Whether you're a huge fan of movies or not this has been a week when the inner workings of Hollywood were pretty tough to avoid, and what people saw was absolutely disgusting. As allegations of sexual abuse mounted daily against Harvey Weinstein, every celebrity had a mic thrust in their face to disavow the former head of The Weinstein Company. Some handled it well and said what all people should be saying, others fumbled the opportunity and got themselves in hot water. Lookin' at you Matt Damon and Lindsay Lohan. Anyway, Bob Weinstein and those left at TWC have been looking to stamp down the fires burning everywhere, but this officially released statement isn't likely to help.
Our banks, partners and shareholders are fully supportive of our company and it is untrue that the company or board is exploring a sale or shutdown of the company. Polaroid is moving forward as planned with a release date of November 22 followed by Paddington 2 on January 12. The first Paddington grossed over $75 million and we expect even greater success for Paddington 2. Test screening scores are through the roof. War with Grandpa starring Robert De Niro is scheduled for February 23, 2018. Business is continuing as usual as the company moves ahead.
Yuck. Talk about missing an opportunity. Look, I'm not saying TWC needs to fold themselves into origami to express regret (although if Harvey's contract made his abuse possible maybe they should), but it sounds cold and callous to talk financials and release dates at a time like this.
The big takeaway from that statement is what isn't mentioned: The Current War, which was to be a big awards season release next month. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon as rivals Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, and was due to open limited on November 24th before a wide rollout in January. It appears to have been yanked from TWC's schedule, which isn't surprising since Harvey had already pulled his credit from the film as of a few days ago. Unlikely we see TWC make any kind of awards push this year, or ever again. Chances are they will undergo a name change, and possibly even be sold by the time winter rolls around.
