BERGSTEIN CLAIMS HE WAS SHAFTED IN MIRAMAX DEAL

In the run-up to Disney’s sale of its Miramax division in December 2010, the leading contender in the bidding was referred to in the trade press as the Bergstein group, after film financier David Bergstein who had reportedly put together the consortium that turned out to be the winning bidder at $660 million. Now, in […]

MIRAMAX CHIEF QUITS

In a surprise announcement, Miramax CEO Mike Lang said today (Friday) that he is resigning. There had been no suggestion that Lang, who has held the post since new owners Filmyard Holdings purchased Miramax from Disney in 2010, was considering stepping down. In fact, he had been widely credited by numerous analysts with engineering numerous […]

STRUGGLING RELATIVITY FINDS WHITE KNIGHT

Supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle, who has been seeking to establish a beachhead in Hollywood, may finally have done so. He reportedly has acquired a 25-percent stake in Ryan Kavanaugh’s struggling Relativity Media from Elliot Management for an undisclosed price. The Los Angeles Times observed today (Friday) that Elliot’s stake in Relativity is worth about $150 […]

NEW MOVIE-RENTAL SITE: FACEBOOK

Facebook may not be the go-to place for renting movies online — but it would clearly like to be. To that end, the social network announced on Monday that it has signed a deal with Miramax to bring 20 of the studio’s movies to the site for streaming. Among the films are Pulp Fiction, Kill […]

WEINSTEINS TO PRODUCE BROADWAY STAGE SHOWS

Harvey Weinstein, who in the past has invested in Broadway productions and has producer credit on such stage shows as The Producers, Billy Elliot, and All Shook Up, is preparing to make The Weinstein Company a full-fledged Broadway production company, the New York Post reported today, citing an unnamed source. According to the newspaper, the […]

NETFLIX DENIES IT’S PLANNING TO CREATE SHOWS FOR STREAMING

Netflix has denied a New York Post report that it is likely to begin producing original shows and stream them to its subscribers. Netflix Vice President Steve Swasey told USA Today that it has no interest doing so. “Netflix isn’t going to be producing shows” he said. “It’s not the company’s core competency, and it […]

WARNERS PUTTING UP MORE FILMS ON FACEBOOK

Raising the question, who needs Netflix when you’ve got Facebook? Warner Bros. on Sunday added five more films that can be rented via their Facebook pages using $3-4 worth of Facebook Credits (which can be purchased not only via credit cards and PayPal but also via mobile phone accounts). Significantly, one of the films, Yogi […]

WEINSTEIN: “THINGS CAN TURN AROUND REALLY FAST”

Harvey Weinstein is celebrating his return to the upper echelons of movie moguldom after years of failure following his departure from Miramax and Disney in 2005, interrupted only by the success of Inglourious Basterds in 2009. Today’s (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times observed that The Weinstein Co.’s The King’s Speech, which was the big winner at […]

GOOGLE’S YOUTUBE VYING FOR MIRAMAX LIBRARY

In an apparent effort to maintain its lead as the Internet’s top video site, Google-owned YouTube is reportedly in talks with the new owners of Miramax about acquiring online rights to its sizable movie library. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 700-film library could be used not only to bolster YouTube’s paid rental store […]

AMAZON OPENS PATH TO STUDIOS FOR UNKNOWN SCREENWRITERS

Online retailer Amazon, which got its feet wet in the movie business by acquiring the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) in 1998, is taking another step in melding interactive technology with show business. On Tuesday it announced a new business called Amazon Studios that will accept scripts and even full-length “test” movies from unknowns throughout 2011 […]

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