Weinsteins agree to smaller Miramax budget - NYT
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Weinstein brothers, co-chief executives of Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax Films unit, have agreed to a reduced Miramax budget, the New York Times said on Tuesday.
The article said the Weinsteins have agreed to cut the unit's budget to less than $350 million for the year ending in September. That is about half of the $700 million the Weinsteins have been allowed to spend, the newspaper said.
Disney and the Weinsteins have been locked in negotiations over whether to renew the brothers' contract when it expires on Sept. 30. The brothers are widely expected to leave the company they founded and form a new operation of their own.
The Times article, citing people involved in the negotiations, said that in exchange for cutting the budget, the brothers will be able to begin production on films for the film company they are starting.
A report in the Los Angeles Times said Disney plans to reshape Miramax into a financially restrained subsidiary, with a source telling the paper Miramax will operate "lean and mean."
The Los Angeles Times said the new Miramax will have a staff of fewer than 50 and an annual budget of about $300 million. The paper said the Miramax division in recent years grew to nearly 500 staff.
02/22/05 05:14 ET
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Weinstein brothers, co-chief executives of Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax Films unit, have agreed to a reduced Miramax budget, the New York Times said on Tuesday.
The article said the Weinsteins have agreed to cut the unit's budget to less than $350 million for the year ending in September. That is about half of the $700 million the Weinsteins have been allowed to spend, the newspaper said.
Disney and the Weinsteins have been locked in negotiations over whether to renew the brothers' contract when it expires on Sept. 30. The brothers are widely expected to leave the company they founded and form a new operation of their own.
The Times article, citing people involved in the negotiations, said that in exchange for cutting the budget, the brothers will be able to begin production on films for the film company they are starting.
A report in the Los Angeles Times said Disney plans to reshape Miramax into a financially restrained subsidiary, with a source telling the paper Miramax will operate "lean and mean."
The Los Angeles Times said the new Miramax will have a staff of fewer than 50 and an annual budget of about $300 million. The paper said the Miramax division in recent years grew to nearly 500 staff.
02/22/05 05:14 ET