by Matt Raub, Dec 17 2010 // 11:00 AM
Film buffs and those who follow “the biz” remember how epic of a breakup the Weinsteins and Disney’s Mirimax was back in 2005. The brothers Weinstein had become some of the biggest movers and shakers in Hollywood, helping directors like Tarantino, Smith, and countless others become household names. Then, due to a creative dispute, the Weinsteins left the clutches of the mouse to create TWC.
Now, after almost 6 years of separation, the two entities are teaming up once again. This time, to have another swing at some of the instant classics that Bob and Harvey Weinstein helped come into existence.
The two companies are forming a partnership in order to bring sequels and TV spinoffs to films like Rounders, Bad Santa, Copland, Clerks, and dozens others. Let’s hope they continue to produce movies that, at least for the most part, try to push the envelope a bit and are not just status quo.
Click through for the full press release.
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Posted in: Announcements · Deals and Dealmaking · Disney · Legal · Miramax · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels · Weinstein Co.
Tagged: Bad Santa, Bob Weinstein, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Clerks, Copland, Disney, From Dusk Till Dawn, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Smith, Mirimax Films, Quentin Tarantino, Rounders, Shakespeare in Love, Shall We Dance, Swingers, The Weinstein Company
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by Matt Raub, Oct 22 2010 // 7:00 AM
Now that the dust has settled, and we’ve adjusted to the fact that Guillermo Del Toro is not taking the director’s chair, as Middle Earth native Peter Jackson is taking the reins back, it’s time to look to the film as, well…a film. That means finally casting some of the characters we’ve treasured since first reading the book decades ago.
Last week, news came forward that Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy star Martin Freeman will fill the very big feet of Bilbo Baggins, and now Jackson has decided to let us in on the rest of the cast, and who exactly they’ll be playing. Here’s the full list from Deadline.
Jackson has cast several other significant Dwarf characters. Richard Armitage (MI-5 and Captain America: The First Avenger) will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon. Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) will play Kili and Fili, members of the Company of Dwarves. Graham McTavish (Secretariat) will play Dwalin, John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) will play Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) will play Bombur, and Mark Hadlow (King Kong) plays Dori, while Peter Hambleton (The Strip) will play Gloin.
As if these names weren’t enough, there are rumors that David Tennant (Doctor Who) and James Nesbitt (Jekyll) will make an appearance, and also possible speculation that Andy Serkis and Sir Ian McKellan will reprise their roles.
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Posted in: Action · Announcements · Casting · Drama · Miramax · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels · Rumor · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Aidan Turner, Andy Serkis, David Tennant, Graham McTavish, Ian McKellan, James Nesbitt, John Callen, Lord of the Rings, Mark Hadlow, Mirimax, Peter Hambleton, Peter Jackson, Richard Armitage, Rob Kazinsky, Stephen Hunter, The Hobbit
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by Chris Ullrich, Aug 3 2010 // 3:00 PM
As scary TV movies go the original 70’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ranks pretty high. It manages to be quite harrowing and chilling without resorting to gore or other obvious means.
It was so scary good, in fact, that it attracted the interest of big time writer/director Guillermo del Toro who co-wrote and produced a remake. Now, thanks to the folks at MySpace (I know) we’ve got a trailer for the updated version to share with you.
This new one continues the scary trend but also shows what you can do without too much in the way of blood and gore. Although it does seem to be upping the “monster” quotient a bit from the original. Plus, the rest of the elements of filmmaking have obviously come a long way too.
Don’t be Afraid of the Dark, which features Katie Holmes and Guy Pierce, comes from Miramax who will release it January 21, 2011.
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Posted in: Miramax · News · Trailers · Video
Tagged: Don't be Afraid of the Dark, Guillermo del Toro, Guy Pierce, Horror, Katie Holmes, Reboots and Remakes
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by Shannon Hood, Dec 4 2009 // 9:00 AM

Everybody who has been fretting over Robert De Niro’s career of late can collectively exhale a sigh of relief. After carpet bombing the cinematic landscape with stinkers like The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Hide and Seek, Godsend, and Righteous Kill, De Niro finally settles into a nice little film devoid of gimmicks and action. Playing the widowed patriarch of four grown children, De Niro gives a quietly nuanced performance that grounds the film, and makes you remember why you liked him to begin with.
