The Candid Musings of David Geffen

The reclusive mogul jabbed at Hollywood in a rare appearance July 22 promoting his PBS special.

On the box-office disappointment of Tom Cruise’s Rock of Ages: “It was a bad movie. And it’s unusual when a bad movie succeeds.”

On star power in Hollywood: “The biggest movies in the world have no stars in them today. Avatar has no stars. Avengers, with the exception of the small role that Robert Downey Jr. had in it, had no stars. Today it is the story, not the stars.”

On the future of movies: “The business model has changed. The industry will exist in very different ways than we experience it today. It’ll still be here. But I think there will be industries that will be far more profitable.”

On whether he could raise the $2 billion required to start DreamWorks in today’s environment: “Impossible.”

On whether he’d enjoy entering the music business today: “I’d kill myself.”

On why he became an agent: Geffen had the ability to “bullshit on the phone.”