Bob Weinstein now steering his older brother’s company,
Bob Weinstein is now tasked with steering family company beyond filmmaker’s downfall
LOS ANGELES— Anywhere else in Hollywood, Bob Weinstein would have been the star, with a string of executive producer credits on Oscar winners such as The English Patient and Good Will Hunting and a track record for making low-budget, profitable films.
But Weinstein, 62, was always second banana to his larger-than-life older brother, Harvey. Now, with Harvey booted from the film studio the brothers co-founded, their roles are reversed. It will fall on Bob Weinstein’s shoulders to save the family business and steer it into a new era, one less reliant on the art-house films his brother was known for cultivating.
The board of Weinstein Co., reduced to just four members following a string of resignations, said on Sunday that it had terminated the employment of Harvey, 65. The move was in response to a New York Times story that said he had paid settlements to eight women who had accused him of sexual harassment. Several of the women were Weinstein employees, according to the paper. Since last week, the company, with more than 100 workers, has been under the leadership of Bob, the co-chairperson, and David Glasser, the chief operating officer.
Already partners of Weinstein Co. are cutting ties with Harvey. Lifetime, the cable network that airs the brothers’ biggest TV hit, Project Runway, is taking his executive producer credit off of that show and another, Six, that Weinstein Co. co-produces for the channel. Similarly, Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Network is removing Harvey’s name from three shows under production with the company: Waco, Yellowstone and Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story.
Apple Inc. decided not to move forward with a miniseries about Elvis Presley that was being produced by Weinstein Co., according to the Hollywood Reporter.
After decades of working with his brother, Bob’s major task will be deciding how to distance the company from him. One decision under consideration could be especially painful: changing the company name.
“It’s right out of Machiavelli’s The Prince,” said Ted Clark, who heads the Center for Family Business at Northeastern University in Boston. “One of the princes was getting out of control and he had to be dealt with.”
Weinstein Co. and Bob Weinstein didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Replacing Harvey, even with his diminished stature, won’t be easy. He helped build the careers of stars from director Quentin Tarantino to actress Gwyneth Paltrow, and his relationships were integral to the company’s success.
“Part of the company’s panache was the talent he could attract,” said Allen Adamson, founder of BrandSimple, a consulting firm. “That’s hard to replicate.”
Bob Weinstein needs to find a way to channel some of the good parts of Weinstein Co.’s past, said Tom Sepanski, who advises companies on messaging with the consulting firm Landor in New York.
“They still have a legacy of provocative, groundbreaking films,” Sepanski said. “They’re going to have some serious strategic thinking to do.”