Miramax Employees the Last to Know

Posted on March 21, 2005

The future of Miramax Books and its authors has been in limbo during the acrimonious breakup between Miramax's Weinstein brothers and Disney. The Miramax film library will stay with Disney, and it was thought that Miramax Books, including its unpublished authors, would be absorbed into Disney's Hyperion book publishing group. But new rumors say that the Weinsteins want to form their own book imprint, with Simon and Schuster editor at large Rob Weisbach at the helm. Page Six reports on the unhappiness that currently pervades the offices of Miramax Books. Apparently the employees were the last to know.

Miramaxers--or what's left of them--are fuming. "We have no idea what's going on," said one staffer in the book department. "We had no idea Jonathan Burnham was leaving or that Harvey and Bob [Weinstein] wanted to start another book company until we read it in The Post. No one at the company is bothering to tell anyone what's going on. And Hyperion hasn't contacted any of us or the authors."

The word is that several employees aren't waiting to find out what's going on, and are bailing out to other jobs. Let's hope they get it sorted out soon.