Weinsteins Trying to Get Their Name Back

Source: Studio Briefing

Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who coined the name Miramax after the names of their parents (Miriam and Max) are reportedly in negotiations with Disney's Bob Iger to get the name back.

Disney recently shuttered Miramax's New York headquarters, dismissed the president and drastically reduced staff. When the Weinsteins left Disney in 2004, they tried to buy the name then too, but former Disney CEO Michael Eisner refused to sell it to them. If the Weinsteins are successful, they will ditch "The Weinstein Company" name and rebrand their studio Miramax.

The Weinstein Company has suffered through a string of flops, but they recently scored a much-needed hit with Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, which became the director's highest-earning movie (unadjusted for inflation). The studio's next release is the Cormac McCarthy adaptation The Road, opening November 25th, but given the film's dark tone, it's likely the brothers are pinning more hope on Rob Marshall's musical Nine to break through at the box office. The film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren and Marion Cotillard, is a musical take on Fellini's 8½, and it will open wide on Christmas Day.