Miramax and Disney split
10-13-04, 09:26 PM
#1
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
Miramax and Disney split
Didn't see this posted yet...
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/041013/1/3nqx5.html
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/041013/1/3nqx5.html
Disney to cut crusading Miramax bosses free of contract
Walt Disney Co. has given maverick Hollywood movie moguls Harvey and Bob Weinstein notice that it intends to end their Oscar-winning partnership after 12 years.
The US entertainment giant has let the founders of the once independent Miramax studios that has produced such Oscar winners as 2002's "The Hours" and "Chicago," know that it intends to cut them loose in September 2005, the industry bible Daily Variety said.
The Weinstein brothers, who founded Miramax in 1979 and went on to change the ground rules for Hollywood movie-making, sold the studio to Disney in 1993 under a deal that allowed them to stay on and run it.
The brothers' deal expires in 2009, but an option in the contract allows Disney to renegotiate the relationship in 2005, an option that Variety said is now looming amid months of squabbling between the outspoken pair and their corporate parent.
The Weinsteins are however still lobbying Disney's board of directors in the hope that the stellar financial performance of its recent hits will force a change in course.
"Bob and Harvey hope for an amicable resolution that will allow them to continue to be productive members of the Disney family," Variety quoted a Miramax spokesman as saying.
Disney declined to comment on the report that came after a public squabble between the pair earlier this year over Disney's refusal to distribute Michael Moore's Miramax-funded "Fahrenheit 9/11," which attacked US President George W. Bush.
Variety however quoted Disney sources as saying that while the Weinstein contract talks were continuing, the two sides had "exchanged oral and written communication stating that the current arrangement with Miramax will not continue after next year."
The Weinstein's have courted both Oscars glory and controversy in Hollywood through their courageous choice in projects and the disputed way in which they lobbied ruthlessly for Academy Awards recognition.
The pair gave the greenlight to films that no major studio would touch and turned them into gold, including the risky musical "Chicago," "The English Patient" and Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."
Walt Disney Co. has given maverick Hollywood movie moguls Harvey and Bob Weinstein notice that it intends to end their Oscar-winning partnership after 12 years.
The US entertainment giant has let the founders of the once independent Miramax studios that has produced such Oscar winners as 2002's "The Hours" and "Chicago," know that it intends to cut them loose in September 2005, the industry bible Daily Variety said.
The Weinstein brothers, who founded Miramax in 1979 and went on to change the ground rules for Hollywood movie-making, sold the studio to Disney in 1993 under a deal that allowed them to stay on and run it.
The brothers' deal expires in 2009, but an option in the contract allows Disney to renegotiate the relationship in 2005, an option that Variety said is now looming amid months of squabbling between the outspoken pair and their corporate parent.
The Weinsteins are however still lobbying Disney's board of directors in the hope that the stellar financial performance of its recent hits will force a change in course.
"Bob and Harvey hope for an amicable resolution that will allow them to continue to be productive members of the Disney family," Variety quoted a Miramax spokesman as saying.
Disney declined to comment on the report that came after a public squabble between the pair earlier this year over Disney's refusal to distribute Michael Moore's Miramax-funded "Fahrenheit 9/11," which attacked US President George W. Bush.
Variety however quoted Disney sources as saying that while the Weinstein contract talks were continuing, the two sides had "exchanged oral and written communication stating that the current arrangement with Miramax will not continue after next year."
The Weinstein's have courted both Oscars glory and controversy in Hollywood through their courageous choice in projects and the disputed way in which they lobbied ruthlessly for Academy Awards recognition.
The pair gave the greenlight to films that no major studio would touch and turned them into gold, including the risky musical "Chicago," "The English Patient" and Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."
10-13-04, 10:53 PM
#4
Banned by request
I wonder if this will mean that a) Miramax will stop picking up foreign films and b) if they don't, then maybe they'll release them in a decent number of theaters and not cut to hell.
10-13-04, 11:41 PM
#5
Guest
Originally posted by SunMonkey
I doesn't read as if Disney is getting rid of Miramax at all, just the Weinstein brothers.
I doesn't read as if Disney is getting rid of Miramax at all, just the Weinstein brothers.
10-14-04, 03:06 AM
#7
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I think it would be interesting to see them move on to found another studio or sign a contract with an existing studio to head their independent division. I think they could end up with a lot more independence(no pun intended) in terms of what movies they chose to pick up. I know that they had been under pressure from Disney in the past to avoid releasing certain movies (Dogma, F-9/11, Passion of the Christ), so I think a move might mean a wider range of films for them to pick up and finance. They would definitely bring some big names with them, if they are as loyal as people say, including Kevin Smith, Matt & Ben, Tarantino, etc.
10-14-04, 02:55 PM
#9
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Originally posted by Trigger
Disney should be like Atari and just close up shop and let some other company take the Disney name and start over.
Disney should be like Atari and just close up shop and let some other company take the Disney name and start over.
10-14-04, 03:18 PM
#10
Banned by request
If they moved on they could certainly do very well for themselves, especially since a lot of filmmakers they work with would never get a release if they were going straight to Disney.
10-14-04, 05:02 PM
#11
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Does this mean an NC-17 Kill Bill stands a chance of U.S. release? 
...or how about those John Woo films Miramax bought the rights to,cut to hell and never released?
uncut 16.9 John Woo would be excellent indeed.
Ok optimism off,we shall see what becomes of the studio after the split.
...or how about those John Woo films Miramax bought the rights to,cut to hell and never released?
uncut 16.9 John Woo would be excellent indeed.
Ok optimism off,we shall see what becomes of the studio after the split.
10-14-04, 05:49 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by BigDan
Yeah, because a company that makes over $3 billion per year in profit and nearly $30 billion in revenues is a huge failure that needs to just liquidate and let someone else try to build it up from scratch.
Yeah, because a company that makes over $3 billion per year in profit and nearly $30 billion in revenues is a huge failure that needs to just liquidate and let someone else try to build it up from scratch.
