The Weinstein Company has got no shortage of 4th quarter films this year...

...and they certainly seem to be gunning for more Oscar gold. Coming Soon has the slate for this year and next:

The Weinstein Company have released a slew of release dates for their fall prestige pics, with many of them vying for Oscar nominations in order to keep up the company's success with last year's The King's Speech. But before we get to them, the movie that really stands out among the latest release schedule is seeing the title...

Scary Movie 5!
The project was announced back in 2009 and it was said that director David Zucker, who helmed the previous two movies in the series as well as some of greatest spoof movies of all time (like Airplane!) would be back helming it, though there's been no definite word whether series regulars Anna Faris and Regina Hall would be joining him. There have even been a number of presumably fake posters that have cropped up in the last few years there are certainly a lot of horror movies worth spoofing since the previous Scary Movie 4 was released over five years ago. There's Paranormal Activity for one and all the alien invasion movies that have been released in recent months. Who knows? Maybe they can even spoof Wes Craven's Scream 4 being that the original Scary Movie was basically a spoof of that series. Right now, we have no other information other than the release date of April 20, 2012, but we'll definitely be working on it in the weeks to come. Continuing in the horror vein and possibly a franchise that will avoid the spoof treatment is Patrick (My Bloody Valentine) Lussier's reboot Halloween 3D, which has been given the plum Halloween release date of October 26, 2012. You can read more about that over on ShockTillYouDrop.com. Then, for Oscar watchers, there's the long-awaited Marilyn Monroe movie My Week With Marilyn starring Michelle Williams, which will be released on November 4. Fresh off its critically-lauded run at the Cannes Film Festival, Michel Hazanavicius's black and white period romance The Artist will be released on November 23. Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut, the war film Coriolanus, co-starring Gerald Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain, Brian Cox and James Nesbitt will open on December 2, while the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent and directed by Phyllipa Lloyd (Mama Mia!), will open on December 16. We're unsure whether either of those will get a wide release out of the gate or a slower platform release to make them eligible for Oscars. Lastly, Lee Hirsh's documentary The Bully Project, which played at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, will be released by the Weinsteins on November 11.

-Joey's Two Cents: I think The Artist is their best hope, but we shall see...thoughts?

The Weinstein Company picks up Madonna's Directorial effort W.E. for release...

...and could position it as an Awards contender. Here's the announcement:

The Weinstein Company acquires Madonna’s W.E. for U.S. Release

Abbie Cornish, James D’Arcy, Andrea Riseborough Star In Romantic Drama

Madonna’s Feature Film Directorial Debut

2011 Release Planned

New York, NY, June 13, 2011 – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “W.E.,” Madonna’s directorial debut of a feature film. W.E. is a romantic drama co-written by Madonna and Alek Keshishian, produced by Madonna and Kris Thykier and executive produced by Scott Franklin (BLACK SWAN). It stars Abbie Cornish (LIMITLESS), Oscar Isaac (DRIVE), James D’Arcy (MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD), Andrea Riseborough (NEVER LET ME GO), Natalie Dormer (“The Tudors”), Richard Coyle (PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME), James Fox (SHERLOCK HOLMES) and Laurence Fox (“Inspector Lewis”). The announcement was made by TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein and President of Production Donna Gigliotti.

Spanning six decades, W.E. juxtaposes a contemporary love story with that of King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson.

“W.E. is about the nature of true love, and the sacrifices and compromises that are often made. I’ve wanted to tell this story for a very long time, and bringing it to life has been a great adventure for me. I’m looking forward to working with Harvey and The Weinstein Company on this film,” commented Madonna.

“Madonna has really come into her own as a filmmaker with W.E.,” said Weinstein. “She’s taken one of the most famous romances of the 20th Century and brought it to life in a smart, sexy and thoroughly modern way. It’s a terrific addition to our US release slate.”

Commented Gigliotti, “The advance footage for W.E. was some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait for American audiences to have the opportunity to see this film.”

The deal was negotiated for TWC by Weinstein, COO David Glasser and Michal Steinberg, Senior Vice President Business Affairs and Acquisitions; and by CAA, on behalf of the filmmakers.

-Joey's Two Cents: It could be an interesting project...thoughts?

Here's a rundown of what films got picked up (and by whom) at Cannes...

...via Variety:

U.S. distribs sprang into action during Cannes, snapping up both festival specialty pics and pre-sales on big-budget commercial titles. The Weinstein Co. and Sundance Selects were the busiest buyers, while new players FilmDistrict and Open Road are starting to flex their pickup muscles.

Cannes festival films-

"The Conquest" - Music Box

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" -- Oscilloscope

"House of Tolerance" - Sundance Selects

"Kid with a Bike" - Sundance Selects

"Poliss" - Sundance Selects

"Sleeping Beauty" - Sundance Selects

"Footnote" - Sony Classics

"Dragon" - TWC

"The Artists" - TWC

Pre-sales

"Great Hope Springs" - Sony

"Snitch" - Summit

"Iron Lady" - TWC

"The Wettest County" - TWC

"Looper" - FilmDistrict

"Arabian Nights" - FilmDistrict

"Playing the Field" - FilmDistrict

Other finished films

"The Killer Elite" - Open Road

"Goodbye First Love" - Sundance Selects

"Sacrifice" - Samuel Goldwyn

-Joey's Two Cents: I'm always in favor of films getting picked up and being given a chance to find an audience, so the more the merrier to me...thoughts?

Harvey Weinstein will try to work his Oscar magic on Meryl Streep!

