Miramax is offering "Prozac Nation" to other US companies
Sun Oct 24, 9:18 PM

(Thanks to Mary @ IMB Prozac Nation board !!!)

NEW YORK -- With the Disney board focusing on replacing Michael Eisner, Miramax Films -- the sometimes willful subsid that's proven a hot potato within the Mouse House -- has begun making changes to show that its house is in order.

Miramax is seeking outside partnership on a number of its unreleased titles, including its direct-to-video franchise properties. Company has also told rival studios that it is willing to pact on various properties on its development slate.

Move is part of "an effort to highlight the continuing profitability of the company," a Miramax rep said Monday.

A bone of contention between Miramax and Disney has been whether the specialty arm, run by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, has turned a profit over the past five years.

Meanwhile, the Mouse House moved a step closer to regime change when the board of directors announced Monday it has hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to help with the selection of a new CEO.

Disney chairman George Mitchell said in a statement that the board members "expect to complete the process and announce a successor by June, and Disney CEO Michael Eisner and the board will work diligently to assure a smooth and effective transition."

People close to Miramax said the mini-major now is looking for possible co-financing on 10-15 direct-to-vid titles -- including unreleased installments in the "Hellraiser" and "Dracula" creature feature franchises -- in cases where an outside party would offer revenue-sharing possibilities.

Other films up for grabs include new titles in the "Crow," "Children of the Corn," "Prophecy" and "Mimic" series. Various martial arts films also would be available.

The company apparently does not want to sell any of its titles outright.

While outside sources say Miramax is eyeing a much more ambitious selloff of its library, company brass deny that. It is unclear which titles on its current development slate Miramax might be willing to partner on.

Either way, the mini-major is looking to shore up its balance sheet and to push beyond any Disney criticism.

Though revenue from any new pacts would line Disney coffers, the Weinsteins' contract with the Mouse House expires next year; Disney has until March to notify them whether the agreement will be extended.

Miramax chief operating officer Rick Sands recently returned from a European tour selling off overseas rights on titles. Mini-major is offering Wes Craven's "Cursed" and Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City," from the Dimension Films genre label, at the American Film Mart, which starts Nov. 3.

For much of its history, Miramax has earned a reputation as an aggressive film buyer. Competitors have even groused that the mini-major didn't acquire so much as pillage, at times snapping up promising titles and sorting out what it viewed as winners later.

Unreleased films in the Miramax library include Ryan Phillippe starrer "The I Inside" and Asian features including "Tears of the Black Tiger," "Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger" and "The Legend of Zu."

A few pics have built up cult followings while gathering cobwebs, perhaps none more so than "Prozac Nation," starring Christina Ricci and based on Elizabeth Wurtzel's controversial memoir about her days battling depression as a Harvard coed.

But the latest move by the Weinsteins seems to indicate a willingness to trim its sails while getting as many of its films as possible into the marketplace.

As for the headhunting competition, two other firms, Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds Associates, were said to have pitched for the job at a Disney board meeting last Friday.

Eisner has said he will step down when his contract expires in September 2006. Assuming the board keeps to its declared schedule, many Wall Streeters and industry insiders can't figure how Eisner would, in fact, be able to stay on for so long after a new CEO is named.

Perhaps that's why the board stresses the idea of transition so prominently, both in Monday's statement and in earlier comments by Mitchell when he first discussed Eisner's succession publicly.

Wall Streeters are upbeat on ABC's turnaround and Disney's financial prowess. But they're generally more concerned with the new hire and a fresh start than they are worried about a rocky transition.

Chief operating officer Bob Iger is the only internal Disney candidate being considered to replace Eisner, and he has Eisner's support. As for outsiders, practically every high-profile current and former entertainment exec -- including Peter Chernin, Mel Karmazin, Jonathan Dolgen, Bob Daly, Terry Semel, Tom Freston and Alex Yemenidjian -- have been mentioned.

The rumor mill is sure to heat up with the search now formally launched for a replacement to fill the plum job Eisner has held for the past 20 years.

The Disney CEO search is unfolding against the backdrop of a trial that casts the board and Eisner in a highly unflattering light. The suit, brought by disgruntled Disney shareholders, concerns the hiring, brief tenure and costly firing of agent Michael Ovitz, who was Eisner's second-in-command in 1996.

(Dana Harris in New York contributed to this report.)
(Ian Mohr, Jill Goldsmith, STAFF ).