IFC Films has made its third acquisition in Toronto, taking worldwide rights excluding Canada to Unauthorized:The Harvey Weinstein Project, Barry Avrich’s documentary about the Miramax founder.
The film is styled as a no-holds-barred account that traces Weinstein’s path from concert promoter on the cold streets of Buffalo to his first trip to the Cannes Film Festival – where he arrived with one pair of pants and closed his first film deal – to winning an Oscar.
The film examines his complex relationships with his brother Bob, his staff and the Hollywood community at large and features interviews with industry insiders and the Hollywood creative community.
Peter Fonda narrates and Avrich produced, as he did on the upcoming Des McAnuff production of The Tempest with Christopher Plummer.
“I believe that great stories must be told,” Avrich said. “Harvey and Bob Weinstein, without a question, redefined so many rules of Hollywood marketing, distribution and filmmaking that you simply can’t ignore their impact on history.
“Many of their business principles and strategies also redefined other industry practices and quite frankly, other industries. Without Hollywood’s Last Bully, there would be no Pulp Fiction, no one would have known about that English patient, Rob Marshall would still be a chorus boy and Quentin would be recommending Bruce Lee’s greatest hits in some video store. IFC Films is a great home for my film and I am thrilled that it will be receiving such a prominent release.”
IFC negotiated the deal directly with Avrich.
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