,” Diller says.