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Amazon drops big-budget series following Weinstein scandal
The sexual assault claims against Harvey Weinstein and Amazon's Roy Price are having repercussions for The Weinstein Company's involvement in online video. Amazon has dropped a TWC-produced drama series that would have starred Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore, and it's wresting control of its period piece The Romanoffs from TWC. The internet giant didn't detail its reasons for severing ties, but De Niro, Moore and director David O. Russell said they backed Amazon's decision "in light of recent news and out of respect for all those affected."
Twitter suspends Rose McGowan's account (updated)
Over the last week or so, rumors about movie executive Harvey Weinstein have turned into actual reports of sexual harassment and rape by The New York Times and The New Yorker. As a result of those public reports, he has been fired by the board of his own company, while many in Hollywood (and beyond) have come forward to talk more openly about incidents of sexual harassment and assault. One of the most notable voices has been that of actress Rose McGowan, who tweeted last year that her own assault has "been an open secret in Hollywood/Media & they shamed me while adulating my rapist." Tonight, Twitter temporarily pulled the plug on her account.
Netflix and IMAX will get 'Crouching Tiger 2' on the same day
Netflix's tight relationship with The Weinstein Company has scored another win, and the streaming service's first big movie debut -- but definitely not its last. The two revealed tonight that next year when the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon arrives in theaters, it will also be available streaming on Netflix at the same time. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend also shares a writer, John Fusco, with another Weinstein/Netflix team-up, the Marco Polo series that's arriving next year. So far, studio efforts at sending movies home day-and-date with their theater release like this year's Snowpiercer have centered around VOD, but Netflix subscribers worldwide (the movie is being shot in English) are getting this flick at no extra cost. Back in 2011, Universal wanted to charge viewers $60 to watch Tower Heist at home instead of the theater, weeks after it debuted -- this seems like a slightly better value.
Netflix plans season 3 of Lilyhammer, new show based on Marco Polo
Netflix's exclusive content push is rolling on, starting with news that Lilyhammer will return for a third season later this year. As usual Netflix hasn't released viewer numbers or statistics, but season two's eight episodes have apparently done well enough in a month to justify another go-round -- a good sign for the series that kicked off the service's focus on fresh content. This weekend, the streaming video service also netted its first Golden Globe Award as Robin Wright won for her part in House of Cards, and Netflix co-hosted an awards party with The Weinstein Company. The surprise however, is that the two had more to celebrate than their recent deal that will bring TWC movies exclusively to Netflix during their pay-TV window, starting in 2016. They're also working on a new TV series, focused on "the epic adventures of Marco Polo, a kinetic tale of high politics, masterful manipulation and deadly warfare among clashing empires." Due later this year, it joins other selections like HoC season two and Orange is the New Black season two on Netflix's slate of originals and will arrive at around the same time as the Wachowski-backed sci-fi series Sense8. As we've come to expect from such series, the nine-chapter Marco Polo production has a number of experienced names attached. That includes executive producer and creator John Fusco of Young Guns and Young Guns II fame, plus executive producer/director Dan Minahan, who not only carries credits from Game of Thrones and True Blood for HBO, but also wrote/directed one of our current Netflix streaming favorites, Series 7: The Contenders. Placed in 13th century China amid "a world replete with astonishing martial arts, sexual intrigue, political skullduggery and spectacular battles" this project is likely aimed directly towards fans of HBO's adult-themed hits and recent Starz history-based efforts like DaVinci's Demons and Spartacus.
Netflix adds The Weinstein Company to its 2016 pay-TV exclusivity roster
2016 is shaping up to be huge for Netflix. That's when the streaming juggernaut's Disney deal starts bearing fruit and it also marks the start of a multi-year pay-TV exclusivity agreement with The Weinstein Company (TWC). This means the first stop for TWC's flicks after home video will no longer be Showtime, but (almost) everybody's favorite place to watch movies instantly instead. While the studio has a pretty impressive back catalog -- Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, The Road and ... Scary Movie 5 -- it isn't in the class of, say, Universal or Fox in terms of sheer blockbusters. With the rate 'flix is signing contracts though, who knows what could happen within the next three years.
Netflix locks up Academy Award nominated exclusives from The Weinstein Company
If you're looking for more content to watch on Netflix's Watch Instantly streaming service -- especially since all those Starz movies are exiting stage left at month's end -- we have good news, as it just announced a multi-year exclusive deal with The Weinstein Company. The agreement covers foreign language, documentary and "certain other movies" that will be watchable in their pay-TV window only on Netflix, and not HBO or Showtime. That includes such high profile selections as The Artist, which is nominated for 17 Academy Awards this weekend and Best Documentary nominated Undefeated, as well as other flicks like Coriolanus and The Intouchables. Of course, this is still Netflix so while fans of subtitles and exposés may be sated, The Weinstein Company's more mainstream flicks and Dimension Films releases like Scream 4 aren't included, as they're still Showtime exclusives due to the deal it signed with the channel back in '08. Either way, more movies is more movies and you can check out all the details in the press release after the break, hopefully this deal works out better than HD DVD's exclusive Weinstein pact did back in the day.
Sony adds PSP access to PlayStation Network video store, 16 new content partners
Tucked in between the "worst kept secret" PSP Go and motion control demos at its E3 press conference, Sony also revealed new content for the PlayStation Network video service, and the ability to download video directly to the PSP, no PS3 or PC intermediary needed. No word on when to expect the new content exactly, but it will include video from Showtime Networks, Starz, G4 & E!, Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, HDNet & Magnolia Pictures, Anime Network, Media Blasters, Right Stuf's Nozomi Entertainment, Starz Media's Manga Entertainment, Toei Animation, Viz Media, WEP, UFC, TNA and Video Action Sports. Looks like Sony will have easy on the go access to video store content up and running before Microsoft gets its Zune integration act together, but whether that compares to 1080p instant streaming promises remains to be seen (Hint: first one with direct Hulu access wins, we're just saying, guys.) Check out Sony's trailer embedded after the break.
ZillionTV adds The Weinstein Company films to its streaming library
ZillionTV may not have a price, launch date or even confirmed areas of availability yet, but that hasn't stopped the outfit from racking up a deal to stream films from The Weinstein Company over its service whenever it launches. For those who've already forgotten, ZillionTV is the streaming to TV service with designs on selling its hardware to customers via their ISPs, then streaming content free with ads as well as providing pay video on-demand. Even without flicks like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Reader, it already had a competent lineup of content partners, but now ZillionTV is looking even more like a legitimate challenger, if only we had a few more details to go on.%Gallery-46534%
Xbox Live Video Marketplace welcomes The Weinstein Company and TNA
Since Xbox Live Marketplace was already home to NBC Universal movies and TV (at home and abroad) Microsoft's seen fit to fire back at Sony's PSN announcement with the relatively incremental additions of content from The Weinstein Company and TNA, while mentioning the Video Marketplace has already served up 42 million pieces of content, with its pace doubling since the NXE debuted last year. So far at least, all of TNA's offerings (PPV events from last year) are in SD, while The Weinstein Company hasn't hesitated in tossing up Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Zack and Miri Make a Porno in 5GB 720p files for all interested. Microsoft may not be able to claim "all the major movie studios" (we're guessing Sony Pictures has made their decision on who to support) but they're still finding a way to lead the download-to-consoles race, for now.
