The Little Hitmakers

By David E. Thigpen

In an industry dominated by giant Hollywood studios and behemoth budgets, Miramax Films has succeeded against all odds. With only 40 employees, it has found a niche marketing shrewdly chosen, low-budget "art house" films, most of which have been rejected by the big studios as noncommercial. Miramax Co- Chairmen Harvey Weinstein, 37, and his brother Bob, 35, have proved them wrong. Three of the ten films they released last year -- My Left Foot, Cinema Paradiso and sex, lies, and videotape -- are up for a total of seven Academy Awards this month. The Weinsteins have also earned something rare among independents: big profits.

While most independently made films take in less than $2 million at the box office, Miramax's three Oscar nominees have grossed a total of $33.5 million so far. Moreover, each was produced for less than $3 million (compared with an industry average of $23 million). sex, lies, and videotape, made for $1.1 ! million, is a bona fide smash, garnering $26 million to date.

The Weinsteins, who look more like rumpled used-car dealers than Armani- outfitted moguls, say their winning knack comes from a cinema-saturated childhood in Queens, N.Y. "One day we saw this amazing movie Truffaut had done about street kids called The 400 Blows, and it spoke to us," recalls Harvey. "We fell in love with films." They still go with what speaks to them personally, putting no stock in prevailing Hollywood wisdom. They were enchanted last year by My Left Foot, about a severely crippled Irish artist. "So many people said, 'It's not sexy, it doesn't have the ingredients of a hit,' " recalls Harvey. "That's when I said, 'Let's get it.' "

Miramax (named for the Weinsteins' parents, Miriam and Max) was born ten years ago when the brothers bought a decrepit movie house in Buffalo, renovated it and started showing films that drew a college crowd. With the profits, they began buying and distributing movies. Their first was The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, a rock music-comedy hybrid purchased in 1982 for $180,000 that earned $6 million.

In 1988 Miramax began to attract attention with its clever marketing of The Thin Blue Line, a stylish documentary about a wrongful murder conviction in Dallas, and for distributing the Swedish epic Pelle the Conqueror. While profits were modest, Pelle went on to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, while The Thin Blue Line became a news sensation: it helped persuade a Texas court to throw out the murder conviction.

The Weinsteins' passion for their films and loving attention to marketing -- they often write their own ads -- have endeared them to filmmakers. Jim Sheridan, director of My Left Foot, nominated for Best Picture, credits Miramax's tasteful promotional campaign for much of the movie's success: "They didn't try to sensationalize it." Observes sex, lies director Steven Soderbergh: "Harvey and Bob don't try to second-guess the audience; they move quickly and make shrewd choices."

This year will be Miramax's biggest test. Four of the 14 films it is distributing were also produced by Miramax. Two of these are already in some trouble. Strike It Rich, with Molly Ringwald, has bombed, and The Lemon Sisters, with Diane Keaton, has been delayed for reworking. Miramax must also contend with greater competition from the big studios. Warner, for instance, outbid Miramax last year for the documentary-style Roger & Me, a major hit. The brothers insist there is still plenty of room in Tinseltown for the little guy. Says Harvey: "We try to be like Rolls-Royce. We make great cars, but just a few of them. We're not competing with GM." Not yet, anyhow.