BobWeinstein Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'The Road' Pushed Back to November 25
Filed under: Awards », Distribution », Newsstand »
Days after Jessica Barnes compiled a nice fall schedule for you, the Weinsteins and Dimension Films had to go and mess it up a little. According to Variety, they've pushed the release date of The Road back from October 16 to November 25 -- almost a year to the day when it was supposed to come out in 2008. The delay isn't because Dimension has lost faith in the film -- quite the contrary. The film is playing to rave reviews at Telluride (where our Eugene Novikov saw it and loved it) and Venice Film Festival, and the Weinsteins have realized they have an awards contender on their hands. "We've been getting great audience reaction at Venice and Telluride," Dimension topper Bob Weinstein said. "We feel that this is a commercial film that's worthy of a wide release." Considering Cormac McCarthy's book was a bestseller and won a Pulitzer, you'd think that might have tipped them off, but ah well. What's good about this decision is that it not only puts it into Golden Globe contention, it also promises a wide release. One of the big fears lurking around the film was that audiences wouldn't get it, and the film could vanish into limited release hell.
The Road will now be in direct competition with Nine, Old Dogs, and Ninja Assassin. Something tells me John Hillcoat's bleak adaptation won't top the holiday box office, but it'll make a far bigger impact. I've been saying since the first stills came out that this might be a role that nabs Viggo Mortensen an Oscar, and I'll stand by that.
Help Name the New Social Networking Thriller
Filed under: Thrillers », Deals », The Weinstein Co. », Movie Marketing »
O great Cinematical readership, we call upon you to exercise your remarkable intellect, imagination, and wit, so you can help name a new social networking thriller. (Especially those of you who know that there's a difference between Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.) According to The Hollywood Reporter, none other than Dimension Films plans to make a teen thriller ripping off resembling Ten Little Indians, only "with a Web 2.0 twist."
Social networking may become a hot topic for movies. You might remember that plans were announced last year for Aaron Sorkin to write a movie about Facebook for producer Scott Rudin. The official Facebook group page for the project has logged more than 3,800 messages, and Sorkin has been responding with surprising frequency. In a post yesterday, for example, he appeared to indicate that the script has not been written yet.
So maybe Dimension Films can beat them to the punch. Dimension's Bob Weinstein is quoted by THR as saying: "Online social networking is a widespread phenomenon that interests me greatly. Combining it with a suspense thriller is a new and fresh way to explore this new trend." (By the way, his name was just claimed on Twitter with the message: "I just joined the 21st century," though it could be someone else.) Will they create a new, entirely fictional social network, or team up with one that already exists?
The flick is currently untitled, which is where you come in. What should the thriller be called? To get you started, James Rocchi suggested, via Twitter, the tagline: "You're Unfollowed!" followed by a pickaxe smash. Tell us your suggested titles in the comments section.
Kevin Smith on the Alternate Title for 'Zack and Miri'
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking »
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"By calling it Zack and Miri Make a Porno, you're drawing a line in the sand that kinda says, anyone who's remotely interested in a movie like that with that title, come on in. If you're offended by the word porno, stay the f*ck away. This ain't for you." -- Kevin Smith
Last month, I traveled to Red Bank, New Jersey and enjoyed a very cool lunch with a very cool dude by the name of Kevin Smith. While we scarfed down some tasty Italian food, I recorded roughly an hour and a half of our conversation -- all of which would be way too much to read in one post. Thus, I've decided to break some stuff up into sections and post them separately, then I'll be back with much more in the coming days leading up to the October 31st release of the pretty hilarious Zack and Miri Make a Porno. At one point during our conversation, Kevin told me about the alternate title Bob Weinstein wanted for Zack and Miri. Check it out:
Kevin Smith: "That [title] sh*t didn't come up until we were deep in the process. Because when I was sitting around with Harvey [Weinstein], we were talking about some Clerks II stuff and he asked what I wanted to do next. So I said there was this movie I was thinking about making called Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and he goes ...
[the following is written out in script form because it's easier to read, though keep in mind these are all still Smith's words]
Harvey Weinstein: Done. Green lit.
