From Variety - Oct. 22, 2001
'Gangs' gone from Miramax's Oscar run
Scorsese pic not a contender for a statue this year
By CHARLES LYONS
NEW YORK -- Oscar will not have the
chance to consider Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" this year.
After pulling the film from its slated Dec. 21 bow (Daily
Variety, Oct. 9), Miramax had flirted with the idea of releasing the
pic for a brief and limited Oscar run. But a
source close to the
studio has confirmed that Miramax has nixed such a plan.
It's still uncertain when next year the pic will be
released, and whether it will unspool at the Cannes Intl. Film
Festival. But it's believed distrib is eyeing a
summer-release
slotting.
Also unclear is which companies, if any, will lose
money because of the date change and the nixed Oscar run. Initial
Entertainment Group created an limited liability
company to
finance $65 million of the pic's estimated $90 million budget.
That money -- cobbled together from international distribs
in exchange for specific international rights -- is sitting in a
bank. It will not be paid out until the pic is
released in the
respective territories.
In pushing off an Oscar run until
next year, Miramax is buying ample opportunity to launch the pic and
give Scorsese the best possible shot for a best director
kudo.
The director has been nominated numerous times and has yet
to walk home with an Oscar.
"If Marty (Scorsese) and Harvey
(Weinstein) feel that the film needs to be moved, then we will
respect that," IEG's Graham King told Daily Variety.
Outside
of "Gangs," Miramax has several Oscar contenders this year, which
may have factored into Harvey and Bob Weinstein's decision-making
process.
Miramax's Oscar hopefuls include "Amelie," which
one source said the studio may try and qualify for both best foreign
film and best film categories; "The Shipping
News," starring
Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey and helmed by Lasse Halstrom; and "Kate
& Leopold," starring Meg Ryan and now set for a Dec. 21 bow.
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