News on Miramax

[ROC]

Get Set For a Flood of Miramax Films

Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein will be leaving Miramax Films with a flourish, releasing as many as 22 movies during the next seven months, including some troubled films that had been shelved or postponed, the New York Times reported today (Wednesday), citing unnamed executives at the studio. The strategy was described by one Miramax executive as an effort to "clean the pipeline" before new managers take over. The Times suggested that some of the films may not be released theatrically but instead will go straight to cable and/or DVD. One such film is Prozac Nation, starring Christina Ricci, which has been shelved for more than four years. During the past six months, Miramax has released only six films, several timed to position them for Oscar considerations. Two of the five films nominated for best-picture Oscars, The Aviator and Finding Neverland, are Miramax productions. Some longtime Miramax fixtures plan to follow the Weinsteins out of Disney. Director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jersey Girl) said he plans to hold up production of his Clerks sequel, The Passion of the Clerks."My allegiance is to Harvey and Bob," he told the Times.

[GRIFT]

Do you think that this means Troy Duffy will be coming off the blacklist any time soon?

[ROC]

Do you think that this means Troy Duffy will be coming off the blacklist any time soon?

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[Guest Ringmaster]

What is interesting here is that IMO, Miramax has been one of the best film studios of the past years, now this rift will show us who actually is reponsible for the cool stuff that comes out of there. I know the Weinsteins are in charge, but let's face it, they are not responsible for everything that came out of that studio. It's time to see whether the Weinsteins are bigger than Miramax or not.

[Ananas]

The question is whether the Weinsteins will be founding a new company or taking over at a pre-existing one. I find it odd that Kevin is delaying production on Clerks 2; if he's got a contract between View Askew and Miramax for a certain number of films, how is he going to back out?

[Guest Ringmaster]

To simplify things, Miramax in itself, is run through the use of "sub-studios" of sorts. Basically, they're divisions of sorts, with various divisions handling various films. The contract between View Askew and Miramax, is, I believe done through one of the "sub-studios" which is personally run by the Weinsteins. Contracts with certain Miramax subdivisions give the directors the right to back away from their project should they choose too.

This is what makes Miramax more unique, as it allows the studio to negotiate for a cheaper productions costs, but gives the director more freedom, as he can back off should he decide to.

It is very possible that with the Weinsteins gone, the upper-brass at Miramax would force Smith to make changes to his films which he doesn't want to make, thus allowing him to walk away.

I know it's deeply confusing, but I'm terrible at explaining this really.