Disney Breaks Miramax: 7 Years of Bad Luck to Follow?

Image by tchuntfr via Flickr

The Walt Disney Co. has turned out the lights on its Burbank, Calif.-based subsidiary Miramax Films, eliminating 80 jobs and bringing an end to the one-time indie film hitmaker.

Disney bought Miramax, which was founded in 1979 by Harvey & Bob Weinstein, in 1993, but has reduced the studio's film output in recent years.  At its height, Miramax produced a spate of  critically acclaimed movies, including Chicago, Shakespeare in Love, Clerks, The English Patient, Pulp Fiction, sex, lies & videotape, and The Crying Game.

According to a story in the United Kingdom-based The Guardian, six studio movies are in the can and ready for release.  Get ready for Pirates of the Caribbean: the Weinsteins Walk the Plank.