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(Keep refreshing for breaking news): I’ve just learned that representatives for Inglorious Basterds have scheduled a phone call today this week with Universal Pictures to discuss The Weinstein Company’s financial problems which are being splashed all over the media. Right now, everyone is still operating on the premise that TWC can come up with the $30 million or moreo marketing money budgeted for Inglorious Basterds. But that was before news came out that The Weinstein Company is on the brink (amid rumors the end could come in August) intenwsified by last week’s bad news that TWC has hired a financial advisory firm to restructure. 
The deal for Inglorious Basterds had always been a 3-way financial partnership among Quentin Tarantino, The Weinstein Company, and Universal. But a worst case scenario was always considered by Quentin’s people: What if TWC which has domestic didn’t have the resources to market and/or release the movie? Universal has foreign. Would it pick up the North America as well? Meanwhile, Universal is the distributor of the valuable domestic DVD rights on behalf of the 3-way partnership. But now I’ve learned that Genius may kick up a fuss.
That’s not all. Film financing sources tell me that, at one point, The Weinstein Company had scheduled for release the movie All Good Things for July 24th. This would have been the indie’s first pic out since February. 
But now TWC will be pushing that film to the 4th quarter, which prompted talk that TWC “doesn’t have the P& A to release it” and “is are worried about the financial results of its distribution”. Not so, says an insider with the production. It won’t be delivered until fall “for reasons having nothing to do with the Weinsteins”. Of course, this info was relayed to me after the Weinsteins placed a call to someone connected to the pic. I’m told “the movie is really strong. We just needed more time to complete it.” Groundswell Productions financed the movie but is depending on TWC for marketing and distribution.
TWC also had scheduled Shanghai, a $50+ milllion production, for release on September 4th. One of my sources explains, “They will push that film to another date in the distant future.” There is also word internally that they may push off Youth In Revolt, currently scheduled for October 30th, into the distant future. What this all means is that TWC is “hoarding whatever cash they have left to be able to release Inglorious Basterds,” a film financer analyzes. Tarantino’s film is scheduled for release August 21st.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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TWC allegedly spent $50 million on a period film set in China starring a frankly fat-looking Johnny Cusack? Maybe a “studio” with that kind of judgement isn’t worth saving. They could have made four horror movies for that kind of money. And Cusack’s only real success has been in horror movies, lately.
Such vitriolic commentary.
Anyone who has achieved great success as an independent entreprenuer in this business has encountered nearly insurmountable odds and has had to resort to the same, if not worse, behavior than the Weinsteins in order to triumph. Regardless of what happens to their company, they will forever have a unique place in the history of American cinema. And maybe the fact that they have achieved a legacy is what frustrates so many.
For those who only have base accusations about the brothers’ physical characteristics to hurl: let’s see you go out and try to accomplish even one tenth of what these guys have done for Indie films and American cinema as a whole.
Corey makes a very good point, in that the marketing for the film is a disaster. They’re trying to sell a movie (Pitt wisecracking and bashing in Nazi’s heads) that isn’t actually what they have in the can. That’s a big mistake … for better or for worse, you have to try and sell the movie you actually have, otherwise you lose on both ends.
Shanghai actually got good test screening reviews, with emphasis on how how great Gong li was.
.
Dont quite understand how its unrelesable?
Screw Inglorious. I want to see “Shanghai”.
@Matt C, I believe Dimension is handling H2
Wow! You guys are spiteful -bastards he may deserve it but what about his employees?
Funny thing is, the film that has the potential to go the distance, relative to its cost, is the one nobody is talking about….The Road.
When you people talk about their employees aka “their slaves”, if they are qualified, they will find other work. If they are as incapable as the two fat basterds, then they should go down with the sinking ship. Are you suggesting someone should bail them out? Seriously. Blow a goat. They’ve been destroying the indie world ever since they chopped up Cinema Paradiso. Oh, Quentin can make three hour shitty features, but take out the old moviola and lose an hour of Tornatore’s masterpiece? They have done more damage to young indie filmmakers than good. Only the artists with some leverage (uber-agents) get to work a good deal with them. When guys like Arnold Rifkin did a deal with the fatman, you know his client would get a fair shake. Pity the poor artist who came in through a backdoor or had a pussy of an agent. They both got fucked in the ass by those pigs. The only thing they ever respected was FEAR. They hated Eisner, but they feared him. Because it took a real putz to know what two putzes were really about.
