Post by sgev1977 on Aug 4, 2017 1:18:01 GMT
A pretty grim article about the situation of the company. Here are TCW mentions:
www.tracking-board.com/the-weinstein-companys-struggles-continue-but-is-there-a-way-out/
iFirst up is Mary Magdalene, from Lion director Garth Davis and starring Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix, and then, in December, comes The Current War, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Tom Holland, Nicholas Hoult, and Katherine Waterston, in the true story of Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse’s competition to create a sustainable electricity system and market it to the American people.
Both projects all but scream to the heavens for awards notice, but that same question as last year arises: Can the Weinstein Company afford to push both? While it’s certainly not out of the question, it does seem doubtful, which then forces us to ask which film will get the nod. True, the company does owe a little something to Magdalene director Davis, but Harvey Weinstein is actually listed as a producer on Current War, which probably tells you all you need to know.
Awards love generally means more box office — a lesson we have learned repeatedly in this series — and that has always been the Weinsteins’ modus operandi. Harvey especially loves Oscar gold and has built his entire career around chasing it. If he doesn’t get it, then there’s hell to pay, even more so when the grosses aren’t measuring up, and, as noted, right now they are not. Not even close.
The year can be saved, of course, just as Lion brought some solace to 2016. If Wind River draws an audience, and if families want to see De Niro at war with his grandson, and if the same kind of audience that showed up in droves to see The Passion of the Christ does the same for Mary Magdalene, and if The Current War becomes 2017’s version of The Imitation Game, then what has been one of the worst years in the company’s history could turn into one of its best. But that depends on a lot of “ifs,” and no strong corporate strategy can rely on such things.
Both projects all but scream to the heavens for awards notice, but that same question as last year arises: Can the Weinstein Company afford to push both? While it’s certainly not out of the question, it does seem doubtful, which then forces us to ask which film will get the nod. True, the company does owe a little something to Magdalene director Davis, but Harvey Weinstein is actually listed as a producer on Current War, which probably tells you all you need to know.
Awards love generally means more box office — a lesson we have learned repeatedly in this series — and that has always been the Weinsteins’ modus operandi. Harvey especially loves Oscar gold and has built his entire career around chasing it. If he doesn’t get it, then there’s hell to pay, even more so when the grosses aren’t measuring up, and, as noted, right now they are not. Not even close.
The year can be saved, of course, just as Lion brought some solace to 2016. If Wind River draws an audience, and if families want to see De Niro at war with his grandson, and if the same kind of audience that showed up in droves to see The Passion of the Christ does the same for Mary Magdalene, and if The Current War becomes 2017’s version of The Imitation Game, then what has been one of the worst years in the company’s history could turn into one of its best. But that depends on a lot of “ifs,” and no strong corporate strategy can rely on such things.
www.tracking-board.com/the-weinstein-companys-struggles-continue-but-is-there-a-way-out/
