If Miramax was the house that Quentin Tarantino built, is Weinstein Co. the house that Tarantino will save?
That answer may become clearer next weekend when the director's 153-minute, campy World War II action movie "Inglourious Basterds," starring Brad Pitt, opens.
A lot more than the fate of the free world is riding on whether Tarantino's renegade soldiers succeed in their mission to kill Hitler. A hit could give Bob and Harvey Weinstein some much needed breathing room and perhaps quiet -- at least temporarily -- speculation that their production company is on the ropes.
Of course, the reason there is so much smoke around Weinstein Co., which the duo founded in 2005 after selling Miramax to Walt Disney Co., is because there's definitely a fire.
The company said as much in June, when it hired Miller Buckfire, a New York-based financial consulting firm that boasts on its website that it is "distinguished for its advisory work with overleveraged companies."
Further fueling concerns about the health of one of Hollywood's last independent studios is the constant shuffling and postponement of several of its movies over the last two years. Among the films that have had their release dates pushed are "All Good Things," "Youth in Revolt," "The Road," "Shanghai" and "Piranha 3-D."
"The Road," which is considered a potential Oscar contender and now set for release in October, probably will be moved -- again -- to December.
When it comes to handicapping the fate of the Weinsteins, the industry is divided into two camps: those who seem to want the mercurial brothers to fall on their faces, and those who see them as gutsy impresarios willing to make the kinds of arty and risky movie bets that big studios won't touch.
"They are great partners for people trying to make good movies," said Nick Wechsler, one of the producers of "The Road," which is based on the post-apocalyptic novel by Cormac McCarthy and stars Charlize Theron and Viggo Mortensen.
The problem is, making good movies became less of a priority for the Weinsteins over the last few years.
The Weinsteins raised $1.2 billion in equity and debt from investors -- including Goldman Sachs, advertising giant WPP, French broadcaster TF1 and Internet mogul Mark Cuban -- with a mission to assemble instantly a vertically integrated media empire.
Besides seeking to release up to 20 movies a year, the brothers invested in a cable network, social networking site, video distributor and even a fading fashion label.
