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PGA Awards: Barry Diller Swipes at David Ellison, Harvey Weinstein While Introducing Honoree Jason Blum
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PGA Awards: Barry Diller Swipes at David Ellison, Harvey Weinstein While Introducing Honoree Jason Blum

#PGA Awards #Barry Diller #Jason Blum #David Ellison #Harvey Weinstein #Milestone Award #Hollywood

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Barry Diller criticized David Ellison and past PGA Award recipients like Harvey Weinstein while introducing Jason Blum
  • Diller playfully called out Blum's frugal filmmaking approach, noting it as a defining attribute rather than a flaw
  • Blum accepted the Milestone Award with gratitude toward Diller and addressed the limitations of AI in filmmaking
  • Diller questioned the PGA's selection process by mentioning controversial past honorees alongside industry legends

📖 Full Retelling

Barry Diller, chairman of IAC and former Paramount Pictures executive, made sharp criticisms of David Ellison and Harvey Weinstein while introducing horror mogul Jason Blum at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday night, where Blum was being honored with the Milestone Award. During his introduction, Diller questioned the PGA's selection process by referencing past recipients like Harvey Weinstein and Les Moonves, stating, 'Cecil B. DeMille, Disney, and now Blum: Not the most obvious succession, but then you also gave this award to Harvey Weinstein and Les Moonves. So there's that.' He also made a pointed remark about Ellison, current Paramount chairman and CEO, asking, 'What would Jack Warner do to know he'd been succeeded by a stunt pilot?'—a reference to Ellison's aviation credentials, which drew audible gasps and laughs from the audience. Diller, a longtime friend of Blum's, playfully criticized the producer's frugal approach to filmmaking, noting that Blum's $15,000 investment in 2007's 'Paranormal Activity'—which grossed nearly $200 million worldwide—mirrored Cecil B. DeMille's low-budget beginnings. 'To say he's cheap isn't a characterization. It's a defining attribute,' Diller quipped, adding that he was honoring Blum not for his horror films (which Diller claimed to hate) but for his focus and perseverance in helping artists tell stories and make money. In his acceptance speech, Blum joked that his biggest achievement was 'getting Barry Diller to the PGAs' and thanked Diller for being a friend and mentor. He also addressed the growing role of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry, arguing that machines cannot replicate a producer's passion and taste, citing the unexpected success of 'Heated Rivalry,' a low-budget gay hockey romance that he believed algorithms would have rejected.

🏷️ Themes

Hollywood Industry, Awards Controversy, Producer Excellence

📚 Related People & Topics

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Jason Blum

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American film producer (born 1969)

Jason Ferus Blum (; born February 20, 1969) is an American producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, best known for horror franchises including Paranormal Activity (2007–2021), Insidious (2010–present), The Purge (2013–2021), and Halloween (2018–2022). Other Blumhouse films inclu...

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Barry Diller

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American businessman and media executive (born 1942)

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David Ellison

American film producer (born 1983)

David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American media executive, film producer, and former actor, currently serving as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paramount Skydance since August 2025. He is the son of Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, a centibillionaire. He founded ...

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Entity Intersection Graph

Connections for Producers Guild of America Awards:

👤 Jason Blum 2 shared
👤 Barry Diller 2 shared
🌐 Storytelling 1 shared
🌐 Representation 1 shared
👤 Mara Brock Akil 1 shared
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Original Source
Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment While introducing Producers Guild of America Milestone Award nominee Jason Blum at the PGA Awards on Saturday night, Barry Diller made digs at David Ellison , as well as the guild itself, for giving the honor to people like Harvey Weinstein and Les Moonves in previous years. “Samuel Goldwyn, Adolph Zukor, Jack Warner — What would Jack Warner do to know he’d been succeeded by a stunt pilot?” Diller, chairman of internet and media conglomerate IAC and an executive who led Paramount Pictures and Fox, said, which evoked audible gasps and laughs from the audience. Current Paramount chairman and CEO Ellison, who has been in the news in recent days for the mega merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, is a licensed pilot for helicopter aviation, aerobatics and more. Warner, of course, was the founder and president of Warner Bros. Studios. Related Stories Movies PGA Awards: Winners List (Updating Live) Movies 2026 NAACP Image Awards: 'Sinners' Dominates With 13 Wins, Including Best Motion Picture Diller, a longtime friend of Blum’s, continued: “Cecil B. DeMille, Disney, and now Blum: Not the most obvious succession, but then you also gave this award to Harvey Weinstein and Les Moonves. So there’s that.” Diller continued his introduction by making quips at Blum’s “cheapness.” Of course, Blum, the founder and CEO of Blumhouse (behind horror franchises like P aranormal Activity , Insidious , The Black Phone , The Purge ), is well known for investing small amounts of money in films and giving directors their creative freedom. For example, 2007’s Paranormal Activity was made for just $15,000 but grossed almost $200 million worldwide. “There’s some commonality with the greats,” Diller continued. “DeMille made movies for $15,000 and so did Blu...
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