Disney Ends Weinsteins’ 25-Year Run at Miramax
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Walt Disney Co. and Harvey and Bob Weinstein on Tuesday finally agreed that the brothers would step down from the helm of the Miramax Films unit they founded 25 years ago and which produced Oscar winner “Chicago” and box office hits like “Spy Kids.”
The Weinsteins, who named Miramax after their parents Miriam and Max, will form The Weinstein Co. and take some of their best-known directors with them, but will also continue to produce some films in conjunction with Disney after they leave Miramax at the end of September.
The decision ends a fiery relationship between the Weinsteins and Disney’s outgoing Chief Executive Michael Eisner, which burst into public many times, notably last year when Disney refused to release Michael Moore’s anti-Bush hit “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
The end of the long breakup comes just weeks after President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger was named Eisner’s successor.
Disney said the Weinsteins will give up their positions as co-chief executives of Miramax but continue as co-chairmen of the company they founded through Sept. 30, completing current film productions and overseeing marketing and distribution.
Miramax Films and a 550-title library that includes the hit “Scary Movie” titles and Oscar winners like “The English Patient” will remain at Disney, which can exploit them on DVD or new digital formats of the future.
The Weinsteins and Disney pledged to collaborate on new films in the lucrative “Spy Kids” and “Scary Movie” franchises, as well as more than 25 other projects, but The Weinstein Co. will release films from directors Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith with whom the Weinsteins have long relationships.
Disney and the Weinsteins did not disclose financial terms. Published reports had speculated Disney would pay more than $100 million in performance bonuses to the Weinsteins for 2004 and 2005, but that could not be confirmed.
HARVEY’S BITTERSWEET MOMENT
Disney acquired Miramax in 1993 for what at that time was reported to be between $70 million and $80 million. Twelve years and 220 Academy Award nominations later, Miramax was worth $2 billion, according to Harvey Weinstein.
In a conference call with reporters, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook called the Weinstein brothers “two of the most creative and passionate” executives in the movies.
Reflecting on what was a bittersweet moment, Harvey Weinstein said giving up a company that bore the names of his parents “was the toughest part of the entire negotiation.”
“Maybe the whole chapter hasn’t been written on that; maybe it has,” Weinstein added.
He and Bob Weinstein will retain the Dimension Films label, which has been a popular brand for mass market movies aimed at kids and teenagers — two core markets for film companies.
Miramax, by contrast, targets adults, art house crowds and lovers of foreign language films with its slate of movies.
Disney’s Cook said decisions on the size, structure and strategy for the new Miramax Films would be made by July 2005, and he declined to divulge further details.
Likewise, Harvey Weinstein declined to say how much money he and his brother would raise for The Weinstein Co., or how large it would be when formed.
Their new company will be “a fully integrated media company” with broadcasting, film distribution and even Internet components, Harvey Weinstein said.
He said the reasons for the breakup were many, but singled out deals he brought to Disney to acquire the Bravo and IFC cable channels, as well as film distributor Artisan Entertainment that were nixed by Disney corporate executives.
“In the new Disney, I think, those entrepreneurial efforts will be met with a stronger response,” Weinstein said. “That is the irony of this deal.” Iger will succeed Eisner as chief executive on Sept. 30 — the same day the Weinsteins depart Miramax.
Categories