How will he be doing this, you ask? Well, Deadline has the story from the Cannes Film Festival:

Another day on the Croisette brings another major distribution deal. After an all night auction, The Weinstein Company emerged with U.S. distribution rights to The Iron Lady, the Pathe pic that stars Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. I'm told the deal was worth near $7 million and that Weinstein Company made it with Ron Burkle and his Yucaipa banner. I'm also told that Alliance will distribute in Canada. I'd heard last night that the likes of Summit, Relativity Media and Fox Searchlight chased it. There were at least two bids on the table at $6 million.

Numerous bidders were in on the action after Pathe showed five minutes of footage here. Harvey Weinstein will definitely open the film during Oscar season, relying on another British politics tale after The King's Speech won Best Picture honors last year. Weinstein, his lieutenant David Glasser and Burkle worked into the night to make the deal. It is the same partnership structure they employed when that made the Sundance acquisitions My Idiot Brother and The Details. For TWC, it has already been a busy fest. They acquired world rights to Paul Thomas Anderson's next film before the fest started, made a quick acquisition of the black and white silent film The Artist, and the bought the Chinese film Dragon, both official festival selectiions.

Streep reuinites with her Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd in the Abi Morgan-scripted film that also stars Harry Lloyd, Richard E. Grant and Jim Broadbent.

-Joey's Two Cents: Studios trying to double down on what worked for them last year can often be a failing endeavor, but if anyone can reverse that trend, it's Harvey Weinstein...thoughts?

The Weinstein Company makes the first purchase of Cannes!

From Deadline:

In what shapes up as the first major acquisition of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, The Weinstein Company is near a deal to acquire U.S. and multiple international territories on The Artist, a black-and-white silent film that is written and produced by Michel Hazanavicius. The picture premieres in competition on Sunday, but I'm told several buyers chased the rights through Wild Bunch. The deal is low-seven-figure minimum guarantee, and the plan is to release the film later this year during the Oscar race.

The pic stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Missi Pyle and Penelope Ann Miller. The pic takes place in 1927 Hollywood and focuses on a silent movie star whose career seems about to be ended because of the arrival of the talkies. At the same time, a pretty young extra sees the new format as an opportunity to launch her star. No official confirmation was forthcoming from The Weinstein Company. The film was a late entry to the Cannes competition but the first to make a sales splash.

-Joey's Two Cents: Here's to a lot more news like this during the month of May...thoughts?

Paul Thomas Anderson's next film will be distributed by The Weinstein Company!

Via Deadline:

The Weinstein Company has won a quiet but fevered bidding battle for worldwide distribution rights to the untitled next film by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film begins production June 13, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix so far set to star. Megan Ellison is financing. It is Anderson's first trip behind the camera since There Will Be Blood.

Hoffman and Phoenix are locked. As for the actresses, I'm told that Anderson is eyeing such actresses as Madisen Beaty (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) for a role, with Amy Adams, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's Lena Endre and Laura Dern also mentioned as actresses Anderson is interested in. The auction was held at CAA headquarters late last week, with Fox Searchlight was also squarely in the mix.

This is the project that Anderson has worked on for a long time, once under the title The Master. He has greatly overhauled the script and now, Hoffman stars as a man who returns after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. He creates a belief system, something that catches on with other lost souls. The film is fully financed by Ellison's Annapurna banner. At a time when the implosion of the indie film marketplace made pricey auteur films so hard to finance, Ellison has emerged as a something of a godsend to the small group of auteurs she is working with. She's enabled Anderson to make the movie at or near the $35 million budget the film was going to cost back when Universal stepped away. The deal gives TWC a big title to bring to the Cannes Film Festival this week.

-Joey's Two Cents: Harvey seems to amassing a new stable of auteurs for The Weinstein Company, much like how Mirimax used to be...thoughts?

The Weinsteins are planning to remake 'Seven Samurai'...

...according to Variety:

British helmer Scott Mann has signed on to direct a remake of Akira Kurosawa classic "Seven Samurai" that the Weinstein Co. and Japan's Kurosawa Prods. are producing.

Pic, with an estimated budget of $60 million, will be a contempo interpretation of the 1954 original, which inspired 1960's "The Magnificent Seven" and influenced other pics.

In the "Seven Samurai" remake, a town in northern Thailand recruits seven paramilitary contractors from around the globe to defend it from attack. Mann, who most recently helmed Robert Carlyle-Ving Rhames starrer "The Tournament," -- which gained cult status on both sides of the Pond -- will help TWC develop the screenplay. They hope to shoot later this year.

Scribe John Fusco ("The Forbidden Kingdom," "Young Guns") has been developing the project at TWC for 18 months.

Mann recently announced several projects in development under his Mann Made Films banner with U.K. producing partner James Edward Barker, including horror pic "Saint Mary's," with helmer Michael Bassett ("Silent Hill 3D") attached.

Mann is repped by CAA and Independent Talent Group. He's managed by Will Lowry at Generate Management.

-Joey's Two Cents: I don't expect much from this, but hey...you never know. Thoughts?

The Weinstein Company picks up a Documentary at Tribeca...

...and it's an interesting sounding one. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

The Weinstein Company has acquired rights to Submarine Entertainment’s The Bully Project, Lee Hirsch's documentary about bullying in America. The deal includes rights for North America, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Germany, plus Pan-Asian Satellite TV distribution rights.

The doc, produced by Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen, and written by Lowen and Hirsch, had its Tribeca Film Festival premiere this past Saturday.

"As filmmakers we are overjoyed to be working with The Weinstein Company," Hirsch and Lowen said in a joint statement. “Their significant commitment towards this film will ensure it reaches the national stage, and will certainly amplify its capacity to effect change."

The deal was negotiated for TWC by Lawson and Vice President of Acquisitions Dan Guando; and for the filmmakers by Submarine Entertainment’s Josh Braun and David Koh.

-Joey's Two Cents: I'll see it...thoughts?