Kevin Smith: Don't you wanna know what it's about?
Harvey Weinstein: Kevin, doesn't that title say it all? That's a great title. Hopefully it's about a little more when we're done, but so be it.
So we were all up and running -- Seth [Rogen] read it, loved it -- and so it never really occurred to anyone. Two weeks into shooting I get a phone call from Bob Weinstein, and Bob goes ...
Bob Weinstein: Kevin, I've been thinking about the title a lot. That title just gives it all away. Why is anyone going to go see this movie if they know exactly what's going to happen based on that title?
Number 5 is Alive -- Again!
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », The Weinstein Co. », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
No! For the love of God, make it stop!According to Variety, Dimension Films is remaking that whimsical 80's classic Short Circuit. S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, the writers behind the original two films, are set to write the remake. The film will reportedly be similar in theme to the original, but will factor in advances in technology. (Really? Last I checked, we didn't have sentient robots who could be your pal!)
This has to stop. I'm too young to see my childhood paraded before me like this, a demented nightmare of what once thrilled and delighted me. I loved this movie. It has honestly been a long time since I saw it, so I doubt it has held up -- but I love my memories of it. I also cherish my memory of the sequel. My parents took me to see it, it was a sold out showing. And I think it was only ten or twenty minutes in before I realized how horrible it was. I do believe it was the first time I was exposed to the realization that sequels were made for money, and were often wretched. Up until then, all the sequels I had ever seen (which probably amounted to Empire Strikes Back) were awesome and worthy continuations of characters I adored.
I realize I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill, but this trend has to stop. What's next? The Goonies? Gremlins? The Karate Kid? Big Trouble in Little China? Oh no, I've given them ideas.
Writer's Strike: Now the Weinsteins Are Looking to Deal
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Scripts », Newsstand », Politics »
Well, well ... seems the scales may finally be tipping in the WGA's favor here. First the fall of the Golden Globes, and then the news that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's United Artists were making a side deal with the WGA similar to the deal struck earlier with David Letterman's Worldwide Pants. Now the Weinsteins, according to this story in the New York Post, are also close to making a "me too" deal, and Deadline Hollywood Daily is also tossing out rumors of Lionsgate and Lucasfilm coming around. Neither Cruise nor the Weinsteins are stupid; making independent deals with the WGA can only give them a huge advantage over the major studios, and the more the independents strike deals, the more like arrogant
It seems as though the WGAs strategy of making deals with the independent studios might not have been such a bad idea after all ... could this signal the beginning of the end of the writer's strike? Stay tuned ...
Why are the Weinsteins in Bed with Wal-Mart?
Filed under: Awards », Celebrities and Controversy », Distribution », The Weinstein Co. », Weinstein Brothers », Home Entertainment », Movie Marketing », Politics », Michael Moore »
Last week, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the announcement that Harvey and Bob Weinstein are producing a gala event to honor Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr. After all, the Weinsteins are known for their support of the Democratic party and for their distributing liberal-sided docs like Fahrenheit 9/11 and the new Barbara Kopple film Shut Up & Sing. So, what are they doing hobnobbing with the enemy of their friends? The official reason is that the Weinsteins support Scott's new efforts to sustain environmental friendliness, but a number of people are pointing out other reasons the brothers might desire a good relationship with the retail company. Radar has a report on some of these reasons, which include the Weinsteins' hopes for priority placement in Wal-Mart's stores and their need for Wal-Mart to go easier on movies depicting sex and drugs. Variety more specifically addressed the Weinsteins' recent control of Genius Products, which will be making straight-to-video, family-friendly films that cater well to Wal-Mart's demographic. Wake-Up Wal-Mart has gone so far as to write a letter of disapproval to the Weinsteins.
So, now what happens when Michael Moore, who is already a critic of Wal-Mart, decides his next activist doc is against the stores? Will the Weinsteins still support their golden boy?
In related news, SpielbergFilms.net is pointing out that Wal-Mart is now selling Poltergeist on DVD for less than $5. It's things like this that make it hard for moviefans to keep up a hatred for the stores, but I think we can all hold out for next year's 25th Anniversary edition, right?
