Another one Bites the Dust

Miramax is done and gone. As the current CEO Daniel Battsek announced that he will step down in 2010, Disney announced that the New York office will shut down and 'some' of the remaining employees will be relocated to Burbank, CA. Sad news. Miramax became famous for being the indie label that launched Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh into superstardom. That all ended when the Weinstein Brothers left to create their own company, but the company still had some solid hits in the past few years like No Country for Old Men, which not only was successful financially but also won several Oscars including Best Picture. 

This is for sure a big blow for the indie producers out there. I'm glad that Fox Searchlight and a few others continue to believe, but of course Fox Atomic, Paramount Vantage and a few others are also gone. If we learned something these past weeks is that indie films have power. Paranormal Activity is now the most profitable film of all time, having cost only $13,000 and in route to generate over $100 million in Box Office. 

As I said, sad news for the indie film industry, but hopefully someone else will pick up where Miramax left off. I'm sure it will not be the Weinstein Bros. again, but who knows.