Everybody’s Fine tells the story of a very ordinary family and the events surrounding a holiday gathering. Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) is recently widowed, and has made plans to have all four of his grown children visit him for Christmas. He prepares the house, buys the groceries, purchases a new grill, and awaits their arrival. One by one each child calls and cancels with generic excuses-“something’s come up”, etc.
This is where De Niro first starts to reel you in. His face drops with each phone call, and you just want to go give him a hug, and go give his kids a good tongue-lashing for abandoning their poor, lonely dad on Christmas. After contemplating the circumstances, he decides to travel to each one of them, against his doctor’s orders (he takes medication for fibrosis of the lung.)
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Posted in: Drama · Miramax · Movies · News · Reviews
Tagged: Drama, Drew Barrymore, Everybody's Fine, Kate Beckinsdale, Robert De Niro, Sam Rockwell
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by Shannon Hood, Oct 12 2009 // 1:00 PM

The Boys Are Back opens with Joe (Clive Owen) blasting through the surf of an undisclosed beach in his Land Rover Discovery, kicking up water and sand as he clips along at a rather impressive speed. He gleefully laughs, then we see the trunk of the SUV, adorned with Joe’s son, who of course thinks this is great fun. As soon as the son entered the picture, I became white knuckled, and fretted over the safety of the actor portraying Joe’s son. I never really recovered from that scene, and kind of despised Joe throughout the movie. That makes is rather difficult to be sympathetic to his plight.
Joe is a sports writer at an Australian newspaper, and is happily married with a seven year old son, Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). He travels frequently for work and is somewhat of an absentee father. His wife Katy (played by Laura Fraser) pretty much runs the household entirely on her own. Unfortunately, his wife gets cancer and dies (no spoilers, it happens in the first 5 minutes). The opening scenes are quite upsetting, and I should caution you if you have a loved one suffering from a terminal illness, you might want to skip this movie.
Thrust into the role of primary caregiver, Joe fails miserably. Dishes and laundry pile up, and questionable food items become the norm (ketchup with noodles, anyone?). In the real world, his household would be a prime target for Child Protective Services. The movie depicts Joe’s struggle running the household quite realistically. Complicating matters further, Joe’s teenage son from a previous marriage decides that this is the appropriate time to go hang out with the father who abandoned him when he was six years old.
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Posted in: Drama · Miramax · Movies · Reviews
Tagged: Clive Owen, George MacKay, Laura Fraser, Nicholas McAnulty, Simon Carr, The Boys are Back
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by Chris Ullrich, Sep 2 2009 // 11:46 AM
With all the praise and cult status bestowed on Mike Judge’s film Office Space, sometimes people forget he’s also responsible for creating two of the most popular and recognizable animated characters of the 90s. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about Beavis and Butt-head.
Fortunately, even though they’ve been in retirement for several years, they’ve decided to make an appearance this week to help promote their old pal Mike Judge’s brand new movie Extract. And, because we’re cool like that, we’ve got that new Beavis and Butt-head video right here to share with you. In the video, our old friends talk a little about the movie and introduce some clips, paying for sex and the humor in star Jason Bateman’s name. In other words, its pretty much busines as usual for these two characters.
Mike Judge’s Extract, which stars Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons and Ben Affleck, hits theaters on Friday. Until then, check out all the Beavis and Butt-head action after the jump.
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Posted in: Animation · Comedy · Miramax · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Beavis and Butt-head, Ben Affleck, Extract, Jason Bateman, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis
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by Matt Raub, Aug 26 2009 // 11:30 AM
This week, we are on full alert for all things Halloween 2. Yesterday, we hit you with an exclusive interview with the films co-star Sheri Moon Zombie, and today, we’re bringing you even more Michael Myers goodness. After the jump, you can check out three brand new exclusive clips from Rob Zombie’s latest film, featuring the jumpsuit-donning madman himself.
The first clip, which is from the first half of the film, shows Myers in action as he lures two unsuspecting victims into a trap. The second scene is the first we see of Sheri Moon’s character, Deborah Myers, in the sequel. Brace yourselves for this one because she’s a ghost, wearing white, leading a white stallion.
