Miramax

Miramax is an American independent film and television production and distribution company founded in 1981 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in New York City. It is a leading producer and distributor of independent films. Miramax was named by combining the first names of the Weinstein's parents, Miriam and Max. The company's first major success came with the release of Shakespeare in Love. Prior to this, the Weinsteins teamed up with British producer Martin Lewis and acquired the U.S. rights to two concert films Lewis had produced of benefit shows for human rights organization Amnesty International. The Weinsteins worked with Lewis to distill the two films into one film for the American marketplace. The resulting film, the American version of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, was a successful release for Miramax in the summer of 1982. This release presaged a modus operandi that the company would undertake later in the 1980s of acquiring films from international filmmakers and reworking them to suit American sensibilities and audiences. In its Early Years, Miramax had to focus primarily as a catalyst for music and decided to do a licensing agreement with Thorn EMI Video to release several of Miramax's early films. Among the company's other breakthrough films as distributors in the late 1980s and early 1990s were Pulp Fiction, Scandal, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, The Crying Game, and Clerks. The company also made films such as Flirting with Disaster, Heavenly Creatures, and Shakespeare in Love. Miramax acquired and/or produced many other films that did well financially. The company became one of the leaders of the independent film boom of the 1990s. Miramax produced or distributed seven films with box office grosses totaling more than $100 million; its most successful title, Chicago, earned more than $300 million worldwide. The company was also successful in securing Academy Award nominations for its releases, many of which resulted in Oscar wins.

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