Keith Kelly reports that Harvey Weinstein may be considering funding Maer Roshan's new mag, Radar. Yes, this is the same Harvey whose Miramax lost $27 million on Talk, Maer's former employer. Then again, as far as we know, Harvey's never overtly threatened to kill or maim any of the top Talk alumni, and maybe that constitutes a "good relationship"$27 million notwithstanding.
It's Christmas in January [Keith Kelly - Post]
Michael Wolff whines that he's not getting enough attention from Mayor Mike. And neither is the rest of The Media. He cites Harvey Weinstein and Trent Lott as examples of failure to properly manage the press (or in Weinstein's case, too agressively managing the press) and warns that Bloomberg may be next if he doesn't demonstrate the proper deference to the Fourth Estate. "He's not afraid of us," Wolff writes, incredulously. Well, no.
The Unspun [NY Magazine]
Miramax had gambled on two big end-of-year movies, Gangs of New York and Chicago. Gangs will just about break even. Chicago, a risky musical to which Miramax gave a deliberately limited release, is surviving too. Miramax broadened the release from 77 to 304 theaters this weekend, and the movie took in $2.1m last night. Harvey Weinstein lives.
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage
Box Office Mojo
Now this is embarrassing. The Oscars have always bothered New York. An event so celebrity-ridden and trivial ought to take place in Manhattan, dammit. Harvey Weinstein, Michael Bloomberg and pals, having failed to trade September 11th sympathy for an East Coast Oscars, are still hoping the telecast will at least cut briefly to New York. Else the terrorists will have won.
Group to lobby for greater N.Y. presence in Oscars [AP]
Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah! We were wrong! Wrong, wrong, WRONG! (Thought we'd save Mr. Weinstein the trouble, in the tone we'd imagine him using.) Gangs of New York appears to be breaking even, so perhaps we were a bit too hasty in predicting its demise. We'll even admit we'll relish Harvey giving Hollywood the proverbial finger when it does. We know how much they loathe all things New York.
Box office [FoxNews]
Rudeness wins all the marbles [LAT]
Dear Santa,
The Friday opening numbers for Gangs of New York aren't out yet, but the movie's a bust. Mediocre reviews, and the movie's expected US gross has slumped in trading on the Hollywood Stock Exchange. Insiders, the main participants in the exchange, are now betting the movie will make only $35.6m in the first four weeks of its US release. Harvey Weinstein of Miramax had said the studio needed a US gross of $55m to make money on Gangs, which seemed just about possible before word-of-mouth turned bad. Now, for Weinstein, it's all riding on Chicago, a musical, of all things.
GANGS [HSX]
· Lucchese mob boss-turned rat, Henry Hill of "Goodfellas" fame, is coming out with a book about his life in the witness protection program, as well as a "Goodfellas Guide to New York." We'd tell you more, but then we'd have to kill you. [Page Six]
· Ex-Lotus chef Richard Farnabe was fired for giving Bruno Jamais the Lotus mailing list, which Farnabe denies. [Page Six]
· Hollywood execs don't want to hire Winona Ryder for fear that she'll "steal the coffeepot." [Page Six]
· AIDS activist says Richard Gere's attempts to highlight problems in India are "relentless and hysterical," Giuliani kisses Weinstein, and Mario Testino's controversial Gucci ad is rejected by major magazines. [NY Daily News]
All Weinstein, all of the time
· Liz Smith thinks that if Harvey Weinstein were thinner, people wouldn't "give him a hard time." [Liz Smith]
· Liz says that people criticizing Harvey are just jealous. [Liz Smith]
· Liz insists she's not on Harvey's payroll after devoting her entire column to The Greatness of Harvey. [Liz Smith]
· George Clooney takes a pot shot at Harvey, and Catherine Martin (wife of Baz) worries about the safety of her fur. [NY Daily News]
Having seen Harvey Weinstein's temper lavishly documented in The New Yorker this week, Gawker doesn't particularly want to elicit the big man's rage. But it has to be said: Gangs of New York is, by all indications, a dud, and the usual round of pre-release press hype seems more contrived than usual. Item one: the guerrilla reviewers at Ain't It Cool News say it's not terrible, just not very good. Early critic reviews are similarly lukewarm. And insider internet trading on HSX forecasts a four-week US box office of only $50m, not enough to cover Miramax's costs. No wonder the Miramax press machine, while going through the motions on Gangs of New York, is also discreetly transferring its affections to Chicago.
· Gangs of New York press coverage [Google News]
· Early critic reviews [Rotten Tomatoes]
· Spoiler reviews [Ain't It Cool News]
· MovieStocks: GANGS [Hollywood Stock Exchange]
· Ex-Tyco tycoon's Nantucket neighbors pony up cash to keep him out of jail [Page Six]
· Weinstein meets his soulmate: Hollywood Foreign Press Association member "throws wine at," "lunges at" people at Miramax Gangs of New York event [Page Six]
· The Donald fined for intentionally overwatering golf course during emergency drought [Page Six]
· New Yorkers are buying blow-up dolls to get around transit strike-induced four-to-a-car commuter minimums [Cindy Adams]
· Weinstein and Katzenberg are on the outs, Sophie Dahl's credit card is declined, Bjork attends the Agent Provocateur opening in Soho, and Daily News staffers take a catty little swipe at Page Six. [NY Daily News]
· A freshly Botox-ed Axl Rose deludes himself into thinking that it's 1988, he's 50 pounds lighter, 50 times cooler, and it's okay to skip your own concerts, because you're a big rock star and everyone loves you. Clear Channel begs to differ. [Page Six]
· Kirsten Dunst parades out of downtown brunch spot, Bubby's, with boyfriend's best friend to screw with the gossip columnists. [Page Six]
· Kissinger overhead saying "of all of them, I like Kennedy the best." Not what you think. [Page Six]
Ken Auletta's explosive article on Harvey Weinstein in this week's New Yorker is sure to warrant Auletta an unpleasant visit from the fat man in blackand probably already has. Harvey insists that he's really lovable guy who just has a passion for movies and occasionally gets carried away. Very Michael Ovitz of him.
This week in the New Yorker [New Yorker]
