arsaib4
08-17-2004, 01:01 AM
....by Eugene Hernandez from IndieWire:
Email auto-responders at Miramax told much of the story late Friday. While the email auto-response message is especially useful in August when taking vacation time, at Miramax late last week the notifications gave insight into the changes taking place inside the company. "I am no longer at Miramax. If you need to get a hold of me my personal email is…," read one auto-response, while another said sharply, "I will be out of the office forever. No longer working with Miramax."
13% of Staffers Cut
Miramax Films laid-off 65 of 485 employees on Friday, cutting 13% of its workforce. The publicity, marketing, and production areas of the film company were especially hard hit, mostly cutting middle management and lower-level staffers. The changes, while anticipated and at smaller levels than originally speculated, add to questions about the fate of the company. Insiders are clearly hoping that the move is a step towards things settling down a bit as the Miramax prepares to release ten new films in the coming months.
"This is no reflection on anyone's performance, it is simply an effort to bring staff levels in line with our smaller release slate," explained company spokesman Matthew Hiltzik, adding plainly, "This has nothing to do with Disney."
Uncertain Times
The company has faced uncertain times of late given ongoing attention paid to Harvey and Bob Weinstein's discussions with corporate parent Disney about their futures at the venture. A widespread scenario has Harvey Weinstein leaving to start a new company but distributing his movies through Miramax with younger brother Bob staying to run the successful Dimension Films unit. Those talks are ongoing and it is expected that the situation will be resolved in the next six weeks or so. How such a move would affect the remaining 420 company employees is certainly unclear. Company COO Rick Sands, who still has more than a year left on his contract, is expected to leave Miramax in the coming months.
As the discussions with Disney continue, Miramax is gearing up for what is typically an important period, awards season. Ten films are on tap for the company through the end of the year, ranging from smaller projects to larger Oscar hopefuls. This year's total number of releases will be 18, compared with 22 last year and 31 in 2002. In March of that year the company cut 17% of its staff but had grown back to a larger size recently. Dimension Films, run by Bob Weinstein, only saw slight cuts on Friday, while the Miramax Books division was not affected.
Email auto-responders at Miramax told much of the story late Friday. While the email auto-response message is especially useful in August when taking vacation time, at Miramax late last week the notifications gave insight into the changes taking place inside the company. "I am no longer at Miramax. If you need to get a hold of me my personal email is…," read one auto-response, while another said sharply, "I will be out of the office forever. No longer working with Miramax."
13% of Staffers Cut
Miramax Films laid-off 65 of 485 employees on Friday, cutting 13% of its workforce. The publicity, marketing, and production areas of the film company were especially hard hit, mostly cutting middle management and lower-level staffers. The changes, while anticipated and at smaller levels than originally speculated, add to questions about the fate of the company. Insiders are clearly hoping that the move is a step towards things settling down a bit as the Miramax prepares to release ten new films in the coming months.
"This is no reflection on anyone's performance, it is simply an effort to bring staff levels in line with our smaller release slate," explained company spokesman Matthew Hiltzik, adding plainly, "This has nothing to do with Disney."
Uncertain Times
The company has faced uncertain times of late given ongoing attention paid to Harvey and Bob Weinstein's discussions with corporate parent Disney about their futures at the venture. A widespread scenario has Harvey Weinstein leaving to start a new company but distributing his movies through Miramax with younger brother Bob staying to run the successful Dimension Films unit. Those talks are ongoing and it is expected that the situation will be resolved in the next six weeks or so. How such a move would affect the remaining 420 company employees is certainly unclear. Company COO Rick Sands, who still has more than a year left on his contract, is expected to leave Miramax in the coming months.
As the discussions with Disney continue, Miramax is gearing up for what is typically an important period, awards season. Ten films are on tap for the company through the end of the year, ranging from smaller projects to larger Oscar hopefuls. This year's total number of releases will be 18, compared with 22 last year and 31 in 2002. In March of that year the company cut 17% of its staff but had grown back to a larger size recently. Dimension Films, run by Bob Weinstein, only saw slight cuts on Friday, while the Miramax Books division was not affected.