Okay, for “home,” read “resting place.” Scrap those sweet-but-always-unlikely reports that the high-end company would be returning to the warm embrace of its parents, the finally outbiddenBrothers Weinstein. The story has a less sentimental ending, but an ending nonetheless — Disney has sold Miramax to one Filmyard Holdings Llc, run by non-film businessmen Ronald Tutor and Tom Barrack.
The price? A cool $660 million.
Though details are few, The Hollywood Reporter states that Filmyard plans to launch a new production company that will both cover the Miramax library (consisting of 700+ titles) and make the occasional new feature. The Miramax you know, in other words, is history, reduced to a name-only warehouse of sorts. But you saw that coming. You can read the business-y nuts and bolts of the deal here, if you so wish; I’ll leave you with Disney chief Robert Iger’s parting shot…
Although we are very proud of Miramax’s many accomplishments, our current strategy for Walt Disney Studios is to focus on the development of great motion pictures under the Disney, Pixar and Marvel brands … We are delighted that we have found a home for the Miramax brand and Miramax’s very highly regarded motion picture library.
Does this mean that the bonanza of bargain Miramax DVDs in assorted retail outlets is drawing to a close? Take your time, Filmyard. (UPDATE: The Telegraph’s Tim Robey has a nice elegy for the company here.)