Indepedent Miramax Mirrors the Majors : Movies: The independent company, riding the momentum of “sex, lies, and videotape,” is buying up films for distribution.

In a depressed independent film market where most distributors are playing it safe, Miramax Films isn’t.

Consider:

* “sex, lies, and videotape,” acquired in April for $1.1 million plus a commitment to spend $1 million in advertising, has surpassed $20 million in the box office. Co-chairman Harvey Weinstein announced plans to launch a major Oscar campaign for the dark-hued hit.

* Miramax’s acquisition of film maker Hal Hartley’s “The Unbelievable Truth” at the Independent Feature Film Market in New York beefed up a stockpile of 11 features (combined with sister label Millimeter Films) slated through 1990--rivaling the output of some studios.

* Miramax became the first tenant in Robert DeNiro’s glamorous new production complex in New York, opened a Los Angeles sales office and named Russell Schwartz, former president of Island Pictures, as its executive vice president of marketing.

* At the National Assn. of Theater Owners’ Showeast convention in Atlantic City this month, Miramax was saluted as the Independent Film Distribution Company of the Year.

“Miramax is obviously hot right now. They’re building an incredible release schedule of films that is bigger than any other independent company,” said Gary Meyer, executive vice president of the Landmark Theater chain.

Using the momentum of “sex, lies, and videotape,” Miramax is buying up films for distribution at an accelerated rate, often before other distributors have a chance to look at them. Some say that by offering exhibitors a consistent stream of films, Miramax is beginning to resemble--in terms of distribution--an independent version of a major studio.

“That’s what you expect from a studio--a steady stream of films of a certain caliber and appeal with the financial resources to market those films,” one marketing consultant said. “Miramax is pretty much operating on that basis. Today, even a few of the historical majors can’t do that.”

“In one sense, Miramax is almost like a studio. They are supplying steady product,” said Lisbeth Baron, vice president of securities analysis for McKinley Allsopp. “But they haven’t come in with a preconceived strategy of cranking out 10 pictures a year just to fill slots. They’re coming up with one gem at a time.”

Miramax’s winning streak began in March, when the small company whipped up sensational national publicity for “Scandal,” a provocative film about British defense minister John Profumo’s sexual affair that toppled his government in 1963. The political drama grossed $8.5 million domestically, more than any Miramax film to that time. Then came the smash success of “sex, lies, and videotape.”

On Nov. 10, Miramax is releasing “My Left Foot,” a well-reviewed film starring Daniel Day Lewis as the physically handicapped Christy Brown, Ireland’s celebrated author and painter who produced works with the only mobile part of his body.

The ongoing challenge for independents is to find theater space. Since they don’t have the budgets to market and promote their films on the wide scale that studios do, independents often have to be content screening their films in smaller art houses. Miramax’s Weinstein says he may have found a way to change that.

“By releasing a steady flow of product, you get the best theaters in the country,” he said. “The bigger theater chains provide strong word of mouth and they hold onto products longer.”

Entertainment attorney Peter Deckom, who handles Miramax, said it is one of the only independents that actually gets advances and guarantees from exhibitors. But one executive at a national theater chain said that no independent company is guaranteed screen space. “Miramax is still operating on a film-by-film basis,” the executive said. “If Miramax doesn’t have a title that will do business, then there will be no room for that film.”

Deckom said that Miramax will continue delivering successful films because of its marketing awareness. “Any movie they release theatrically has been tested, numerous times,” he said. “If the audience indicates that the movie can be better, they reshoot scenes and recut the film. They take a great deal of control in shaping their films, much like Disney does. They consider the reshooting of a movie as much of a marketing as a production decision.”

Miramax’s film acquisitions include the romantic comedy “Strike It Rich,” with Molly Ringwald, Robert Lindsay and John Gielgud; “Cinema Paradiso,” a funny, nostalgic homage to cinema that won the Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival; the love story “Strapless,” starring Blair Brown, Bridget Fonda and Bruno Ganz, and “The Tall Guy,” a Jeff Goldblum comedy that was named best film at the 1989 Cinetex Film Festival.

There are some who contend that a large release schedule of films can result in reduced quality.

“One scary thing about the independent market is that there are only a few quality films and too many companies,” said Tom Bernard, vice president of marketing for Orion Classics.

Orion Classics has built a solid reputation as a distributor of foreign-language films. Its current Spanish comedy, “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” has grossed $7 million theatrically--unusually high for a foreign-language film. Jane Fonda reportedly has purchased the rights to remake it as an American film.

“If there’s nothing to buy, I’ve seen companies stretch to get films that don’t belong in a specialized company,” Bernard said. “If you release 10 pictures just to fill a quota, you put yourself in a bad position. You lose leverage in theaters, you lose money in the box office and you hurt the whole independent community--because you’re filling theaters with B pictures that don’t deliver.”

To help keep Miramax’s product line pure, Weinstein and his brother and co-chairman, Bob Weinstein, created Millimeter Films. The Miramax offshoot releases such campy titles as “Return of the Swamp Thing” and thrillers like “Edge of Sanity,” starring Anthony Perkins, and the Nov. 3 release of “Stepfather II.” Weinstein said Millimeter is for “genre” films, but some sources say that the division was launched to distribute more commercial, mass-appeal films that Miramax does not want to attach its name to.

By investing money in a large release schedule, Miramax has placed itself in a precarious position. Independent companies generally cannot afford to release films that fail theatrically--unlike studios that have extensive financial holdings, real estate investments, international distribution channels, vast film libraries and extensive lines of bank credit to help them through the lean times.

In the past, independents could rely on video sales to prop up slow box-office performers. But that market has been mostly taken away, as video retailers are demanding A-title movies with a successful theatrical run.

“Independent companies are getting real nervous,” independent producer’s representative Jeff Dowd said. “You have to look at it like Las Vegas. If you’re Donald Trump and you lose $50 million, so what? But if you or I go to Vegas, take out a $10,000 loan and lose it, that’s it. It’s like a poker game: Once your stake is gone, you’re out.”

One exhibitor said that Miramax is currently enjoying its “15 minutes in the spotlight.” He was alluding to the numerous independent distributors over the years that blossomed with the sudden success of a box-office hit, and then withered when they tried to make the leap to feature film production. (Miramax has its hand in three co-productions: “Hardware,” “The Big Guy” and “Rage in Harlem.”)

The question now is, how long will Miramax’s winning streak last?

“Is Miramax a flash in the pan? That question is always hindsight,” said Ira Deutchman, an independent film marketer who was one of the founders of Cinecom International Films. “When a company has the sudden success Miramax has, it is positioning itself for a fall. But that is when the company can really prove its brilliance. The jury is going to be out for quite some time with Miramax.”