An adult film actress is accusing Richard Nanula — a former Miramax chairman, Walt Disney Co. CFO, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide chief executive — of pretending to be an amateur porn actor who booked her for an oral sex "scene" in order to circumvent prostitution accusations.
Indie film hut Miramax has partnered with its old owners, the Weinstein Brothers, with plans to produce sequels of Weinstein-era Miramax's hits from the '90s and early '00s, including Rounders, Bad Santa, and most improbably, Shakespeare in Love.
Disney has finally completed its excruciatingly long quest to sell Miramax. Price: $660 million. Buyers: an investment group headed by Ron Tutor, a California construction mogul. Non-buyers: the Weinsteins, Ron Burkle, Rob Lowe. Watch Pulp Fiction in their honor. [LAT]
Though, sadly, he's no Mulder. Also today: Miramax has finally been bought! Yay for millionaires! Comedy Central has a new sitcom in the works, and HBO has intriguing new projects.
In your inspirational Thursday media column: Miramax may be nearing a sale, a motorcycle writer canned for writing honestly about motorcycle things, Science vs. Pepsi controversy resolved, Tina Gaudoin rejoins the WSJ, and NPR name change alert!
Tired of buying cheerleader costumes for his hookers, Rob Lowe is moving on to bigger and better purchases. Slightly insane purchases, even. TMZ is reporting that the actor and his business partners, some fatcat moguls, are buying indie studio Miramax.
As was whispered about on Friday, Harvey and Bob Weinstein's deal with Disney to buy back their little Miramax indie studio (yeah, we said "indie studio") has fallen through. Disney has gotten up from the table and won't return. [WSJ]
Film moguls Harvey and Bob Weinstein finally won back Miramax, the company they founded, from Disney, and now they're losing it again. The deal seems to have fallen through after weeks of negotiations. Can't these guys get a break? [LAT]
It's like the last decade-and-a-half didn't happen! After a fierce back-and-forth between people with lots of money, The Brothers Weinstein—financed by Billionaire Ron Burkle—have bought back the storied Miramax name and catalog.
Once-proud studio Miramax died in January, and Disney is selling off its carcass for pennies on the dollar. But look who might snap it up: The Weinstein brothers, who built the place, and their billionaire pal Ron Burkle!
In your touchy Tuesday media column: Shep Smith gets cunt-pranked, Miramax and MGM's death gets explained, David Shuster gets suspended, Liz Claman gets profiled (libtard), and Hearst gets three new editors.
Well, three of the nerdy ones at least! Also today: Some really fresh ideas from the USA network, a Pushing Daisies favorite finds some work, and Butter continues to churn along.
• An estimated 25 million people tuned into last night's broadcast of the Grammy Awards on CBS, earning it its highest ratings in six years. [AP]
• Disney is looking to sell off the Miramax name and its library of 700 movies, and seven to 10 parties have reportedly expressed interest. [NYT, NYP]
• Nate Berkus's new TV show will hit WNBC beginning this fall. [THR, NYP]
• Kelly Cutrone's reality show, Kell on Earth, debuts on Bravo tonight. [LAT]
• Candy Crowley is the new anchor of CNN's State of the Union. [NYT]
• Amazon.com is backing down in its fight over e-book prices. [Reuters]
• Avatar was No. 1 at the box office for a seventh weekend in a row. The movie has now grossed more than $2 billion around the world. [NYT]
• It's the end of the line for Miramax. The studio that Harvey and Bob Weinstein founded in 1979, sold to Disney in 1993, and departed in 2005, was officially shuttered today, and 80 people were let go. [Wrap, NYT, Guardian]
• Jay Leno went on Oprah today to try and redeem himself. He acted like a cry-baby and flat-out lied (and may have gotten away with it anyway). In related news, Conan's final week on the air turned out to be his biggest, not surprisingly. And there are some signs the late-night debacle may have Comcast's bosses thinking about showing NBC chief Jeff Zucker the door.
• 48 million people tuned in to the State of the Union address last night. [NYT]
• Only 35 people have signed up for a subscription to Newsday.com since the paper set up a pay wall a few months back. But it's all going according to plan and Newsday management couldn't be happier, the paper claims. [Crain's]
• This is a bit awkward: The Wall Street Journal is rolling out a local edition this spring that it hopes will compete with the New York Times. But it may actually need the Times' help printing the papers to make it happen. [NYT]
• A growing number of Time Inc. staffers are defecting to Bloomberg. [NYP]
• Samantha Harris is bidding goodbye to Dancing with the Stars. [People]
• Is Fox News reporter Major Garrett a fan of hookers? Maybe! [Gawker]
It is with heavy hand and heavy heart that we inform you today of the death of Miramax. The once-proud indie studio was 31 years old.
• The iPad may be cool and all. But don't expect it to revolutionize newspapers. Or magazines. Or even book publishing. [AdAge, NYT, Reuters, NYT]
• The WSJ is getting ready to take on the Times. Three dozen staffers (and $15 mil.) will go into creating its new NYC edition, which debuts in April. [NYO]
• NBC and Conan O'Brien are back in business (sort of): The network is picking up a pilot from Conaco, O'Brien's production company. In less surprising news, Jay Leno says he hasn't spoken to Conan since the late-night drama unfolded; and Comcast's chief says he's behind NBC CEO Jeff Zucker (officially-speaking).
• ABC has decided to bring Ugly Betty to an end after this season. [LAT]
• MSNBC wasn't planning to air last Friday's Haiti telethon. But then Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow got involved and things changed. [NYO]
• Harvey and Bob Weinstein are looking to buy back the Miramax name. [DH]
• Louis Auchincloss, chronicler of WASP culture, is dead at 92. [NYT]
It's a season for endings and beginnings and new beginnings and final endings and a reboot or two. Today's trades make Hollywood look like one of its own over-handled franchises.
• The Wall Street Journal has the Times in its sights. The paper is hiring a dozen reporters to cover local news and will launch a NYC edition next year. [NYT]
• As expected, a big round of layoffs at Time Inc. is underway. [Gawker, NYT]
• Harvey and Bob Weinstein may be looking to buy back the Miramax name from Disney now that it's being disbanded. That's the rumor anyway. [Wrap]
• Bloomberg plans to make BusinessWeek "bigger, glossier, and more international." Oh, and it may start charging for access to the BW site. [MW]
• The Oscars will have two hosts: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. [LAT]
Hollywood know it's all in the title. What else after all, distinguishes a Saw 5 from a Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant?
In the past few months, Disney boss Robert Iger has been on a tear; first firing his beloved film chief, Dick Cook. Now scaling back the company's specialty division, the once hallowed Miramax, to basically nothing.
