Miramax and Tina Brown settle
By David Carr and David D. Kirkpatrick
Thursday, July 25, 2002
NEW YORK (NY Times/International Herald Tribune) -- A strained collaboration between Harvey Weinstein, co-chaiman of Miramax Films Inc., and Tina Brown, the former editor of Talk magazine, has ended after six months of often rancorous negotiations.
Weinstein and his partners bought out the two years remaining on her contract for an estimated $1 million, people close to the talks said Tuesday. Brown's principal role ended in January, when Talk magazine closed. Since then, she has remained as chairwoman of Talk Miramax Books, while negotiating with Weinstein. On Tuesday, she said she wanted to wait at least through the summer before deciding on her next move.
In interviews, both praised each other for their efforts, and Weinstein said reports of conflict were exaggerated.
"I did what I was called on to do and yes, there were tough times economically" at the magazine, he said, "but she handled herself with total class, and surprisingly, so did I."
But people close to them acknowledge that the prolonged settlement talks reflected long-simmering tension.
Both brought strong wills and assertive opinions to the enterprise. Their relationship soured during the magazine's well-publicized collapse, when everyone began pointing fingers of blame. Weinstein resented the media's preoccupation with Brown, especially when it cast the spotlight on the failure of the magazine.
Colleagues said Brown came to find Weinstein needlessly abrasive and overbearing.
On Tuesday, each offered different perspectives of their years together.
Weinstein said that he regretted not being more involved in the magazine, a joint project with Hearst Magazines.
"She had total creative control of the magazine and she kept it," he said.
But Weinstein said he and Miramax management were involved in all crucial decisions at the books division, which has published several best sellers.
"Tina did a great job bringing us the leadership of the book division and opened up vistas we never knew were there," Weinstein said.
But he added: "The books were under our total control. We made 100 percent of the final creative decisions."
Brown said she was proud of the magazine. And she stressed that she had played a critical role at Talk Books, hiring all of its top executives and bringing in authors like Queen Noor of Jordan and Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state. "My presence in the company would come in basically about the kind of books we wanted to do, the kinds of books we would go after, tips and leads, things I was hearing, convincing agents we had the credibility to be trusted," Brown said.
Miramax has also signed a new three-year contract with Jonathan Burnham, the president and chief executive whom Brown had recruited to run Talk Miramax Books. The house will now be called Miramax Books.
In 2001, the imprint had a number of best sellers, including "The Snow Garden," fiction by Christopher Rice; "Artemis Fowl," a children's book; "Ice Bound," the best-selling memoir by Jerri Nieilsen; and "Stolen Lives," the memoir of a Moroccan princess.
Brown's initial contract provided for a small equity stake in Talk Media, a division of Miramax, but people familiar with the settlement said that the final agreement included only a cash settlement. Brown's contract with Miramax, negotiated by her agent, Morton Janklow, included a provision for a payment to her if Talk Media ended, people involved said.
But in the end, both sides disagreed over the amount of the payment to Brown and the details of other terms, such as prohibitions against disparaging Miramax or, potentially, competing against it. To represent her in the resolution, Brown retained the Los Angeles lawyer Bertram Fields, and his role implicitly raised the potential of a lawsuit. Under the terms of her contract, Brown earned more than $1 million a year. In the end, people on both sides said, Miramax paid Brown "a substantial portion" of the less than $2 million remaining on her contract - about $1 million, with Miramax and Hearst Magazines sharing the cost of the buyout. Brown will continue to consult for Miramax until the end of the year.
The closing of Talk magazine has weighed on the bottom line at Miramax. Hearst and Miramax each lost $27 million over two years.
Without the $10 million to $12 million the magazine would have cost the company in the current financial year, Miramax Films, part of the Walt Disney Co., is expecting to have its second-best year ever, with profits of at least $140 million, a Miramax executive said. "Amelie" and "In the Bedroom," two films that were made at very low cost, produced almost $70 million in domestic box office revenues, while Dimension, the division of Miramax run by Bob Weinstein, Harvey's brother, continues to produce profits, most recently from the strong opening box office of "Halloween: Resurrection."
Weinstein will now have more time and money to devote to the book division, where he has already been paying large advances to big-name authors and celebrities, including Michael Chabon, a Pulitzer-prize winning novelist and one of the star authors at Talk Miramax Books.
