I’ve learned from London sources that Harvey Weinstein wants to buy back the Miramax name from Disney and is already making moves towards that goal. The company that put him on the map is now defunct at the Mouse House, so this should be easier to accomplish than before. In fact, Harv just scooped up 2 Miramax executives Peter Lawson and Lucas Webb. The two bothers founded Miramax in 1979; it combined the first names of their parents — Max and Miriam. So obviously there’s a strong emotional tie. The bros sold Miramax to Disney in 1993, but left behind the name and the library when they walked away because of a money feud with Michael Eisner and started the The Weinstein Company in 2005. They’ve never been able to duplicate their success at Miramax.
Right, I’ll sale you my name for 5 billion. :)
It would be a great gesture if Disney permitted the Weinsteins to get back the Miramax name.
And, it would be terrific if they do not charge them an ‘arm and a leg’ to do so.
Nikki, please, keep us posted on how this is resolved.
OF COURSE THEY WANT TO BUY BACK MIRAMAX and we should welcome that energy as it could maybe get the majors to refocus their indie devisions again!
Whoever you are George I absolutely agree. Miramax name should be sold back, gifted actually, except that there is no milk of human kindness in this type of bargainig, to the Weinsteins. The name derives from their family backround, close family ties. It is also a name/filn label synonimous wiht the excellence of independent film making worldwide.
These guys might win Best Picture if other nominees cancel each other out, and because so many Academy members who are foreign will vote for their foreign participants in the film. It’s a wide-reaching cast that has a lot of friends throughout the academy. But it doesn’t mean that Harvey and Bob have anyone wanting to sell their movie to them. This Pat Tillman doc will be a tragedy on top of a tragedy if it ends up in their hands. They have perpetually screwed over 90% of the artists they’ve worked with, and then blame the directors and actors. It’s just bad business practice. Changing the name back to Miramax is not going to change the fact that they’re least attractive mini-major in town.
I think the Weinstein Company name is better for movies like Fanboys and The Nanny Diaries (if only because those movies aren’t exactly “arthouse” or “indie”), but I doubt Harvey cares, having released She’s All That under Miramax.
The Honest Answer hopes that Miramax makes a comeback to making great movies once again. The movie business needs it because it’s no longer movies it’s all business. Let’s discuss something.
AVATAR – was not a movie or it was a horrible movie. Why, because it was a technical show with a terrible story. Whereas Terminator we cared about the characters and it was riveting, Avatar failed in all those categories. I don’t understand how you all think this is a great movie without a great story. I was bored to tears after 30 minutes. Yes, it was cool to see but I could care less about the caricatures.
Let’s get back to real movies Harvey. Please. Put your fat ego aside, you have money and fame just make goddamn movies now. We’ve got the Ratner’s and DeLuca’s to turn out crap. People who are not filmmakers but as for a Ratner they are producers in directors clothing. A lot of peeps are that today. Coming from the commercial directing world they are about showtime. They say they make entertainment but I have not seen one Ratner movie that was entertaining. Boring. Maybe Family Man was a try but it didn’t succeed. We need you back Harvey. We want you back. We are nothing without you.
Thank you.
I realize posting/reading here makes everyone official insiders, but good grief – what a wet-behind-the-ears take. Next time save it for an intro I-wanna-be-a-famous-filmmaker 101 class.
Annoyed,
What is so “wet-behind-the ears?” Advise.
Thank you.
Who are they kidding? They can’t afford to pay their staff, never mind buying the name back.
I don’t think Disney takes I.O.Us.
“I don’t think Disney takes I.O.Us.”
–haha, and so true about TWC. Takes them months and months to pay freelancers and vendors miniscule fees, how the hell are they finagle this one. Disney might just give them the name–no way can they afford the back library.
I could understand the desire for the name, but at what cost? It’s not like they have the infrastructure in place to exploit the library.
They are not looking to buy the library, which likely is not for sale. As Nikki reported, they are looking to purchase the name – i.e., the trademark “Miramax.”
The Weinstein Co. changing its name to Miramax would be the business equivalent of painting the porch on a haunted house.
Disney offered them the opportunity to buy the name back 2 years ago, they couldn’t afford it then and not now. There are bids to buy Miramax but so far Disney’s ridiculous asking prices has prevented any of the deals from closing. “scooped” up… I am sure they are both melting already.
I hope Disney’s keeps that name FOREVER and just pisses the hell out of the Weinstein Brothers.
The monsterous way those shitheels treated other human beings . . . Harvey’s outright lying and double-dealing to filmmakers (destroying some careers in the prosess) . . . they deserve nothing less than the worst Life can throw at them now. I hope they continue their downward spiral to the point where they’re spending the rest of their days “catching up” with Mike Ovitz.
And for every one of you who hope Harvey & Bob get the name & make a comeback — I hope to god you have your son, daughter, nephews or cousins working at The Weinstein Company under one of those Nazis with their horrendous behavior towards their employees.
Then you tell us how much you love these guys & wish them well.
What a sad little rant from Lee Magid. I worked with the brothers for eight years and learnt so much in that time that I carry forward into my freelance producing career. Yes, they can be tough, but quite honestly, the strongest and most assured filmmakers held their own in my time at the company. And btw, no-one forced anyone to work at Miramax, or is forcing anyone to work with them now – frankly, if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen! I wish them every success regaining THEIR company name.
I say it will be good karma if Disney will allow The Weinstein Company to buyback (at a reasonable cost, just the name not the library) the Miramax name. After all, Miramax is a combination of the mother and father names of the Weinstein brothers, and the Disney namee is all about family too. I believe the name Miramax is force of circumstances (with some kind of cosmic connection) only Harvey, and to a smaller degree Bob, is intuned. Harvey could make this Phoenix soar again.
If that helps get them back on track remembering what made them so great in the first place, I’m all for it.
There’s so little left for any of us, we can’t afford for them to go the way of Miramax.
Curt
Not sure why anyone has sympathy for people who made a mint on a sale of their name and now after failing to do anything with that jackpot, want to just buy their old success back. Success does not come from a name, it comes from the content, and if indeed these guys treated enployees as badly as I have read on multiple occasions, then they deserve the bed they now lie in.
Keeping Dimension hasn’t really made things easier for them.
There are rumors of it selling for 700m. Even if it sells for 1 billion, that’s the kind of money that can make 1,000 $1 million dollar movies!
Or if they are $5mil budget films, 200 films!
You could create your own catalogue of revenue generating films and launch something even better with that kind of money if well spent.
I’m not so much against Harvey getting it back, I’m more against those Disney vultures getting paid anything on it. Why? So they can continue making crappy 80-100 million dollar films similar to what sank the Disney ran Miramax?
Whenever news of layoffs like this happen, there should be an outrage by shareholders to start firing execs at Disney for mismanaging a huge asset.
Did Miramax release their final film, Everybody’s Fine, last year?
Yes, they did now that Touchstone Home Entertainment prepares this
film on DVD and simultaneously on Blu-ray Disc in the spring.