Sumner Redstone lashed out at his big media rivals—and Jay Leno—today while comparing himself to Brad Pitt's character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
"I'm The Curious Case of Mr. Redstone," he said in an interview with Larry King at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on Wednesday. The 85-year-old mogul then added, "I have no intention of ever retiring, or of dying."
He also insisted he wouldn't relinquish control of CBS or Viacom, refusing to make the same mistake he believes Ted Turner made by selling his company to Time Warner. Redstone also vowed he wouldn't lose control of either company the way he claims former Disney head Michael Eisner did before he was forced out.
Redstone continued bashing his fellow moguls by criticizing Rupert Murdoch for spending $5 billion to buy The Wall Street Journal when no one else wanted it, but he did concede that Murdoch "hasn't screwed it up like the New York Post."
Still, Redstone added his voice to the growing chorus of people predicting newspapers' demise, saying he didn't think they would be around in 10 years.
Since he still plans to be alive then, he better hope the people who use the Internet and e-mail for him stick around as well.
Turning his focus back to one of his own companies, he vowed that CBS' 10 p.m. hit CSI would "beat the hell out of" Jay Leno next fall, a pledge that must have pleased CEO Les Moonves who sat in the back of the room.
But not everything is thriving in Sumner Redstone's life. The newly single mogul complained that he was having trouble meeting women his age, but he did seem to be doing plenty of flirting after the interview.
