As Woody Begins 'Midnight in Barcelona,' Weinsteins Snap Up 'Cassandra's Dream'
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Distribution, The Weinstein Co.
After scattering his last three films among three different distributors, Woody Allen is going with another fourth distributor for his latest, Cassandra's Dream. The drama, which stars Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell and Tom Wilkinson, has been picked up by The Weinstein Co. for distribution in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Though this is the first time Woody will be working with TWC, it isn't his first time working with the Weinsteins. Throughout much of the '90s, Woody's movies were put out by Miramax. The filmmaker says that he went with TWC because Harvey Weinstein, "is one of the only producers-distributors around who can actually see beyond the grosses and gets real pleasure out of presenting fine movies." Uh huh.In my opinion, Woody and Weinstein are perfect for each other. Both are prominent New York figures, and both are in a bit of a slump these days (though I'm probably the only critic who hated both Melinda and Melinda and Match Point, along with Woody's other recent disappointments). Also, from what I can tell of the film's reception from most distributors, Cassandra's Dream will probably be another failure for both the filmmaker and the distributor. Despite the fact that Variety claims Woody turned down Cannes, I have mostly heard otherwise -- that Cannes refused the "unsuitable" film. Also, UK's The Metro is reporting that even with the popular British/Irish stars, Cassandra's Dream is having difficulty finding distribution in the U.K. I have to say that I hope Woody is able to settle down with the Weinsteins following his scattered distribution deals, but if Cassandra's Dream flops, he may have to look elsewhere for the release of his next film, Midnight in Barcelona. I don't think Lionsgate has put out a Woody Allen film yet ...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-31-2007 @ 10:56PM
Fielding said...
Woody's in a slump? Boy, I'd love it if just for once Internet hacks did some research before mouthing off. For your information, his last two films cost $30 million between them and made about $123 million worldwide (not counting DVD sales and rentals, which were also substantial). As for using different distributors, Woody's been doing that since Orion folded in 1991 (Miramax only distributed 4 of his films in the '90s). So it's no big deal.
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6-06-2007 @ 3:48AM
NPT said...
Christopher,
You're not the only critic who hated *both* MELINDA AND MELINDA and MATCH POINT.
Observe forthwith:
http://moviesintofilm.com/melinda.htm
http://moviesintofilm.com/matchpoint.htm
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8-05-2007 @ 7:06PM
Pieter said...
NPT,
I've read your reviews on Matchpoint and Melinda & Melinda. You don't know what cinema is. Furthermore, I find your ad personam attacks on Allen nauseating.
Stop writing forthwith.
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