In a statement released to media on Sunday evening, the Weinstein Company confirmed what many have speculated for some time - the company is due to begin bankruptcy proceedings after negotiations to sell the indie studio fell through.
The news, first reported by the LA Times, have it that the deal to sell TWC to Maria Contreras-Sweet and an investor group was worth approximately half a billion dollars and would have revived the ailing company's fortunes in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandals.
Speaking to a number of producers and directors with films still on TWC's slate, IndieWire believes that there are close to 40 films that are now effectively in limbo and may not even see the light of day. Mary Magdalene, the upcoming biopic with Rooney Mara and Jaoquin Phoenix, has successfully secured an international release but no date has been confirmed for the US.
Meanwhile, the Benedict Cumberbatch / Michael Shannon-starring The Current War, which was expected to play some part in the Oscar race, has now been entirely sidelined in the fallout of the Weinstein scandal. Not only that, Taylor Sheridan's Wind River - which was speculated to also play some role in the Oscars - has been blanked by AMPAS voters. The Upside, the US remake of French drama The Intouchables, is also in limbo and stars Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart and Uma Thurman.
It's not just movies, either. A planned TV miniseries based on Mario Puzo's final novel, Omerta, was also expected at some point in the near future, as was the long-awaited Judy Garland biopic with Anne Hathaway seemingly attached to star.
Usually, with bankruptcy proceedings, the assets are sold off to the highest bidder to help pay for outstanding debts, so it's likely that some of these films may simply wind up on some other studio's slate - or, most likely, as a direct-to-VOD release on Netflix, Amazon or Hulu.
The other part of this is what happens to the existing library of content that TWC owns. By far, this is the most lucrative part of their offering, but again, where they all end up remains to be seen.
Via Indiewire
