Smash hit

“If you look at Master and Commander, Cold Mountain, Gangs of New York, from Miramax’s point of view, the combined losses of all three is less than $20 million. And, because we have huge markets in DVD and high definition DVD, I think that, as these are classic movies, all three will be recouped in five years. Then there will be the gravy. They will generate $10 million a year in television and video. When they write the books on these five movies, which cost a colossal amount, we will be in profit. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong — but I don’t think so. I am prepared to be corrected on that, but we’ll see what happens.”

Weinstein’s humility in the face of potential failure is tempered by the fact that he has given himself a five-year deadline. This kind of slow-burning profitability runs counter to current Hollywood thinking, and is a throwback to the halcyon days of the 1970s.

If the Disney purchase allowed the Weinsteins to corner the market in independent movies, open up the middle ground (with The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love) and shift gear into the fast lane of large-budget movies, many of the original executives who brokered the Miramax buy-out are now gone, leaving Eisner, the least sympathetic to the Brothers Weinstein. Katzenberg defected to Dream Works in 1994, and Wells was killed in a helicopter crash in the same year.

Was this when the relationship began to curdle? It is at this point that Matthew Hiltzik, Miramax’s indefatigable PR, interrupts the conversation to declare that Harvey cannot answer any questions about Disney because of the ongoing negotiations. For reasons best known to himself, Harvey ignores Hiltzik’s gambit.

“No. I’m gonna answer that. I respect Neil as a critic and I’m gonna answer it. Jeffrey brought us into the company, Frank finished the deal. Michael was a part of it and, at the beginning, I thought the three of them with us would be a partnership for ever. It was a shock when Frank died. It was another shock for us when Jeffrey left. There were great years with Joe Roth, and it was a shock when he left.

“On a constructive level, the fact that all the executives that we got along well with disappeared was unfortunate. It was difficult for us.

“But it is not all about Michael. I know he is a first ranker in some respects but, in retrospect, I realise how valuable Jeffrey was, and how valuable Joe Roth was. Contrary to public belief, I respect Michael. It’s been difficult at times, but I know that he loves movies, he loves live theatre. It’s just that he has his own wavelength, you know?

“The one thing to say is that, whatever the situation is, we are leaving a $2 billion asset that we created and named after Mum and Dad.”

Clearly, Harvey is proud of the legacy he leaves. But it is more than a portfolio of movies, it is also a philosophy of film-making in the broadest sense. For good or ill, the Weinsteins changed the face of film production for ever, shook up the studios by coming on like gangbusters, and championed talent and art over the bottom line. They also left a trail of devastation, even among their nearest and dearest.

If Miramax were a movie, what would Weinstein, aka Harvey Scissorhands, edit out? “Having gone through a situation where I’ve lost 70lb after giving up sugar in my diet, I wish I’d had a doctor who would have told me that I was diabetic and that sugar had a bad effect on my body and the adrenalin levels.

“Over the years, as you know, I’ve had four or five bad blows — you know, shouting matches. I feel calmer now. And I really wish that I could exercise. I’ve been very good, and I have tried but, in the end, I’ve had to leave that out because, for 90 per cent of this life, I live the bigger picture — I’m so busy I don’t have time for personal trainers.”

Clearly, Harvey Weinstein is at a crossroads in his life, both professionally and personally. While we will have to wait to learn the results of the negotiations with Disney, it is evident that his marriage has ended, although he politely requests that his personal life not be speculated upon for the sake of his children.