It was announced today that Miramax and The Weinstein Company have forged an agreement to produce sequels to some of Miramax’s biggest and most popular films with sequels to the dark comedy Bad Santa, the poker drama Rounders and the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love being at the forefront of those plans. The new alliance will also work on creating potential television shows and special products for home entertainment, which could essentially mean straight-to-video spin-offs of other Miramax films.
Other films named in the press release about the collaboration that could warrant sequels either released theatrically or on DVD/Blu-ray include Bridget Joness Diary, which already saw one sequel, the police drama Copland, Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn–which already had a direct-to-video prequel and sequel–Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau’s breakout Swingers, Kevin Smith’s Clerks, which also already had a sequel, Shall We Dance, and The Amityville Horror, previously remade by MGM.
The two companies are already working on the upcoming Scream 4 (out April 15), Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (out August 19), as well as a Scary Movie 5, of which no details have been released as of yet.
Miramax will also be handling “digital distribution” on a number of sequel projects, while the two companies will work together to develop new materials for special edition Blu-ray releases of some of the movies mentioned above.
You can read comments from the parties involved below.
Miramax and TWC Founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein:
We are very close to these films and the new management of Miramax also feels that we are in the best position to create sequels that are at once worthy and compelling in their own right. We look forward to working with Mike and his team on getting these films into production as soon as possible, and extending our partnership in the years ahead.
Mike Lang, CEO of Miramax:
We are thrilled and honored to work with Harvey and Bob Weinstein. There is no better partner to build on these great films and turn them into franchises, while also creating exciting new TV properties. This agreement will extend the Miramax library while also enabling us to create new content without committing near-term capital.
TWC COO David Glasser:
This is the perfect addition to our ongoing slate, giving us the ability to work on already existing franchises that have had such lucrative success at the box office, as well as a great starting ground to our newfound relationship. We clearly believe it will be mutually beneficial for both companies.
Stay tuned for more developments on this interesting twist in the ongoing Miramax/TWC relationship in the months and years to come.
