Since the incredible fallout from the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault news, The Weinstein Company has been in a bit of a free-fall. With its figurehead and owner becoming the infamous centerpiece of the recent #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, TWC’s future has been a mystery. According to The Wrap, we now know what the future might hold for what used to be one of Hollywood’s most revered studios.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, the former Small Business Administrator for President Barack Obama, will soon finalize a deal to purchase TWC. Once the deal is final, Contreras-Sweet is looking to change things up quite a bit over at the studio.
It’s expected that TWC will move from its Beverly Hills offices to a new space in Los Angeles’ Larchmont Village. This new office will feature a private breastfeeding room for new moms, three meals a day, and “emphasize an open workspace.” The Wrap mentions that this is a stark contrast to the “grand private sanctums” that executives are usually given in Hollywood.
Along with the new physical look of the company, there will be a new look in board meetings as well. It is said that Contreras-Sweet is working to populate the board of directors with a “murderer’s row” of powerful Hollywood women. According to the report, these women will be well-known and admired by the Hollywood community. Whether this means that the current board, including Bob Weinstein, who has been at the center of allegations of his own, will be returning or this new board is set to fully replace is still unknown.
However, even with a new location and a female-led board of directors, there’s still one issue plaguing the studio – the name. No matter what the culture is like at The Weinstein Company, that family name simply cannot continue to stand. The trade mentions that Contreras-Sweet is mulling a few new names for TWC, including Wonder Hill, Assembly Hall, and Creative Trade Studios.
Lastly, the new owner of TWC is going to set up a victim fund for Harvey Weinstein’s accusers. While it hasn’t been confirmed, it is said that Contreras-Sweet will contribute $20 million herself to the fund.
Overall, it looks like the fully-reimagined TWC is on the horizon. With the studio coming back, we can look for many of the films that were put on hold to be rescheduled and finally released (including “Mary Magdalene” starring Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix). The real question is how audiences and Hollywood will react to this new studio. Will they embrace the changes or is the Harvey Weinstein stink just too strong?