Photograph by J. Emilio Flores/The New York Times via Redux
Bob, left, and Harvey Weinstein, outside the Mann Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on Aug. 10, 2009
After eight years, Harvey and Bob Weinstein are finally back with Miramax.
Weinstein Co. announced Monday that it had struck a production and distribution deal with Miramax, the studio founded by the Weinstein brothers in 1979 and named after their parents (Miriam and Max). The Weinsteins sold Miramax to Disney in 1993 but remained on board until 2005, when they left to start their new company. There was also a failed 2010 effort to buy Miramax back.
This is clearly a happy reunion for the brothers but it’s also good news for movie fans. The deal means Weinsten Co. will be able to make TV shows and sequels based on any of Miramax’s 700 titles, such as Pulp Fiction, Chicago, and The English Patient.
For the past three years, Miramax has been under the control of Colony Capital, a private-equity firm that focused on making streaming partnerships with Netflix and Hulu. Once new films and shows start coming out, Miramax’s profile will rise even higher and it will likely be able to demand higher streaming fees. Weinstein Co. will also handle domestic distribution of Miramax’s titles.
The details of these unfilmed projects remains to be seen, but the Los Angeles Times reported that a television version of Good Will Hunting will likely start production right away. Sequels to Shakespeare in Love and the 1998 movie Rounders may also be in the works. As will many more. “There are hundreds of scripts to decipher and remember, and find out why they were loved in the first place,” Harvey Weinstein told the Los Angeles Times.
