Now You, Too, Can Lose Money Financing a Weinstein Company Film
The inevitable karmic payback for Fraggle Rock: The Movie is coming swift and severe at The Weinstein Company, where Harvey Weinstein is reduced to bringing in outsiders to get two of his long-delayed passion projects off the ground. Relativity Media appears ready to kick in at least half of Nine's $80 million budget, meaning the long-delayed, Daniel Day-Lewis/Nicole Kidman-starring musical will finally start shooting this fall.
But Quentin Tarntino's Inglorious Bastards, which as recently as two weeks ago was to receive the last blank check in Harvey's account, is apparently also in the market for a backer. And not just a co-producer — the Weinstein s and Lawrence Bender have that part under control — but an actual studio with actual money, writes Nikki Finke:
[O]ne of the ways that The Weinstein Co attracted investors was by hyping its creative connection to the Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill 1 & 2 writer/director who has long made a lot of money for a lot of people. But now only Harv, and not his investors, could potentially profit from the connection? Unreal. ... I hear it's gone out to Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount ... and Sony.
Right. Listen, guys — "Paramount Pictures Presents a film by Quentin Tarantino" is the worst-sounding eight-word phrase to hit Hollywood since "You like me! You really, really like me!" Even if trash day is currently the most newsworthy thing happening at TWC HQ, there must be a solution out there. Can't Harvey sell off a few of his Tonys or something? Or even his Oscar; as long as he sticks to co-producing, Scott Rudin can always buy him another one down the line. Hit Craigslist or something, seriously. Think outside the box!