They are both failed filmmakers, failed husbands, failed bosses and failed humans. Every success they had, they purchased, with other peoples money and human souls. Now the world is upset because the con game is over? Wake up. These guys were the Dana Giachetto and Bernie Madoff of their era.
Good fucking riddance.
I saw All Good Things at a test screening recently and the film was not done. I’m not involved in the film, but it was really strong and Kirsten Dunst was amazing! I know it is hard to believe but that film is going to make her a real actress. I was hoping not to like it and i normally am not a fan of hers, but its really smart and well done. art house, but will be a success. I hope it gets the release it deserves by TWC or whomever.
And yes karma is a bitch but i agree with Cinefile. And karma is a bitch for all of you who write bad comments.
Everyone saying the failure of TWC will be bad for the industry overall is correct. But everyone who is saying Inglorious Basterds will most likely bomb is also correct. A nearly three hour long movie that is very talky, has big chunks of dialogue in foreign languages, and the title characters aren’t even the main characters? Add to that the anger and bad word of mouth it will generate when people go to the movie and discover it isn’t an action packed war movie starring Pitt but a talky slow moving movie in which he is a supporting character. So yes, IG will bomb and it might be bad for the Weinsteins and everyone at their company but they brought it on themselves. Truth hurts.
All of you negative commenters sit in the peanut gallery and love to throw sh*t at those who are driven and successful. What the hell have any of you accomplished besides growing up bitter and jealous.
These guys made some great films happen that wouldn’t have happened and basically brought independent movies to the mainstream.
And you did what?
So Harvey, how funny it is that you have sent your little buttboys over here to doctor the comments. There aren’t that many actual human beings who would back you up after all. Open up your ass cheeks and let Matt Stein out- boy’s gotta breathe, guys!
The Karma is that the same guy who made that company, Tarantino, with Pulp Fiction, has now killed it. Grindhouse was a bullet across the bough- and now IB is the coffin nail. There is NO way Harvey would have split with Universal if he had the cash.
Bye Bye Weinsteins. Contact Eisner, maybe you can work on the Bazooka Joe Movie (rotflmao)
Yap yap yap, let’s see YOU do better, yap yap yap.
Why do those fat fucks continue to produce/pick up movies when they don’t have the money to get them into theaters? I’m surprised any filmmaker not fresh from their mother’s womb would do sign on to have their pride and joy buried.
Come on Quentin, do the right thing and cut the fucker down. Save Harvey’s ass and your own as well.
Inglorious Movie Idea.
WTF, how could they greenlight the screenplay. Did they actually read it?
You can’t break the 80/20 rule. 80% of the people working in any industry have little talent in that field. They slip under the radar, suck up to the right people, happen to be in the right place at the right time, while 20% actually have a brain and do all the real work.
It takes a great studio head to know which 20% are good. But if you as a studio head are part of the 80%, then you are in trouble.
C’mon — awww — you made Bawb cry…. C’mere Bawb, don’t cry. Genius stock is still worth a B.J. from an tranny hooker.
You know that fugly film freak will be losing weight in his index finger from hitting the refresh button to see who can hate him best. Did someone teach him how to use a computer yet?
Great thread Nikki! This is so much fun. If only Harry Cohn were around to see the internet!
To the idiot who compared TWC to GM, you are not a complete buffoon. Both are going the way of the past because they produced a SHITTY PRODUCT.
Still don’t understand why losing a defective player will hurt the industry. They bury dreams, withhold salaries, lock people into deals that are career killers and manipulate the profits so fatty can stay at the Peninsula. These bozo’s make the porn industry look on the up and up.
David Linde must be having the laugh of his life right now. Wasn’t HIS idea to do a deal with dirt and dirtier.
