Mellow Is a Relative Term at Miramax

At the world premiere here this week of “The Who’s Tommy: The Amazing Journey,” a documentary on the seminal rock opera, Harvey Weinstein planted his bearlike frame in front of the exit door and worked the room, as usual.

The Miramax Films co-founder is a legend on the festival circuit, as much for his tough-guy persona as for his marketing and acquisition skills. But this year there’s a twist: Weinstein is making the rounds largely on behalf of his wife, producer Eve Chilton, whose “Tommy” is to air on the Disney Channel.

Friends suggest that Weinstein has mellowed in the wake of Miramax’s sale to Disney last year for a reported $60 million. The deal liberated him--and his brother Bob, Miramax co-chairman--from the intense financial pressures that go along with the high-wire world of independent film. It also made the two of them rich.

“They appear to be a lot more confident,” says one associate. “There’s a distinct difference in their anxiety level. They’re still streetwise, rock-and-roll kind of guys, but there’s not the same wildness in their eyes.”

Sitting at a local watering hole midway through the Sundance Film Festival, encased in cigarette smoke, Harvey Weinstein agrees that he has turned a corner emotionally, saying, “Bob and I are infinitely more relaxed.”

But mellowness is a relative thing. Competitors say Miramax remains as aggressive as ever on the acquisition front. And Weinstein still goes ballistic at the mention of critics who have accused the company of ruthless behavior in the past, or of those who would challenge its creative decisions.

One of Miramax’s biggest projects is “The Crossing Guard,” a Sean Penn-produced film starring Jack Nicholson that’s shooting now. While Weinstein calls the concept and casting “brilliant,” for months he has been seething over an interview in which producer Scott Rudin (“The Firm”) criticized the script.

“Scott Rudin will eat his words and his entire office,” Weinstein says. Weinstein also brushes aside criticism that Miramax has become too free-spending--on everything from Academy Award promotions to star-driven projects such as “The Crossing Guard”--now that Disney is signing the checks.

“The whole budget of ‘Crossing Guard’ is $10 million. Would you do a Jack Nicholson movie for $10 million?” asks Weinstein, who says Miramax made favorable deals on some films by agreeing to share more of the profits with filmmakers.

Part salesman, part showman, Weinstein contends that Miramax still has the most eclectic and interesting slate in the specialized-film market, which has become more competitive since the formation of Savoy Pictures, Gramercy Pictures, Fine Line Features and a new 20th Century Fox classics division, in addition to established companies such as Sony Classics and Samuel Goldwyn.

*

Few would dispute Miramax’s enviable position, given the company’s Barnum & Bailey-like promotional skills and its uncanny eye for art house movies for the masses, which Weinstein calls “the taste factor.”

The company’s recent hits include “The Piano” and “Like Water for Chocolate,” which so far have taken in a combined $43.4 million domestically. On the opposite side of the ledger is “Into the West” ($4.8 million in the United States), which bombed twice after Miramax unsuccessfully re-released it.

The company will roll out 15 to 20 films this year under its autonomous deal with Disney, including “Little Buddha,” “House of the Spirits,” “Pulp Fiction” and two films screening at Sundance: “Sirens” and “Fresh.”

People close to the companies say Miramax and Disney are getting along well, despite the strong-willed nature of both Weinstein and Disney Studios Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. “He and Jeffrey like each other,” says one friend.

Weinstein, who has creative autonomy on films costing $12 million or less, says Katzenberg plays a valuable “devil’s advocate” role. Disney also gives Miramax more muscle in the marketplace. “People know that if we need to access the big machine, the big machine is there for us,” Weinstein says.

*

On top of that, Disney recently handed Miramax a project called “Smoke,” from “Joy Luck Club” director Wayne Wang. Miramax also has a publishing deal under Disney’s Hyperion division, which resulted in the upcoming book version of “The Piano.” Writer David Rabe has just been hired to novelize “The Crossing Guard.”

Disney bought Miramax just after Miramax’s phenomenal success with “The Crying Game,” which grossed $60 million at the domestic box office. Despite that and other hits that included “sex, lies and videotape,” “Truth or Dare” and “My Left Foot,” rumors persist that the company was near collapse.

The Weinsteins have denied that, saying Miramax earned $4.7 million on revenue of $75 million in 1992, before “The Crying Game” caught fire.

After pushing the edge of the sexual envelope with movies such as “Scandal” and “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!,” Weinstein also denies that the association with family-oriented Disney has forced a more conservative approach.

“ ‘Sirens’ is one of the sexiest movies you’ll ever see, and classy,” Weinstein says of the upcoming film, which is getting good word of mouth here.

Of his low-key presence at Sundance, Weinstein says the sale of the company has given him the freedom to delegate more authority and concentrate on his first love: marketing. Friends say he is also devoting more time to production.

But Weinstein displays his characteristic bravado when he insists that Miramax has already beat the competition to the punch at Sundance, by acquiring “Picture Bride” before the festival began. The movie was subsequently pulled for further tinkering.

“I hate to disappoint my peers, but I think we already have the No. 1 movie that was going to be here,” Weinstein says with a smile.