Weinstein scandal puts several movies on hold
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Harvey Weinstein’s downfall may also down his slate of upcoming movies — including his solo live-action directorial debut.
Weinstein announced in August that he would direct “Mila 18,” an adaptation of Leon Uris’ novel about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
“It was a book that inspired me,” Weinstein, who directed the 1986 comedy “Playing for Keeps” with his brother Bob, wrote in a Deadline Hollywood piece. “It’s the triumph of a few Jewish rebels (men and women) who think they’re going to die and instead defeat thousands of German soldiers in the ghetto.”
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With the film exec now in rehab, questions are swirling about what will happen with various Weinstein Co. projects. The company’s name has already been stripped from the Amazon series “The Romanoffs,” and the phones at the Weinstein Co. are being answered “TWC.”
Weinstein’s supposed next big Oscar contender, “The Current War” — starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison — was scheduled to be released in November, but has now been postponed indefinitely into next year.
“The Upside,” with Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston is still slated for wide release in March, but it will not be getting an Oscar-qualifying run, as had been previously discussed.
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Two other Weinstein projects may be in limbo: the movie version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway show “In the Heights,” and an adaptation of Lisa Bloom’s book about the Trayvon Martin case, “Suspicion Nation.”
“Harvey’s name is toxic now. No one wants to be associated with him,” one Hollywood veteran told me.
The Weinstein Co. had no comment, but an insider said, “This is speculation. None of the things you’re reporting seem to be known at all right now.”
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It was announced Monday that Colony Capital would be giving the struggling business a cash infusion.
The new funds will be needed to distribute three films from Bob’s genre division, Dimension Films, including the Robert De Niro comedy “The War With Grandpa,” and “Paddington 2,” with Hugh Grant as the villain.
This article originally appeared in Page Six.