By David Carr and David D. Kirkpatrick
Thursday, July 25, 2002
NEW YORK (NY Times/International Herald Tribune) -- A strained collaboration between Harvey Weinstein, co-chaiman of Miramax Films Inc., and Tina Brown, the former editor of Talk magazine, has ended after six months of often rancorous negotiations.
Weinstein and his partners bought out the two years remaining on her contract for an estimated $1 million, people close to the talks said Tuesday. Brown's principal role ended in January, when Talk magazine closed. Since then, she has remained as chairwoman of Talk Miramax Books, while negotiating with Weinstein. On Tuesday, she said she wanted to wait at least through the summer before deciding on her next move.
In interviews, both praised each other for their efforts, and Weinstein said reports of conflict were exaggerated.
"I did what I was called on to do and yes, there were tough times economically" at the magazine, he said, "but she handled herself with total class, and surprisingly, so did I."
But people close to them acknowledge that the prolonged settlement talks reflected long-simmering tension.
Both brought strong wills and assertive opinions to the enterprise. Their relationship soured during the magazine's well-publicized collapse, when everyone began pointing fingers of blame. Weinstein resented the media's preoccupation with Brown, especially when it cast the spotlight on the failure of the magazine.
Colleagues said Brown came to find Weinstein needlessly abrasive and overbearing.
On Tuesday, each offered different perspectives of their years together.
Weinstein said that he regretted not being more involved in the magazine, a joint project with Hearst Magazines.
"She had total creative control of the magazine and she kept it," he said.
But Weinstein said he and Miramax management were involved in all crucial decisions at the books division, which has published several best sellers.
"Tina did a great job bringing us the leadership of the book division and opened up vistas we never knew were there," Weinstein said.
But he added: "The books were under our total control. We made 100 percent of the final creative decisions."
Brown said she was proud of the magazine. And she stressed that she had played a critical role at Talk Books, hiring all of its top executives and bringing in authors like Queen Noor of Jordan and Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state. "My presence in the company would come in basically about the kind of books we wanted to do, the kinds of books we would go after, tips and leads, things I was hearing, convincing agents we had the credibility to be trusted," Brown said.
Miramax has also signed a new three-year contract with Jonathan Burnham, the president and chief executive whom Brown had recruited to run Talk Miramax Books. The house will now be called Miramax Books.
In 2001, the imprint had a number of best sellers, including "The Snow Garden," fiction by Christopher Rice; "Artemis Fowl," a children's book; "Ice Bound," the best-selling memoir by Jerri Nieilsen; and "Stolen Lives," the memoir of a Moroccan princess.
Brown's initial contract provided for a small equity stake in Talk Media, a division of Miramax, but people familiar with the settlement said that the final agreement included only a cash settlement. Brown's contract with Miramax, negotiated by her agent, Morton Janklow, included a provision for a payment to her if Talk Media ended, people involved said.
But in the end, both sides disagreed over the amount of the payment to Brown and the details of other terms, such as prohibitions against disparaging Miramax or, potentially, competing against it. To represent her in the resolution, Brown retained the Los Angeles lawyer Bertram Fields, and his role implicitly raised the potential of a lawsuit. Under the terms of her contract, Brown earned more than $1 million a year. In the end, people on both sides said, Miramax paid Brown "a substantial portion" of the less than $2 million remaining on her contract - about $1 million, with Miramax and Hearst Magazines sharing the cost of the buyout. Brown will continue to consult for Miramax until the end of the year.
The closing of Talk magazine has weighed on the bottom line at Miramax. Hearst and Miramax each lost $27 million over two years.
Without the $10 million to $12 million the magazine would have cost the company in the current financial year, Miramax Films, part of the Walt Disney Co., is expecting to have its second-best year ever, with profits of at least $140 million, a Miramax executive said. "Amelie" and "In the Bedroom," two films that were made at very low cost, produced almost $70 million in domestic box office revenues, while Dimension, the division of Miramax run by Bob Weinstein, Harvey's brother, continues to produce profits, most recently from the strong opening box office of "Halloween: Resurrection."
Weinstein will now have more time and money to devote to the book division, where he has already been paying large advances to big-name authors and celebrities, including Michael Chabon, a Pulitzer-prize winning novelist and one of the star authors at Talk Miramax Books.