Weinsteins Expect Big Things from Sicko
Filed under: Documentary », Celebrities and Controversy », The Weinstein Co. », Newsstand », Weinstein Brothers », Michael Moore »
At the Traverse City Film Festival, Michael Moore finally talked in practical terms about his health care film, Sicko, for the first time. Though he's clearly passionate about exposing the problems with American health care, Moore still seems to be struggling a bit with the film -- after all, he says, "everyone knows that health care is a mess in this country." His goal, then, seems to be less education than motivation: Moore hopes that Sicko "pushes health care to the top of the public agenda" and, presumably, forces politicians to get involved. The problem, though, is that all the health care companies know exactly who Moore is, so the moment he shows up to document the struggles of a family dealing with an outrageous situation, "they get free health care." According to Moore, "There has been a 100% success rate of the people we're filming of getting whatever they need from the HMOs, pharmaceutical companies, whatever." Well, that's progress. Now all we have to do to fix things is have Moore travel to all the families with complaints, and the health care issue will be solved, right?In addition to the pressure of simply pulling the film together, Moore is facing high expectations, from both his supporters and his bosses, Harvey and Bob Weinstein. According to Moore, the pair have been securing financing for the film by telling potential investors that it will gross $40 million, a total that would make Sicko the third highest-earning documentary of all time. Whoa. I mean, it's nice for bosses to have confidence and all, but couldn't they have said, like, $15 million? At this rate, ending up the fifth most successful doc ever would make Sicko a failure to its investors.
Another Litigious Producer
Filed under: Music & Musicals », Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand », Weinstein Brothers »
Just a few weeks after the ugly Crash producer debacle went public,
another best picture-winning film is finding itself in court. According to Martin Richards, founder of The Producer
Circle Company, Miramax is screwing him out of $10 million (give or take a few million) of profits that his co-producer
credit for Chicago
should have earned. In his lawsuit, Richards claims that his company owned the movie rights to the musical, and that
co-producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have refused to pay him the percentage he is owed. The core of Richard's suit is
his claim that, though his contract terms guaranteed him a percentage of gross profits (figured before expenses are
taken out), the Weinsteins are trying to pay him based on net profits (with expenses taken out - obviously a
much smaller figure). So far, Richards claims he has been paid only $500,000 ("$300,00 as a producing fee and
$200,000 when the movie passed its 'first cash break even level'").Crouching Tiger, Spending Weinsteins
Filed under: Action », Drama », Deals », The Weinstein Co. », Newsstand », Weinstein Brothers », Remakes and Sequels »
Looking for a The Lord of the Rings of their very own, the Weinstein brothers
have acquired the rights to a series of five martial arts novels by Wang Du Lu. Collectively known as the
Crane-Iron Pentalogy, the books gained exposure to a world-wide audience (though that audience probably didn't
know it at the time) when the fourth in the series was used as the source for Ang
Lee's wildly successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The planned movies - the most exciting of which will inevitably be Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin - will
function as prequels and a sequel to Lee's film. In addition to crowing about how these upcoming marital arts films are "an opportunity to do something revolutionary" (What that means is anyone's guess - cast Asian actors in Hollywood? Make a movie with the word "hairpin" in the title?), the Weinsteins also announced tentative plans to create a stage version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yikes. Why do I immediately think of Andrew Lloyd Webber and a completely inappropriate emphasis on visual effects?
Harvey Weinstein - wild in the streets!
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Weinstein Brothers »
This just in to the Cinematical Newsroom! Harvey Weinstein is braving the transit strike-flooded streets of Manhattan! I just received the following string of text messages from Martha:
––I just walked past harvey weinstein. He was talking about 'splitting ten grand' - probably lunch plans.
––Well, it might have been Bob - are they both fat and unshaven?
––I just saw a pic of Bob - this was definitely Harv.
So what do you think Harvey Weinstein is splitting ten grand on? I say it has something to do with trying to fix opening grosses on The Matador.
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24_thumbnail.jpg)
Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
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