Welcome to the show folks...
There's a lot of confusing talk and speculation going on about Disney selling their moribund Miramax label and library to the Weinstein Brothers via billionaire Ron Burkle. Disney is saying the deal is dead, the Weinstein Brothers are saying they're still in the game, and so on and so forth...
Personally, I just think Disney is jerking the Weinsteins' chain in the hope of shaking some more cash from Burkle's money tree. I believe this because I think Disney believes that the Weinsteins taking back Miramax, is, in the long run, best in the eyes of Disney.
The Disney people know that the brothers can't really do much of anything with the company/library, that their relationship with Burkle will eventually sour, and the whole thing will crash and burn, which is exactly what Disney wants. This is because Disney is an old school monopolist that doesn't like anyone turning an asset they failed with into a viable entity that might someday compete with them.
However, people can do crazy things, and someone in a position of power at Disney might forget that the Weinstein/Burkle offer is more than what the experts have valued Miramax, and that it so sweetly fits their pre-mentioned corporate-philosophical criteria, and take that "no" from a tactical move into a outright end of the deal.
That would mean that Miramax would be back on the market, and putting it again between the Weinstein/Burkle faction to try again, as well as the Gores Bros. Platinum Investments, and ThinkFilm/David Bergstein's latest big money lawsuit in the making.
Well, I have some advice for the non-Weinstein potential bidders.
Don't make any fresh offers. In fact, rescind any previously made offers, and move on.
Why?
Because with the way things are right now Miramax, no matter who buys the company, will come with two things no business wants:
There's a lot of confusing talk and speculation going on about Disney selling their moribund Miramax label and library to the Weinstein Brothers via billionaire Ron Burkle. Disney is saying the deal is dead, the Weinstein Brothers are saying they're still in the game, and so on and so forth...
Personally, I just think Disney is jerking the Weinsteins' chain in the hope of shaking some more cash from Burkle's money tree. I believe this because I think Disney believes that the Weinsteins taking back Miramax, is, in the long run, best in the eyes of Disney.The Disney people know that the brothers can't really do much of anything with the company/library, that their relationship with Burkle will eventually sour, and the whole thing will crash and burn, which is exactly what Disney wants. This is because Disney is an old school monopolist that doesn't like anyone turning an asset they failed with into a viable entity that might someday compete with them.
However, people can do crazy things, and someone in a position of power at Disney might forget that the Weinstein/Burkle offer is more than what the experts have valued Miramax, and that it so sweetly fits their pre-mentioned corporate-philosophical criteria, and take that "no" from a tactical move into a outright end of the deal.
That would mean that Miramax would be back on the market, and putting it again between the Weinstein/Burkle faction to try again, as well as the Gores Bros. Platinum Investments, and ThinkFilm/David Bergstein's latest big money lawsuit in the making.
Well, I have some advice for the non-Weinstein potential bidders.
WALK AWAY.
Don't make any fresh offers. In fact, rescind any previously made offers, and move on.
Why?
Because with the way things are right now Miramax, no matter who buys the company, will come with two things no business wants:
Harvey and Bob Weinstein.You see, when they sold Miramax to Disney they made a deal retaining an important piece of many of the films in the company's library. That means that if whoever buys that library has to involve Harvey and Bob in every decision that has anything to do with that library. This makes remakes, reboots, re-releases, sequels, or even home-video releases an incredibly expensive and aggravating proposition.
So here's the plan for anyone who wants to buy Miramax.
1. Leave Disney no other option. If the Weinstein/Burkle partnership is the only still interested, Disney will have to sell them Miramax. They need to get rid of that dead weight, make some cash off of it, and quick. Then you must...
2. Bide your time. It's inevitable that the Weinstein Bros' relationship with Ron Burkle will go south. It's only a matter of time and how much money Burkle is willing to burn in the name of his friendship with the Weinstein Bros. When that happens, when the lawsuits start flying, and the whole thing crashes and burns you then...
3. Strike down the weak and the wounded. Make sure that you wait until the Weinsteins' upcoming feud with Burkle reaches a point when Harvey and Bob's personal fortunes are at stake. Then you move in, buy out any decision-making claim on that library, and wrap the whole damn thing up, lock, stock, and barrel sans the brothers.
It may take longer, but it will avoid a lot of headaches in the future.
Are you kidding me? Disney has already sat on their libertardish asses by NOT releasing the Ratings blockbuster busting 'The Path to 911' to this day! How many years now going here?
ReplyDeleteBusiness men they aint in their hollyweirdish ways~
When it comes to the non-release of the Path to 9/11 mini-series it all boils down to cold calculation.
ReplyDeleteSomeone in a decision making position at Disney looked at the political situations in Washington and Hollywood and the powerful people pissed off by it, and determined that releasing the miniseries could cost the company more than just sitting on it and letting it lose just money.