Still reeling from the shock of close friend and colleague Anthony Minghella's sudden death last Tuesday, Harvey Weinstein's hope for a quiet week around the office was vanquished late Friday as resistance mounted for two of his company's upcoming projects. And you have to know that when you've made enemies of groups as diverse as Bob Marley's family and Star Wars fanboys, things really aren't going your way.
First up was the Hollywood Reporter's scoop that Bob Marley's widow Rita, the executive producer and source memoirist for the Weinstein Company's forthcoming Marley biopic, opposes Weinstein's plan to fast-track the film for a late-2009 release date that would undercut the Martin Scorsese doc about Marley in the works for early 2010. But she already sold the rights, didn't she? Sure, but she didn't — and apparently isn't going to — license Marley's music without a waiting period (the music publisher wants five years) between projects.
The Weinsteins reportedly may take a deal where they agree to postpone their biopic for a cut of the Scorsese doc, but they only wish it could be that easy dealing with the outraged masses protesting Harvey's handling of the Star Wars-geek dramedy Fanboys. The story of a group of fans who travel cross-country to Skywalker Ranch to get their cancer-stricken friend a look at the franchise's Episode One, the film earned plaudits at limited festival screenings in 2007. Not good enough for Harvey, who recruited Little Nicky/Drillbit Taylor maestro Steven Brill to excise the cancer subplot and play up the laffs. The Fanboys community, which united online last month against "Darth Weinstein," has since scored some noteworthy press and will be picketing TWC/Dimension's Superhero Movie upon its release this Friday in L.A. and New York.
This new anti-Weinstein video says it all. Happy Monday, Harvey!
- Rights flap jamming Marley bio [Hollywood Reporter]









Comments
the best is how the recent story in Wired--which appears in print--doesn't reference the cancer sub-plot at all.
but instead, the article teases you to go online to read the "controversy." it's a conde nast fluff piece that ignores the real story--which is shocking considering Wired's usual stance of being against the man despite being The Man.
How was Fanboys mishandled? A piece of poop is a piece of poop.
@TheStarterWife:
the fluff piece from WIRED that ran in print with no mention of the scripts being changed or film being re-edited. especially when it was that same script that rallied the geeky fanbase and fat "quote whore" harry.
@mitchel_stevens:
idiot.
the real story: WIRED
I know these people. They may seem like a bunch of sweet, chubby virgins, but nobody messes with fanboys' dreams and lives. Didn't DeNiro do a movie about that?
Start a discussion:
Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?