the long goodbye

After Months-Long Death Rattles, the Weinstein Company Is Officially Kaput

It will now relaunch as Lantern Entertainment.
harvey and bob
Bob and Harvey Weinstein at the New York premiere of The Road at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on Nov. 16, 2009, in New York City.By Mark Von Holden/Getty.

The Weinstein Company is officially dead. According to Variety, Texas-based private-equity firm Lantern Capital has closed a $289 million acquisition of the tainted former powerhouse, which filed for bankruptcy in March—months after co-founder Harvey Weinstein was driven out of the film industry due to a series of explosive sexual misconduct allegations. (Weinstein has denied the allegations, and recently pleaded not guilty to several charges, including rape.) Lantern Capital plans to rebrand the film company as Lantern Entertainment.

The company will have offices in New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles, according to Variety, and will now have control of T.W.C.’s extensive film and TV library, plus upcoming, unreleased films like Kevin Hart’s The Upside and Benedict Cumberbatch’s fizzled Oscar vehicle The Current War.

Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic will serve as the remade company’s new co-presidents. They released the following statement:

“Over the last several months, we have immersed ourselves in the formation of Lantern Entertainment. Throughout all our conversations with employees, creatives, and industry professionals, we are inspired by the collective commitment and support extended to the launch of our new company, which is anchored by creativity in a meritocracy-based culture. Across all disciplines, we are extremely motivated to become a forward-thinking force in this industry.”

Though Bob and Harvey Weinstein are equity holders in the company, they will not receive anything as a result of the sale. (In addition, Bob officially left the board on Friday.) Instead, the proceeds will go toward paying off “lawyers and bankruptcy professionals, and the Weinstein Co.’s secured creditors, including Union Bank,” Variety notes. As previously promised, the rest of the leftover funds will go toward unsecured creditors and alleged victims of Harvey’s alleged misconduct.

The death of T.W.C. was preceded by a burst of layoffs. About 26 staffers were laid off on Wednesday, according to Variety, two days before Lantern Capital closed the gargantuan bankruptcy deal. The layoffs happened mere hours after Delaware’s Judge Christopher Sontchi approved the sale of the company to Lantern, reducing the price by $21 million and overruling objections from stars like Quentin Tarantino and Bradley Cooper, who are still owed money by T.W.C.—and pushed for the sale to be halted until after their contract issues were squared away. No such luck. Per the 394-page bankruptcy filing that was released in March, T.W.C. also owes money to Michael Bay, Ryan Coogler, and more.

Ultimately, all T.W.C. staffers will be laid off, though a number of employees are being offered jobs at Lantern, Variety notes. The employees who have been laid off were paid through the week, but will reportedly not be paid additional severance.