What's Up With The Weinstein Saga

The Harvey Weinstein story is one of those "you couldn't make this stuff up" sagas.  The latest is that Harvey is now on trail in New York City facing criminal charges - that should be interesting.  But a less intriguing chapter to the story is what has happened with the once fabled Hollywood production/distribution company - The Weinstein Company (TWC).

Well, the company has been sold to Dallas, TX, based Lantern Capital - which specializes in purchasing distressed businesses, re-structuring them, and re-selling them. Lantern's prior purchases have included everything from car dealerships to a zinc recycling company.  Lantern purchased TWC for $310m, a bargain, as the Weinsteins had grown it into an Oscar winning, indie film juggernaut; however, TWC needs rehab and rebranding, big-time.  Don't forget, Harvey was the prime-mover for the #MeToo movement.

Harv, facing the music in NYC court

Harvey, and his brother Bob, had built up Miramax from scratch and started TWC after selling Miramax to Disney. As part of the deal, Lantern will assume more than $100m in debt. In exchange, Lantern will be the owners of TWC's 277 movies and television shows.

Whether or not Lantern can turn TWC around is questionable, as they have no prior experience with dealing in the Hollywood arena. My guess is that Lantern will complete the financing and distribution of the films already in production by TWC and then go from there.