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Miramax Dies ... What About the Remaining Projects?
Filed under: Executive shifts, Disney, Distribution, The Weinstein Co., Miramax
Well, so much for that. Right on the heels of the Deadline news that the Weinsteins wanted their Miramax back, The Wrap reports that the studio is closing. The New York and Los Angeles offices are being shut down, eighty people are losing their jobs, and there's no buyout in sight. It seems Disney didn't respond to buyout options, although Bob Iger said he would sell the studio outright for the oh-so-reasonable price of $1.5 billion.
Harvey said of the news: "I'm feeling very nostalgic right now. I know the movies made on my and my brother Bob's watch will live on as well as the fantastic films made under the direction of Daniel Battsek. Miramax has some brilliant people working within the organization and I know they will go on to do great things in the industry."
More than a name is dead. There are six movies waiting for distribution, three of which we've noted before.
The Weinsteins Want Miramax Back?
Filed under: Deals, Executive shifts, The Weinstein Co., Miramax
Miramax Films was born in the late '70s, the child of Harvey and Bob Weinstein. The brothers, chilling in Buffalo, had produced a number of rock concerts over the years, and in 1979 (using their parents' names Miriam and Max) they used their cash to create Miramax Films and feed their love of cinema. The projects that would follow included The Thin Blue Line, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Pulp Fiction, and Clerks. In 1993, they sold the company to Disney, and in 2005, they left their fully grown company to create a new shingle -- The Weinstein Company. Now they want their baby back?According to Deadline Hollywood, London sources have told the site that Harvey wants to buy Miramax back from Disney, and is already working towards that goal. Since Disney isn't doing anything with it, assumption suggests that this should be able to move forward. Harvey has already grabbed Miramax executives Peter Lawson and Lucas Webb, which is certainly a step towards the goal.
The original break from Disney was due to feuds with Michael Eisner, who left the company himself in 2005. No Eisner, no fued ... Will the Weinsteins be successful? And if they do, would moving back to the world of Miramax renew their fame and success like The Weinstein Company failed to do? Is there that much in a name, even if it's named after one's parents?
Cinematical Seven: Favorite Dual Roles
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Sony Classics, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, Cinematical Seven, Lists, Miramax, Paramount Vantage
I guess it's a moderate spoiler to admit that tonight's Cinematical Seven was intended to correspond with today's home video release of the Sam Rockwell sci-fi drama, Moon, but even if I've tipped you off as to what the movie reveals within twenty minutes, I hope that not knowing the exact how's and why's of his situation intrigue you enough to still check it out. The reason I and others were so high on it was because Rockwell gave such a uniquely multi-layered performance as his lonely astronaut that I wanted to celebrate other notable dual performances by a single actor.
For the record, I've left off David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers because, well, I haven't seen it yet -- nor Multiplicity, while we're being honest here -- and I opted to exclude split-personality performances, similarly impressive though they may be (after some reluctance, I just had to take A History of Violence out of the running before all sorts of Jekyll/Hyde-esque condemnations came my way (Viggo's great in that all the same)).
As usual, your comments/suggestions are welcome, and as usual, we didn't snub anyone or anything on purpose. Except for the Eddie Murphy romps. They'll probably get their own Cine 7 someday.
The Best of the Decade: Action Flicks
Filed under: Action, Foreign Language, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Disney, Lionsgate Films, Magnolia, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Sony Classics, Universal, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Depp, Peter Jackson, James Bond, Lists, Miramax, Best/Worst, War, Daniel Craig
Cinematical is about to launch into our best-of-the-'00s series, with a different writer tackling a different genre over these last few weeks of the aughts (or whatever it was we decided to call this decade). Yours truly has been tasked with sifting out the most exciting action flicks these years have had to offer, and in the list-making equivalent of flinching, I've decided to divide them up by superlative instead of ranking them in order of awesomeness.
Oh, and before you comment away about what's missing (which we do want), I have left off The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, X2: X-Men United and The Incredibles, so they may be included in any superhero or animated list to come. If those movies are left off those lists, then by all means, give them hell. I might even join you.
AFI Fest Review: Everybody's Fine
Filed under: Other Festivals, Miramax
Several months ago while Quentin Tarantino promoted Inglourious Basterds, he mentioned that he might only make a few more films before he retires because, as he said, he didn't want to make "old man" movies. If anyone is unclear as to precisely what an "old man" movie is, they need look no further than Everybody's Fine, Robert De Niro's latest film, about a father trying to reconnect with his adult children after the death of his wife.
De Niro, once an indisputable fount of actorly integrity and hard work, has in recent years played a series of characters that either demanded little of his oft-discussed commitment, or exploited his persona as an intimidating figure both on and off screen. And while the character he plays here indicates a return to the kind of character work that made him a screen icon, there's no denying that the film itself is the cinematic equivalent of career achievement award, which is why Everybody's Fine is well-done and effective but too treacly to be truly powerful.
