Last Thursday, Miramax the studio responsible for putting independent film on map in the mid-nineties with such films as The English Patient, The Piano, Pulp Fiction, Sex, Lies and Videotape and Clerks shut its office doors for the final time. Disney made the decision costing 80 people their jobs and leaving 6 films still in the release queue with a very uncertain future. The studio has been dying a slow death since the founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein left in 2005 due to their differences with then Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
What was once one of the most respected independent distributors has become nothing more than a vanity art label for Disney and has been faltering ever since. The Weinsteins have expressed an interest in purchasing the name Miramax back from Disney, which was a play off their parents names Max and Miriam; but have yet to hear back. Disney has stated the would sell Miramax outright for 1.5 billion but with the luck Weinsteins have had since I don’t see that as a possibility.
After the jump wax nostalgic, and check out a retrospective of Miramax logo trailers throughout the years.
Via TheWrap.com