the weinsteins

Weinsteins’ Precious Lawsuit Dismissed

Does a verbal agreement between two movie executives that no one can prove was actually made count for nothing anymore? On Friday, the Weinstein Company’s case against Lionsgate — which alleges that TWC, in January, acquired the distribution rights for Oprah-endrosed Oscar contender Precious from Cinetic Media before Lionsgate bought it for a higher price — was dealt a critical blow when a Manhattan federal district judge dismissed it because, she ruled, the Weinsteins never had a written contract to distribute the movie. The L.A. Times today has the details on the increasingly agitated e-mails sent between TWC’s international distribution president David Glasser and Cinetic execs John Sloss and Bart Walker, which suggest Harvey Weinstein thought a deal had been made and was seeking e-mailed confirmation, but never got it (“Contrary to your assertion, there has been no agreement reached,” replies Walker at one point). Boy, we sure hope Nine is good.

Inside the battle for ‘Precious’ [Company Town/LAT]

Weinsteins’ Precious Lawsuit Dismissed