Weinstein Co

Weinstein Co. has struck a deal to restructure its debt in the wake of several film flops, but the arrangement leaves the independent production company with a formidable task if it is to turn around its fortunes. The settlement calls for the New York studio, run by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, to turn over about 200 titles from its film catalog to Goldman Sachs and insurance company Assured Guarantee, which were owed $450 million as part of a $1.2-billion financing package the investment bank arranged for Weinstein Co. when it launched in 2005, two people familiar with the situation said Thursday.

Independent movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose cigarette habit was once so extreme he was fined for lighting up in a restroom on a British Airways flight, has become Hollywood's newest anti-smoking messenger. On Tuesday, California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer announced that Weinstein Co. was the first movie company to agree to insert anti-smoking advertisements in DVDs that depict smoking.

The gig: Co-founder of Amoeba Music, the world's largest independent record retailer, with close to 1 million albums in three California locations ? Hollywood, Berkeley and San Francisco. Rolling Stone magazine in September named it among the nation's 25 best record stores, calling it "simply the most thorough and welcoming place a record lover could hope to shop. " Personal: Met his wife, Valenta, 17 years ago at the first Amoeba Music store in Berkeley. Likes to listen to Jaga Jazzist, Scorch Trio, Miles Davis, John Coltrane.

A new documentary on the backlash against the Dixie Chicks after critical remarks the group's lead singer made about President Bush has brought disharmony between the film's distributor and two TV networks. On Thursday, Weinstein Co. alleged that NBC and the CW had refused to air nationwide commercials to promote "Shut Up & Sing." Weinstein said NBC wrote that the network "cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush."

Awards season officially kicks into fifth gear with Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hotel. As nominees prepare to descend upon the carpet, studios rush to produce elaborate parties to celebrate them. It's not news to you that you probably aren't invited to these Champagne-soaked fetes (hey, your name isn't Ben Affleck, right?), but you're still curious about them. Here are some of this weekend's most highly anticipated soirees. FRIDAY W magazine's Best Performances: This party has become a glitzy Golden Globes tradition with W's editor in chief Stefano Tonchi, it's editor at large Lynn Hirschberg and André Balazs celebrating some of the most glamorous images shot of Hollywood in 2012 inside the penthouse of Balazs' Chateau Marmont hotel.

A cracked cosmonaut helmet, footsteps in the moon dust, a mysterious flash of light outside a spaceship window — these are some of the images the Weinstein Co. has released from "Apollo 18," a documentary-style sci-fi thriller opening Friday that the studio is marketing as a movie culled from "found footage" from a U.S. space mission. "In 1972, the United States sent two astronauts on a secret mission to the moon," the trailer says. "Despite decades of denial by NASA and the Department of Defense, classified footage of the mission was leaked to the media.

Can't wait to roll out the fondue, sample ballots and Champagne for your own at-home Oscar party? You'll be in fine company as the stars roll out to their own celebrations surrounding the big show. Here are a few of the weekend's biggies: Starting out ahead of the game is the Weinstein Co. , which returns to the Soho House with jeweler Chopard to toast its nominees on Saturday night. Keeping it informal and sentimental, Weinstein is known for taking the mike and serenading the journey of his filmmakers and stars to Oscar Sunday.

America's largest cable operator and largest online video company are heating up the battle for the country's eyeballs. Comcast Corp. unveiled plans Tuesday to launch an online video-on-demand subscription service featuring thousands of TV re-runs and older movies for a flat monthly fee. Netflix Inc., the pioneer of that business, announced a deal to stream movies from Weinstein Co., including the Oscar favorite "The Artist. " The flurry of announcements demonstrates the fervor with which traditional video providers like Comcast and cutting-edge ones like Netflix are seeking to attract and retain consumers who have a growing number of entertainment viewing options.

Some fuss was recently made over the role President Obama plays in "SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden," a docu-drama premiering on National Geographic Channel on Sunday. There were accusations that the timing - days before the election - and the late-hour insertion of additional footage of the president, including a voice-over describing the decision-making process, were designed to boost Obama's reelection bid. Despite subsequent protests from the network and the filmmakers, the partisan kerfuffle can work only to their advantage; no doubt more people will watch "SEAL Team Six" in light of the mild controversy.

Struggling to compete with big-budget movies at the box office, indie films are increasingly finding a lucrative niche in one of Hollywood's fastest-growing markets: video on demand. The number of films released in theaters and video on demand at the same time nearly doubled from 2009 to 2011 and is projected to jump about 30% this year, to 68. The dark comedy "Bachelorette" exemplifies the trend: It has grossed about $5.5 million from video-on-demand (or VOD) rentals since premiering in August, compared with a paltry $418,000 earned in theaters.