Disney and Miramax’s Weinsteins ‘Parting Company,’ Iger Says

Walt Disney’s next chief executive, Robert Iger, said the company won’t renew the contracts of Miramax co-chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein, ending a 12-year partnership that created Oscar-winning movies including “The Aviator.”“Negotiating a deal that will ultimately result in us parting company in some form is the right thing at this point,” Iger said yesterday in an interview from Burbank, Calif.-based Disney.Mr. Iger’s comments are Disney’s first acknowledgement that it will sever ties with the Weinsteins. The separation follows clashes between the brothers and Disney’s chief executive, Michael Eisner. Mr. Iger, who takes over from Mr. Eisner on September 30, said that any parting with the Weinsteins would be “amicable.”“Probably the Weinsteins crossed the line too much” fighting with Eisner over film costs, said Peter Goldman, a portfolio manager at Chicago Asset Management, which owned about 480,000 Disney shares among its $1 billion in assets as of January. “Disney wants to have discipline in the movie business.”Miramax spokesman Matthew Hiltzik declined to comment.Miramax in 2004 contributed 25% to Disney’s $1.16 billion in box-office revenue, according to Los Angeles-based Nielsen EDI, which tracks ticket sales. Disney last year said it plans to cut spending on films and that business at Miramax, which it bought in 1993, won’t continue “at the same level.”The interests of Disney and the Weinsteins have diverged too much to renew their contracts, which end in September, Mr. Iger said.“It will end amicably and it won’t be tense and there won’t be a lot of stress,” Mr. Iger, 54, said.Mr. Iger, Disney’s president for the past five years, on Monday moved to patch relations with another film partner, saying he wants to talk to Pixar CEO Steven Jobs, 50, about extending the companies’ film-distribution deal.Disney and the Weinsteins may have to resolve issues including who gets rights to sequels and films currently under development before agreeing to terminate their relationship.A disagreement between the Weinsteins and Disney surfaced in May 2004 when filmmaker Michael Moore accused the company of blocking New York-based Miramax’s distribution of his documentary, “Fahrenheit 9/11.”Miramax and Mr. Moore said they were never given a reason why Disney wouldn’t distribute the film, which criticizes President Bush’s response to terrorism.Disney said it had told Miramax that the studio wouldn’t be allowed to distribute the film, a contractual right the company has under its contract with the Weinsteins. Disney called Mr. Moore’s accusation a “P.R. stunt.”Harvey Weinstein, 52, manages Miramax, which grew by buying the distribution rights to foreign-language and art films at festivals such as Sundance and Cannes and promoting them in America, where movies including “Cinema Paradiso” won Oscars.Bob Weinstein, 50, runs Miramax’s Dimension unit, known for thrillers and horror films such as the “Scream” series.Revenue at Miramax has fallen from a high of $695 million in 2003 to $378 million last year. Miramax picked up 39 Academy Award nominations in 2003 and won nine, including best picture for “Chicago.” In 2004, Miramax had 14 nominations and collected one Academy Award for “Cold Mountain.”Miramax this year collected six Oscars for “The Aviator” and “Finding Neverland.” “The Aviator” won five.

Disney and Miramax’s Weinsteins ‘Parting Company,’ Iger Says

Disney and Miramax’s Weinsteins ‘Parting Company,’ Iger Says

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