The studio has several unreleased films in limbo.
The Weinstein Company (TWC), once one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America, will declare bankruptcy following the downfall of founder Harvey Weinstein.
On Sunday the company announced plans to pursue bankruptcy after a $500 million deal to sell the studio fell through. The Weinstein Company board formally ended negotiations in a letter to the potential investors, led by former head of the U. S. Small Business Administration Maria Contreras-Sweet and The Yucaipa Companies, LLC co-founder Ron Burkle.
« Based on the events of the past week, however, we must conclude that your plan to buy this company was illusory and would only leave this Company hobbling toward its demise to the detriment of all constituents, » the letter said. « Despite your previous statements, it is simply impossible to avoid the conclusion that you have no intention to sign an agreement—much less to close one—and no desire to save valuable assets and jobs.” The board concluded it had « no choice » but to go the route of bankruptcy following the unsatisfactory negotiations.
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From left: Lexus managing officer Kiyotaka Ise, former Weinstein Company COO David Glasser and producer Harvey Weinstein attend the Lexus Short Film Series « Life Is Amazing » on February 21,2013. Jason Kempin/Getty Images
The deal was close to done two weeks ago, until the company was hit with a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who claimed the company enabled Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct. Schneiderman criticized the investor’s plan to promote David Glasser, the COO under Weinstein, to CEO. Glasser was fired from TWC last week, and there was hope a deal could still be reached. However, it seems the company and the investors couldn’t make it work under the added legal complications.
The deal, had it gone through, pegged The Weinstein Company’s worth at $500 million—as Vulture pointed out, a relatively high price tag for a studio most of Hollywood wants nothing to do with. Still, The Weinstein Company, founded by Weinstein and his brother Bob in 2005 after the two left Miramax, has 277 films in its library that could be considered valuable assets, including Academy Award winners such as The King’s Speech and The Artist. TWC also retains ownership of Quentin Tarantino’s recent projects, including Inglourious Basterds, The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, the latter of which brought in a whopping $ 162 million at the domestic box office.
From left: Harvey Weinstein and Quentin Tarantino. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
There also are TWC’s television projects to consider, including the popular fashion reality show Project Runway and its spinoffs on Lifetime. The production company also is behind The History Channel’s war drama Six as well as Paramount Network’s miniseries Waco, which premiered January 24 without Weinstein’s name in the credits. In a 2016 interview with Deadline, Weinstein claimed the TWC TV assets were worth between $500 million and $900 million.
Several early projects made by The Weinstein Company are no longer under the studio’s ownership. In 2010, TWC sold the rights to 200 of its films to Goldman Sachs, to stave off debt. (Goldman Sachs then sold that share to AMC Networks in 2015.) Those films included The Road, Halloween II, Derailed and Mrs. Henderson Presents.
However, there are also several unreleased TWC titles, including The War With Grandpa; Polaroid, a comedy starring Robert De Niro; The Upside, a dramedy starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston; The Current War, a period drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison; and Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara in the titular role. All of those films have had their release date postponed. Their fate following the studio’s bankruptcy is unclear.
