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Burying Hatchet With Weinsteins Big Step In Miramax Plan

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday December 16, 2010 @ 1:00pm PSTTags: Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Miramax, Miramax Library, Miramax Mike Lang, Movie Deals, Movies, The Weinstein Co
Mike Fleming

Deadline this morning posted news of the deal for Miramax and The Weinstein Company to partner on sequels. Here are some more details.

The deal ended bad blood between the parties, stemming from Harvey and Bob Weinstein failing to reclaim the Miramax name and library of 700 films, but holding a position on sequels to the films they made at Miramax. I’m told that former WMA chief Jim Wiatt was helpful in bridging a relationship between newly minted Miramax CEO Mike Lang and  the Weinstein brothers, and that led to the working arrangement on sequels and does away with potential litigation.

Miramax is starting out as a library company, so in all likelihood, the Weinsteins will take the active role on the sequels. Miramax is entitled to become a 50/50 production partner, but can just as easily take a passive role and collect 5% of first dollar gross. That’s the same amount Miramax is getting for the sequels that are already in the can: Scream 4, Spy Kids 4 and Scary Movie 5. TWC will produce and distribute the films.

Miramax isn’t done making deals, though. It inherited hundreds of development projects and will be looking for partners on those projects. It also has three finished films–the John Madden-directed The Debt, the Guillermo del Toro-produced Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, and the Massy Tadjedin-directed Last Night with Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington. I’m told that Lionsgate is a likely landing place for those films, as well as Miramax’s home video output deal.

As far as the Miramax sequels, Swingers and Rounders are being developed as TV projects. The Amityville Horror is furthest along as a feature, and a Bad Santa and Bridget Jones sequels are priorities. The Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love is the surprise among sequel projects, but that is only in the concept stage and no one has yet been hired to work on a screenplay.

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TORONTO: Closing Night Film Needs Home

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday September 17, 2010 @ 1:23pm PDTTags: Eva Mendes, Keira Knightley, Miramax Library, Movie Deals, Movies, Sam Worthington, Toronto Film Festival
Mike Fleming

The films that have played the Toronto International Film Festival either came in with a distributor, or hoped to leave with one. The festival’s closing night film, Last Night, is the exception.  The drama, written and directed by Massy Tadjedin, arrived as a Disney film, but might very well leave the festival with someone else. How appropriate for a drama about infidelity! The picture was dealt to Miramax by producer Nick Wechsler and Gaumont two weeks after production began. After the deal closed, Daniel Battsek’s specialty shingle imploded. The Mouse has spared the film from being part of the assets in the never-ending sale of the Miramax library. (It did the same for The Switch, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, and the John Madden-directed The Debt, which also stars Worthington.) While The Debt made its debut at Toronto with distribution set, family-friendly Disney has been non-committal about releasing Last Night because of its infidelity theme. I’m told the picture has been quietly shopped during the festival by CAA, and there are three offers on the table. It will be up to Disney whether the studio wants to let it go to a specialty distributor more excited about releasing an edgy drama with a strong cast. Read More »

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TOLDJA! Done Deal: Disney Sells Miramax To Ron Tutor & Colony Capital For $660M

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday July 29, 2010 @ 10:39pm PDTTags: Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Colony Capital, Disney, Michael Eisner, Miramax, Miramax Deal, Miramax Disney, Miramax Library, Miramax Sale, Richard Nanula, Ron Tutor, The Weinstein Co, Tom Barrack

Miramax Deal “95%” Done
Colony Capital Now Leading Ron Tutor’s Miramax Negotiations

Back on July 8th I was the first to tell you … Read More »

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