The attempted sale of the Weinstein Company is officially dead. That fact has moved the once very profitable production company to declare bankruptcy. The sale, reported to be in the ballpark of $500 million, had fallen through because the bidding company did not want to meet a Weinstein Company requirement for an injection of cash to keep the company afloat until the deal could be completed. It is difficult to see how negotiators for the company could be picky about the conditions of the sale, given the severely damaged brand of the company. It’s not easy dealing with being cornered in such a situation, but damaged goods are damaged goods.
That said, the statement made in a letter by Weinstein’s lawyers to the bidders made no sense: “Despite your previous statements, it is simply impossible to avoid the conclusion that you have no intention to sign an agreement — much less to close one — and no desire to save valuable assets and jobs.” The idea of “bad faith” here is currently the hallmark of Weinstein and why the company is up for sale to begin with. Trying to make the issue one of “valuable assets and jobs” is pretty insulting. The people employed by Weinstein did nothing to bring the company, and their jobs, to its current position.
From a different perspective, the deal might actually have taken place if it were not for the actions of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Discovering the negotiations, he filed suit claiming that the Weinstein Company “enabled” Weinstein to commit his acts of sexual abuse, assault, and battery. In other words, Schneidermann wanted to prevent the deal from taking place to potentially grab any of Harvey Weinstein’s assets in the event of future criminal or civil actions against Weinstein. That complicated the negotiations, and thanks to Schneidermann’s interference, it appears there will be nothing for potential plaintiffs to grab because the company will file for bankruptcy. In retrospect, it was a stupid move and may have only been a grab for media attention.
The legal fact is that Harvey Weinstein had no operating interests in the company for several months, as uncomfortable and embarrassing as that might have been to Schneidermann. Weinstein loses nothing by his interference, and he and many others may be secreting laughing at the attempts to destroy anything that has Harvey Weinstein’s name associated with it. The real losers are indeed the employees of the company, who got lost in this national game of Vendetta. Apparently, anyone associated with Weinstein no matter how vague the connection may be, is simply acceptable collateral damage and grease for the treads of the opponents.
The blowback from this act of lunacy by Schneidermann that forced the bankruptcy was immediate. According to Indie Wire, “Several producers told IndieWire that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit “blew up” their hopes of retrieving work “stuck” at TWC [The Weinstein Company]. “I don’t know if anyone can pull anything out of there,” said a staffer at a production company with a TWC adaptation hanging in the balance. “It sucks.” Films that cast stars such as Joaquin Phoenix, Nicole Kidman, and Benedict Cumberbatch are now in production limbo. Some films are completed but are the property of TWC, which means any profits and royalties are tied up.
If all this isn’t bad enough, the word is that the sale of TWC would have been under a condition that would have created a $40 million victim’s compensation fund for the women affected by Weinstein’s actions. The list of stupidities by the Attorney General may reach epic proportions once the dust has settled and the losses by the victims, the producers, directors, actors, and the employees are all added up.
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