Ric Robertson Taking Paid Summer Hiatus From Movie Academy … 
‘The Big C’ Finale Airs On Showtime Tonight 
Obama Scandals Bring MSNBC 7-Year Low While Fox News Rises 
Ang Lee Departs FX Pilot ‘Tyrant’ 
DreamWorks Eyes January For ‘Glimmer’ And Dylan … 
Warner Bros TV & ‘Smallville’ Co-Creators … 
How Many Times Does Seth MacFarlane Have To Say No To The … 
UPFRONTS 2013: TV Spinoffs’ Almost Perfect Year 
OSCARS: Animated Feature Rule Change 
Cannes: Relativity Sets ‘Hunger Games’ Liam … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: Billboard Awards Surge From 2012, … 
Cannes: Park Chan-wook’s ‘Sympathy For Mr. … 
Cannes: Stanley Weiser To Script ‘Three Graves … 
Yahoo CEO Foresees Big Opportunities To Sell Ads On Tumblr 
Disney, Lucasfilm Animation Prep ‘Star Wars … 
Cannes: Deadline Crashes Palais Forum With Costa Gavras, … 
Hammond On Cannes: Sun Comes Out As Parties, Deals And … 
Kelly Rowland, Paulina Rubio In Talks To Join ‘X … 
‘Fast & Furious 6′ Breaks Records In … 
Specialty Box Office: ‘Frances Ha’ Triumphs As … 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $164.5M Global: Lower … 
As the Sundance fest comes to a close, Harvey Weinstein acquired Blue Valentine in a WME-brokered deal. While IFC, Goldwyn and Oscilloscope made offers, The Weinstein Co was particularly aggressive with a low 7-figure offer. While the film isn’t easy — director Derek Cianfrance has shot an often painfully honest autopsy of a dead marriage — Weinstein Co decisionmakers were convinced that the performance by Michelle Williams opposite Ryan Gosling is her strongest since Brokeback Mountain and has Oscar nomination potential. This now gives TWC a pair of films, counting the docu The Tillman Story. Other deals include the Joel Schumacher-directed Twelve to Hannover House, and the docu Family Affair to Oprah Winfrey’s OWN.
Loading ...
I’m speechless. Other than the kids are alright, these are the exact two movies i didn’t want them to get ahold of. Sure, Harvey is good at getting oscar nods, but doing business with him is not worth the headache and the abuse.
Well that’s interesting, considering The Weinstein Company laid off ANOTHER 30 PEOPLE today. Apparently Harvey is going to market and publicize these movies by wearing a sandwich board on a Tribeca street corner. No way their staff totals over 50 now (down from over 200).
Really great for Cianfrance, who has been quietly working in the real indie film world for a decade, and not being a giant fame whore like a lot of other Sundancers became. He’s very serious and all about the work and I can’t wait to see this new film. His early picture Brother Tied is a little-seen classic.
And into the black hole of obscurity those movies go. They will be cold and dead by the time Harvey dumps them either straight to DVD or into a handful of theaters later this year or maybe the next year – or maybe, well, never. Doesn’t matter if you have a contract with the man. He will just proceed to do as he pleases. If you’re doing business with Harvey on an indie level, you cannot afford to sue him. He’ll just delay and outspend you.
I can’t believe how many people don’t look at the bigger picture of any situation. any sales agent that sells to TWC is just plain ignorant and desperate for a deal. Typical agents just want to close a deal and don’t care about their clients. They should have taken the lower mgs and in the long run would come out on top. Contracts are not valid with this company. In 3 months, Harvey will be trying to sell it back. He is trying to make a statement that the company is still alive. (hmm, additional layoffs of 30 -40 people on Friday – seems like that was planned to the end of Sundance for a reason) and in 2 weeks will decide he no longer likes the film. Good work WME! Looks like we will catch this flick on Lifetime.