The selling of Miramax was a sad chapter in the story of Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who named the enormously productive production company after their parents. The brothers have now signed a deal to regain creative control over their vast back catalogue and in the filmmaking world that means one thing: Sequels.
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Most notable among the possible plans is a proposed sequel to Shakespeare In Love, which won Best Picture at the Oscars in 1999. Harvey Weinstein told Deadline, "I personally have never made a sequel, but I will make Shakespeare In Love as one. I’ve always wanted to do that and now we have the impetus to." The previous film ended with Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) sailing off to America and Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) staying behind to become the biggest playwright in history.
Also mooted is a sequel to Rounders, a poker movie starring Edward Norton and Matt Damon, which was only moderately liked by critics and made only a very small profit at the box office. That said, the original film's stars have become much more famous in the intervening years so any reunion would probably be given much more attention than the first. Weinstein said, "I would say that’s going to be instantaneous. [Writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman] have a great idea, a way to make it more international where you start the card game in Paris, that’s all I want to say. There might be a certain beautiful Parisian actress involved in it, and then we’re off to the racetrack and Vegas with Matty and Edward Norton, and a new supervillain to replace John Malkovich." Deadline suggests that "new supervillain" might be Robert De Niro.
On the small screen, work has begun on developing TV shows based on Good Will Hunting, Swingers and Flirting With Disaster. With the vast array of titles still in the library - everything from Pulp Fiction to She's All That to Amelie - expect a lot more familiar to Miramax titles to resurface soon.