Finally, the third scene is a dream sequence, also starring Sheri. This one gets a little bizarre as well, so be sure to pay close attention to the nuances. Check out the three clips after the jump, and keep it here for all things Halloween 2 this week including our exclusive interview with Rob Zombie and our review of the film itself.
Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 hits theaters this Friday.
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Posted in: Action · Filmmaking · Horror · Miramax · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Halloween, Halloween 2, Michael Myers, Rob Zombie, Scout Compton, Sheri Moon Zombie, Weinstein
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by Matt Raub, Aug 25 2009 // 3:30 PM
Sheri Moon Zombie is a name that, in the past few years, has become quite prominent in the world of horror. She got her start back in 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses and worked her way up from there, all alongside her husband Rob Zombie. We recently got a chance to talk to Sheri about the upcoming Halloween 2 release, and how her character makes an interesting return.
Those who remember Zombie’s first Halloween know that Deborah Myers, Sheri’s character, offed herself in the second act. It seems like her role only got bigger after death, as she’s pretty consistent throughout the newest film. In the interview, Sheri spills on H2, working with Rob, her role as Suzi X in the animated The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, and even the work she did on Showtime’s Californication.
Check out our exclusive interview after the jump, and a special thanks to Midtown Comics in Manhattan for letting us shoot there! Also, be sure to check back all this week for more coverage of Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2.
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Posted in: Filmmaking · Horror · Interviews · Miramax · Movies · News
Tagged: Halloween, Halloween 2, Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Midtown Comics, Rob Zombie, Sheri Moon Zombie
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by Sebastian Suchecki, Aug 24 2009 // 12:00 PM
This weekend was a pretty big one for the box office, though only making just over $100 million with the top ten. This marked the biggest opening weekend for one of Hollywood’s most celebrated writer/directors in Quentin Tarantino, as his latest film Inglourious Basterds brought in an estimated $37 million in the domestic box office, while bringing in $27 million overseas.
This certainly goes down as the biggest opening weekend for Tarantino, with the runner ups being Kill BIll Volume 2 back in 2004 bringing in $25 million and 2003’s Kill BIll Volume 1 grossing $22 million in the opening weekend. While the former hit theaters over five years go, Tarantino’s 2007 film Grindhouse only brought in $11 million in the first weekend, and a total box office gross of $25 million.
Basterds not only marks Tarantino’s biggest opening weekend in the box office, but also the biggest production budget that he has worked with at $70 million. Grindhouse being his second biggest with $67 million, the film only grossed $25, which barely made a dent. Basterds, however, has already made an estimated $64 million, which means this film will be turning a profit in a matter of days.
Elsewhere in the box office, last week’s hit District 9 only had a 49% drop from $37 million to an estimated $19. G.I. Joe is still hanging on to the top three spot with $12.5 million, with The Time Traveler’s Wife and Julie and Julia following closely behind. Tarantino’s often-partner Robert Rodriguez’s film Shorts, did not–however–follow in his friend’s trend. The film opened with only $6.6 million.
Posted in: Action · Box Office · Filmmaking · Miramax · Movies · News
Tagged: Box Office, Brad Pitt, Grindhouse, Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino
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by Matt Raub, Aug 20 2009 // 3:45 PM
Though Myspace has become mostly superfluous in the days of Facebook and Twitter, they still have some cool video projects such as Zach Galfiniaikis’ Between Two Ferns and their series Artist on Artist in which an artist in a particular field gets to jam with another. For the most part, the two artists are linked by their most recent project, like Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller, or Adam Sandler and Nick Swardson. With Inglourious Basterds, hitting theaters tomorrow, Director Quentin Tarantino got to sit down with his unofficial protègè Eli Roth.
They inevitably go back to their favorite subject of themselves after a few minutes and a few glasses of wine, but it’s still interesting to see the two gossip about the production of the film, Pitt’s super-stardom, and more. For all the fun, check out the video after the jump.
Also, be sure to check out our review of Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds right here, and then hit the theaters for Tarantino’s masterpiece tomorrow.
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Posted in: Action · Casting · Filmmaking · Interviews · Miramax · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino, Weinstein
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