Weinstein Company | Principles & Practices

by [Annie Segal]

“The Weinstein Company” image courtesy of Google Images

The Weinstein Company is a privately owned film company headquartered in New York City and is active in film and television production.

Connect:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/weinsteinco

Twitter: http://twitter.com/WeinsteinFilms

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWeinsteinCompany

Website: http://weinsteinco.com/

A Brief History:

Bob and Harvey Weinstein founded The Weinstein Company in October 2005 and still run the company today.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein photo courtesy of Google images

They had previously founded Miramax Film Corp. in 1979 which was associated with Disney. Bob Weinstein also founded Dimension Films in 1993 which has produced such films as Spy Kids, Scream, and Scary Movie. These companies have joined together to release films that have been critical and commercial successes. TWC’s film The King’s Speech took home the 2011 Academy Award for Best Picture. The Artist won Best Picture and Undefeated won Best Documentary Film at the 2012 Academy Awards along with six others for TWC. They also own

For The Weinstein Company’s full description click here [1]

Top Competitors:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.

Miramax Film Corp.

Sony Pictures Classics [3]

Finances:

TWC has 1.6% of the market share and is the 9th highest studio. Between January 1, 2012 and December 2, 2012 it has grossed over $162.9 million and has released 17 films. They were the 8th highest studio in 2011 with 2.9% of the market share and an annual gross of $296.1 million. TWC is a privately owned, limited liability company. It does not publicly release its annual net revenue and is not publicly traded. [2]

Movies Today:

The Weinstein Company has over 100 movie titles. Its top grossing movie of all time was The King’s Speech which grossed $135,453,143 in 2011 with Inglorious Basterds grossing $120,540,719 in 2010. TWC took home 8 Academy Awards in 2012. The Artist and Undefeated are currently sold on Blu-Ray and DVD. Their most successful film of the 2012 box office was Lawless which grossed $37,400,127. [4]

TWC currently has many new releases. Silver Linings Playbook is its current big release starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro. It was directed by David O. Russell. The film is set in Philadelphia as Cooper’s character is released from a mental hospital. He quickly meets Lawrence’s character who is a young, crazy widow. They develop a relationship while training for a dance competition. [5]

Killing Them Softly is also one of their big releases. It is starring Brad Pitt. Pitt plays an enforcer hired to track down three guys who try to rob a mob protected card game. It has already grossed $8,575,010 since its November 30th release after being pushed back from its October release to be an Oscar contender.

[6]

Neither film topped the box office due to MGM‘s release of the James Bond movie Skyfall and Summit Entertainment‘s Breaking Dawn Part 2. Both grossed over $200 million.

Movies to be released:

Django Unchained is TWC’s next big release by Quentin Tarantino. It is set in 19th century America when slavery was still legal. A slave (Jamie Foxx) and a German bounty hunter (Chistroph Waltz) team up to find and rescue Foxx’s character’s wife whom Leonardo DiCaprio‘s character has captured. The film is set two years before the Civil War takes place in the American south. Django (Foxx) and Schultz (Waltz) must rescue Django’s wife from the Candyland Plantation. There is a lot of controversy around the film as it sheds light on slavery and the darkness of the Civil War era. [8]

Tarantino on the film’s controversy:

“When slave narratives are done on film, they tend to be historical with a capital H, with an arms-length quality to them. I wanted to break that history-under-glass aspect, I wanted to throw a rock through that glass and shatter it for all times, and take you into it.” [7]

The studio is also looking forward to the release of Quartet starring Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon and directed by Dustin Hoffman. Smith plays a diva who interrupts the lives of retired opera singers at a retirement home. The release date for the film is January 11th. [9]

The Los Angeles Times Review:

“Quartet” is very much a performance piece, which plays to Hoffman’s strength – as an actor he knows when to allow this excellent ensemble breathing room and when to tighten the belt.” [12]

Oscar Buzz 2013:

Silver Linings Playbook premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to flying colors. It could have multiple Oscar nods including Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Jennifer Lawrence snagged most of the buzz for Best Supporting Actress. Winning at age 22 could make her the youngest woman to win Best Actress. Robert De Niro could also get his first Oscar in over 20 years.

Killing Them Softly could also be an Oscar contender. Harvey Weinstein originally pushed the release date from October 19, 2012 to November so it would be good competition come Oscar season.

The Master, a period drama, has already generated many awards for best film and best actors/actresses. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as a naval veteran unsure of his future. [11]

“The Master” photo courtesy of google images

TWC has acquired the The Butler. “”The Butler” focuses on Eugene Allen (played by Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker), a service worker at the White House through eight administrations. Oprah Winfrey plays Allen’s wife, while actors John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Robin Williams and James Marsden portray, respectively, former U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.” [10]. Although filming has not yet been finished, there is much Oscar buzz around this story.

Weinstein on director Lee Daniels:

“Lee tells stories in a way no one else does. What struck me most about this story is the perspective it comes from, which in this case is the butler- a man who was a fly on the wall for decades in the world’s most powerful home. It takes an unbelievable cast like the one that’s in place to do this story justice, and we are proud to be given the chance to share this story with the world.” [13]

TWC in 2012:

December 4, 2012: Weinstein Co. To Produce Short Films Series With Lexus.

November 6, 2012: ‘Any Day Now’ and ‘Quartet’ share Audience Choice Award

October 18, 2012: A Wonderful ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ to open Philadelphia Film Festival

July 27, 2012: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Master’ moved to Sept. 14 and ‘Killing Them Softly’ to Oct. 19.

May 7, 2012: Weinstein Co. picks up rights to Dustin Hoffman’s ‘Quartet’.

April 6, 2012: PG-13 Rating Granted for ‘BULLY’ by MPAA without crucial cutting scene.

January, 2012: ‘The Reader’ Author Bernard Schlink sues Weinstein Co. Over Movie Profits.

January 11, 2012: ‘The Artist’ takes top honors at Globes.

Sources:

[1] The Weinstein Company http://weinsteinco.com/

[2] Box Office Mojo http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view=company&view2=yearly&yr=2012&p=.htm