See if there’s a extra large cell available down the row from Tony Pelicano. Wait until the forensic accountants put out the fire on the cooked books of TWC. I smell some fun…
can you hear it? listen? shhhhh? there it goes again!
was that a spacecraft traveling at warp speed?
nope, it was the non stop sounds of scott rudin laughing in a fit of hysterics.
Bwahhahahaha
PhatPhuckPhilms, what are you trying to say?
But really, good point about chopping and shelving great movies. A lot of what the brothers did amounts to pure film abuse.
As mentioned it sounds like they’re putting all their P&A eggs into the Inglourious basket. Fun script with some really nice story threads but I was surprised at the marketing. It’s emphasizing one element, and the least prevalent one at that.
Employees should be OK: TWC on a resume would look pretty good in a “You put up with that?” way.
They’ve put some good movies out, butchered a lot more, and bullied almost everyone they came into contact with. Eventually even sociopaths and soul crushers fall, and that is why so many people on this thread, and reading this thread, are celebrating.
Anyone who praises their accomplishments, and forgives them their behavior, never worked with them.
Period.
This film will assuredly bomb, no one cares about WW2 films anymore, and no one really cares to see close ups of Diane Kruger’s or Mélanie Laurent’s feet.
They have two really cool smaller movies that I’ve heard are ready to be released: YOUTH IN REVOLT and Forest Whitaker’s HURRICANE SEASON, an inspiring movie about Katrina. It sucks to see these get put off because of mismanagement and bad decisions at TWC. As a movie lover, I can’t wait to see them and hope someone finds a way to get them out there soon.
Having Bob and Harvey go down is GOOD for the industry. They’re a bunch of uncreative clowns who hire filmmakers based on the quality of their work and then proceed to prevent said filmmakers from having an opinion or even a hand in the editing (and many times the shooting) of their films. These guys DO NOT respect the artists and the regular folk who work for them. Harvey flies around like the prima-donna he is, more concerned whether his DIet Coke is going to be waiting for him on the set, rather than what’s actually being shot that day. I can’t even begin to tell you the stress and anxiety they’ve put directors through. They’ve destroyed more careers than they’ve made and butchered more good films than they’ve made a handful of them better. They are toxic human beings, psychic vampires who have used and abused talent over the years and the chickens are finally coming home to roost. I have never met a single filmmaker who has had a good thing to say about them. Not one. Not one director I know has ever been satisfied with the final product of his/her film that’s come out of the Weinstein factory. I had a filmmaker say to me recently that he wishes he could step into a time machine and make his latest film that they dumped fairly recently never exist in the first place because he’s so embarrassed about what they turned it into. If there is any justice in this world, these guys will fold and never rise to fuck with the industry again. They should take their millions and exile themselves to their penthouses and beach houses, because they’ve finally destroyed their reputations in this business. When one of the most powerful agents in the business, who has always been Harvey’s ally, finally wants nothing more to do with him, you know he’s cooked his goose. Like some other poster said, if their good employees lose their jobs, they’ll land up at another company that will actually appreciate their talents and treat them with respect. These guys will never change. They believe might equals right. Too bad they have zero taste or instinct for quality. I believe Quentin was a fluke in Harvey’s life. Quentin’s talent was always going to be recognized. It may have taken a few more years, but some like Q would always rise to the top. Too bad his new film rests in the hands of someone like Harvey.
I’d like to interrupt this lovefest to ask why, if the executives who call the shots really know what they’re doing with tentpole this and franchise that, it still takes close to $40 million to launch a film.
How many movies are sitting on the Weinstein shelf that might be releasable but for the fact that they’d never earn back their P&A? Or sitting on other film companies’ shelves, for that matter.
If the studio MBAs who hold the green light switch do so much market research before a film is shot, why can’t they manage to target the same people when the film is finished rather than spend gazillions on blunderbuss marketing? If they’re so intent on reaching the 19-year-old male audience, for $40 million you could send each of them a personal letter asking them to see your movie.
In short, why is distribution so imprecise when nobody so much as rolls a camera without knowing who the audience is? Could it be — as William Goldman famously said — that nobody knows anything?
We now return to tearing Harvey and Bob a new one.