Bob Weinstein’s Dimension Films is one of the most attractive elements in the portfolio of the embattled Weinstein Company, but the genre label’s future is seriously in doubt in the aftermath of Harvey Weinstein’s whiplash-inducing fall from grace this month.
Many of the top projects on Dimension’s development slate — including a Mark Wahlberg-led reboot of “The Six Billion Dollar Man,” Anne Fletcher’s “Murder Mystery” and a film based on the Furby toys — are falling apart, according to multiple individuals with knowledge of the deals.
The recent sexual harassment accusations by “The Mist” executive producer Amanda Segel against Bob Weinstein, which he vehemently denies, don’t make matters any better.
In addition, Dimension’s SVP of production Keith Levine announced last week his departure to become president of David Goyer’s Phantom Four — though a company spokesperson notes Levine accepted the position well before the scandal broke.
All this could make a post-Harvey company even less viable to investors and potential buyers — including billionaire Tom Barrack’s Colony Capital, which announced last week that it was in talks to acquire all or some of TWC and was injecting an undisclosed amount of cash to help sustain operations.
TWC postponed the release of one of Harvey Weinstein’s awards-bait projects, the Benedict Cumberbatch period drama “The Current War,” to sometime next year, but the company is plowing ahead with the release of Dimension titles that fall under Bob’s purview.
That includes the low-budget horror film “Polaroid” on November 22, the family film “Paddington 2” on January 12 and the Robert De Niro comedy “War With Grandpa” on February 23.
“Business is continuing as usual as the company moves ahead,” Bob Weinstein said in a statement.
But upcoming projects may be more difficult to get off the ground — even more so in the wake of the very visible cloud hanging over the company.
Wahlberg has no intention of moving ahead with “The Six Billion Dollar Man,” an action franchise based on the classic TV show starring Lee Majors, an individual with knowledge of the project said. He’s focused on the comedy “Instant Family,” set up at Paramount, and is flirting with the gritty action drama ‘Triple Frontier” at Netflix.
But Wahlberg personally presented the Dimension hopeful to international buyers alongside Bob Weinstein at last year’s American Film Market in Santa Monica. He spoke at length about developing the script as an alternative to superhero tentpoles.
Present at the same event was director Fletcher (“Hot Pursuit”), who with Bob discussed their shared vision for the couples romp “Murder Mystery,” which was scheduled to shoot at the end of 2017. Fletcher is no longer attached, two individuals familiar with the film told TheWrap.
She’ll instead finish postproduction on the Jennifer Aniston pageant comedy “Dumplin” and move on to another gig.
At last year’s AFM cocktail party, Bob Weinstein also hyped Dimension’s plans to build a cinematic universe around the Hasbro Furby toys. A script was said to be completed and the animated production was supposed to start in May. There’s been no movement on it since it was announced, though Dimension is still believed to hold the rights. A Hasbro spokesperson did not return numerous requests for comment.
Reps for Dimension Films confirmed Fletcher had left “Murder Mystery,” but insisted “Six Billion Dollar Man” was in active development.
After Harvey Weinstein’s Oct. 8 termination as CEO, speculation went wild that TWC would be chopped and sold for parts. Enter Barrack, who also bought himself an exclusive negotiating window to take some or all of TWC, including Dimension. Should he pass on the label, which may be the only chance the Weinstein name has at a legacy film business, Barrack has a network of buyers at his disposal.
“If it all of a sudden became ‘Colony Entertainment,’ I think you’re looking at a guy who at least in recent years fancies himself a Hollywood mogul. This would be a return engagement for him,” Lloyd Greif, president and CEO of investment bank Greif & Co., told TheWrap of Barrack.
“Basically what Tom is doing is he’s toasting marshmallows on the flames of The Weinstein Company,” Greif said. “This company is on fire.”
Matt Pressberg contributed reporting to this post.