Review: Extract
Filed under: Comedy, Theatrical Reviews, Miramax
The latest comedy from Mike Judge, Extract, seems at first to be more conventional than his previous films, Office Space and Idiocracy. However, as the story becomes more complicated, its characters show hidden depths and the plot provides the type of bizarrely comic situations we've come to expect from the writer-director of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill.
The movie focuses on Joel (Jason Bateman), who owns a small extract factory in southern California. He and his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) are having trouble maintaining interest in one another, and he's considering the possibility of an affair. His potential lover is the mysterious Cindy (Mila Kunis), who has just arrived to work at the plant as a temp, but who is really a seasoned con artist with some other payoffs in mind. Joel confides in his bartender friend Dean (Ben Affleck), who tends to recommend medication for everything, legal or not. However, his suggestion about what Joel can do to not feel guilty about having an affair involves not pot or pills, but a trap for Suzie.
Interview: Mike Judge
Filed under: Comedy, Interviews, Miramax
I've noticed that when I talk about writer-director Mike Judge with various non-film-geek friends and acquaintances, I usually have to explain who he is -- even here in Austin, his hometown. And depending on the type of person, different types of projects trigger recognition. The high-tech crowd gets excited over Office Space, of course, but it's surprising how many of them can quote Idiocracy lines at me too. ("It's what plants crave!") Nearly everyone nods in recognition if I bring up Beavis and Butt-Head, although I do believe my mom winced a bit until I mentioned King of the Hill as well. And now that Judge has made what may be his most traditionally commercial comedy to date, Extract, I wonder if I'll have to explain who he is to fewer people. I hope so.
Certainly more people are aware of Extract than Judge's previous film, Idiocracy, which Fox slipped into a handful of theaters with virtually no publicity of any kind. Miramax is giving Extract plenty of publicity for its September 4 wide release, and Judge agreed to do some interviews. I was fortunate enough to get to sit down with him for a little while and chat about past and future projects as well as Extract. (The above photo is from the Austin red-carpet event later that evening.)
Scenes We Love: Adventureland
Filed under: Miramax, Scenes We Love
Maybe it's a little early to canonize a scene from a movie that came out only a few months ago, but as fall responsibilities quietly encroach on our sweaty summer abandon, it feels right to point out a scene in Adventureland that particularly reminds us of freedom, unexpected fun, and most of all romance. Thankfully, Greg Mottola's film arrived on DVD and Blu-ray this week, so we were not only able to recall it as our favorite moment in a movie filled with many memorable ones, but make sure the details weren't lost in the intervening (three) months between now and its original release.
'Extract,' Mike Judge, and Moviefone
Filed under: Comedy, New Releases, Fandom, Miramax
Following a packed advance screening of Extract, the new comedy by Mike Judge, in Dallas, Texas last night, the writer / filmmaker / animator was asked about his previous effort, Idiocracy. He admitted his disappointment that the film was so little publicized for its limited theatrical release three years ago: "When it opened in, like eight cities, someone told me that you couldn't look it up on Moviefone under its title," he related. "[The studio] didn't even want to pay the eight bucks or whatever to get a listing, so you had to search for 'Untitled Mike Judge Film' to find out where it was playing." Our own Jette Kernion wrote about the lack of publicity at the time.
Fortunately, Judge noted that Idiocracy has sold well on DVD, and Extract should be much easier to find when it opens on Friday, September 4. If I describe it as Judge's best work so far, it's not because he's "grown up" or "become more mature"; the film features some of his darkest comedy yet. Extract is very much a part of the Mike Judge Universe, where decent men enjoy working for a living but dream of escaping some day (Jason Bateman), where good women sometimes go bad (Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis), and where most everyone is good-hearted but dumber than a pet rock (Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins, Jr.). In other words, Extract is another funny, unpredictable comedy featuring recognizable, everyday people, like the guy who's sleeping on your couch right now, drinking two-liter bottles of Pepsi and watching TV all day.
More tidbits from the Q&A after the jump.
Guy Pearce Tells Katie Holmes 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'
Filed under: Horror, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels, Miramax
Guy Pearce just doesn't do enough movies for my liking. It's not as though he's vanished, but he seems to maintain a fairly low profile every time he blows everyone away with a big, meaty part like L.A. Confidential or Memento. But he has a lot of great projects coming up (the most exciting of which has to be The Road), and he's added a very intriguing one to his slate: the remake of 1973's telepic Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pearce and Bailee Madison have joined Katie Holmes in Troy Nixey's remake. It's a fairly loose adaptation of the 1973 original, which was centered around a couple, Sally and Alex, who inherited an old mansion from Sally's grandmother. Sally accidentally uncovers a hellish portal that allows a bunch of demons to escape and wreck bloody havoc. Naturally, no one believes her, and is convinced she's having a nervous breakdown thanks to all that home repair. Because it was the 1970s, it didn't even end well for Sally who just wanted a new fireplace. For those tired of seeing "remake" tacked onto everything, and for fans of the original, you'll be happy to know that the new Dark isn't so much a remake as a story "inspired by" those demonic creatures of old.
Check out the rest of the story at The Horror Squad
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