Category — miramax

Disney’s ‘art house’ studio Miramax will be a small shell of it’s former self by January. Its president will be gone and just 20 employees will be left to shepherd any future projects. They’ll also move the studio from New York to Los Angeles.

Much of this reduction began even while the studio’s founders, the Weinstein brothers, were in charge. After their ouster, the studio continued to struggle to produce hits. And now, with Dick Cook gone, the comes another hit. Some of this has to be chalked up to the much more complex market for art house films than when Miramax was at it’s peak.

While I may not have loved all of the films that Miramax produced for Disney, I liked enough of them to see the value for Disney Studios. I hope they’re able to find a niche for these sort of specialty films in the Disney stable.

Via the NY Times.

This April, Disney’s Miramax film studio has two DVDs out that are a must have for any collection. Best Picture Oscar winning No Country for Old Men set a new standard for action-thrillers. Doubt won five Oscar nominations and is an acting tour de force.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – COLLECTOR’S EDITION

When you sit down to watch a Coen brothers film you should have a set of expectations. There will be violence, exploration of human suffering, and excellence in film making. No Country for Old Men reached the peak of excellence deservedly winning the 2007 Academy Award for Best Picture, and the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Javier Bardem), among others.

The Coen Brothers deliver a sizzling and supercharged action-thriller with No Country for Old Men, based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a down-on-his-luck Vietnam vet, stumbles across an illicit fortune and decides to keep it, setting off an unstoppable chain of violence.

When Moss discovers a drug deal gone bad in the West Texas desert, he decides to keep the two million dollars he finds there and hit the road. In short order, both Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), the local sheriff, and Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), one of the most frighteningly amoral psychopaths in film history, are on his trail and Moss is scrambling to stay one step ahead of the law—and avoid a gruesome fate at Chigurh’s hands. Javier Bardem’s role as death personified is one that will deservedly be remembered for ages.

The 2007 Oscar® winner for Best Picture, No Country for Old Men, arrived in new collectible three-disc DVD and 2-disc Blu-ray editions from Miramax Films, Paramount Vantage, and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Acclaimed filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen’s most gripping and ambitious film, No Country for Old Men – Collector’s Edition comes with more than five hours of bonus features, available on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time ever, including extensive interviews with the filmmakers, stars and technical team behind this unforgettable thriller. From an unauthorized trip backstage with star Josh Brolin, to an insider’s look at the unique moviemaking process of the Coen brothers, fans will get unprecedented access to the story behind the celebrated movie. In addition, both the DVD and Blu-ray versions include a special digital copy of the movie that enables viewers to enjoy it anywhere, anytime in their choice of iTunes or Windows Media formats.

DOUBT

Doubt is set in 1964 and based loosely on real events. The nation is at a crossroads. Stay in the past or be dragged into a new and uncomfortable future. The feeling of doubt moves through all the characters lives and the audience’s mind as the film progresses. Whether we get an answer is up for debate, but there is no doubt that you will enjoy the performances in this movie.

St. Nicholas Church in the Bronx finds Fr. Brendan Flynn’s (Philip Seymour Hoffman) progressive views and charismatic presence have won him the respect and admiration of the congregation. At the parish school, principal Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) keeps her students in line with old-fashioned fear and intimidation. When young Sister James (Amy Adams) shares with Sister Aloysius her concern that that Father Flynn has “taken an interest” in twelve-year-old Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), the school’s “first Negro student,” the older nun launches her own investigation. Determined to protect every one of her charges, Sister Aloysius attempts to use the evidence she discovers to have Flynn removed from the school. John Patrick Shanley’s finely shaded script takes audiences through a spectrum of truth, emotion and belief, and asks if any decision is ever free from doubt.

It was one of the biggest upset of the 2009 Academy Awards that the film didn’t receive a single Oscar, despite being up for five of them. Both the DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def versions of Doubt include some great bonus features including an audio Commentary from the writer/director.

More details on Both DVD’s below the cut:

[Read more →]

The Los Angeles Times’ Claudia Eller takes a look at Disney’s Miramax post-Weinstein brothers.

In the 18 months since [Daniel] Battsek took charge, the 48-year-old Brit has firmly established himself as the new face of Miramax Film Corp. while shoring up the company’s stature in the cutthroat specialty film world. He’s also kept Miramax in the awards game to the point of outscoring predecessor Weinstein, who for years was the one to beat at Oscar time.

It’s finally time for another shameless plug.  (I called in a "Shamless" plug at first, but I guess that works, too.)

The first part of the latest edition of my Kenversations(TM) column was posted today on LaughingPlace.com.

In this three-part column, I examine the big changes both inside Disney and around Disney over the last few years – in media, entertainment, communications, and theme parks.  If you read this column, you’ll understand why I will cover the topics I do here – what happens at other film studios has an impact on Disney.  What happens at a lot of other places has an impact on Disney.

Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, and their sister studio Miramax have netted 20 nominations for this years Academy Awards. Miramax’s ‘The Queen’ was nominated for Best Motion Picture and ‘Cars’ was nominated for best animated feature. Disney is also competing against itself in the Animated Short film category.  LaughingPlace.com has the complete list.

Nice to see that Miramax can produce even after the Weinstein Brothers departed.

Cinematical has two great stories up this week about Miramax’s release of Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (imdb). First up is the review that first got me excited about this film from when it was screened at the Tribeca film festival.

It’s a wide-eyed, delirious celebration
of American soccer, the likes of which we’ve never seen. And it’s
indescribably wonderful, the kind of film that brings a smile to your
face the moment it begins and doesn’t let go.

The film sounds very moving and exciting at the same time.

Next is an insightful interview with Producer John Battsek and co-director/editor Paul Crowder from just before the Tribeca film festival. Lots of good stuff here, not just about the film, but about documentary style filmmaking in general.

Once In A Lifetime opened in NYC this weekend and widens its release starting July 14th.

[ Tags: disney, film, movie, documentary, once+in+a+lifetime, miramax, soccer, football, american+soccer, nasl, mls, cosmos, ny+cosmos, pele ]

I just got the initial list of cities where you’ll be able to find the Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story Of The New York Cosmos soccer (AKA football if you live outside the US and Canada) documentary playing. I hope you’ll get a chance to see this great film and relive some of what it was like to be a soccer fan in the USA during the years of Pele and the NY Cosmos.

(As an aside, I think it’s interesting that David Beckham might decide to make his final tour as a football professional in the USA following in Pele’s footsteps. That should give the sport a much needed boost if it happens.)

After debuting on July 7th in NYC, Once In A Lifetime will open:

July 14
Los Angeles
Chicago
Washington D.C.

July 21
San Francisco
Philadelphia
Boston

(Previously on Movieland.)

When the Weinstein brother’s departed from the Disney fold, they were given the option of co-releasing a few films with Miramax while they got their new company up and running. One of the films they wanted to keep was Johnny Depp’s The Libertine.

In it Johnny Depp plays The Earl of Rochester, known as much for his scandalous lifestyle as his royalty, whose debauchery ends up with him being exiled from the royal court. "You will not like me." Depp’s character says in the narration, but many did enjoy the film in its limited release. With its release on DVD more audiences can now enjoy Depp’s performance.