There are still a few more contract details to be worked out, but right now it looks as if Disney has finally-- finally!-- found someone to take Miramax off their hands. According to Deadline Hollywood the lucky winner is actually three parties-- Ron Tutor, Colony Capital and James Robinson are all teaming up to buy the former indie powerhouse. Construction magnate Tutor has offered up several hundred million as equity, with Colony Capital matching that amount and Robinson, the head of the Morgan Creek production company, tossing in another $50 million in exchange for a spot on the board.
That $50 million will probably turn out to make a big difference, though, since the offer of $675 or more is much closer to Disney's $700 million asking price than the $625-650 million the Weinsteins had been offering a few months back. And while these are the guys putting the money together, none of them will be the name heading up the company-- Deadline hears they're looking for an experienced executive to run the label exclusively as a distributor, because everyone knows they sure as hell don't have the money to go into production.
So if this deal actually goes through-- and Lord knows there have been plenty that haven't-- the endless, ultimately sad saga of Miramax may finally wrap itself up, so that the studio that built the independent film market can return to a world where very few independent films every manage to turn a profit. Have fun with that one, guys!
