DISNEY, WEINSTEINS MAY PART FIRM WOULD STILL CONTROL MIRAMAX DESPITE EXIT OF SUCCESSFUL BROTHERS.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

BURBANK - The Walt Disney Co. appears poised to end its current deal with Miramax Films founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein after an often rocky 10-year relationship.

With talks between the parties ongoing, sources said Thursday that it is only a matter of time before Disney and the Weinsteins part ways with only specifics of an official separation left to hammer out.

Disney must give the Weinsteins at least six months notice if it does not plan to renew its deal with the filmmaking brothers who are credited with revolutionizing the independent filmmaking world. With the pact set to expire Sept. 30, 2005, a resolution must be reached by March at the latest.

Disney has the option of continuing the current arrangement through 2009, but it is widely known that such issues as budget, compensation and autonomy have all but doomed current talks.

``Bob and Harvey are hoping for an amicable resolution,'' Miramax spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said, declining further comment.

Disney officials declined to comment on the situation Thursday.

Miramax has been behind such acclaimed films as ``Pulp Fiction,'' ``Gangs of New York,'' ``Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2,'' and Best Picture Oscar-winners ``Chicago,'' ``The English Patient'' and ``Shakespeare in Love.''

But exactly how profitable Miramax has been for Disney has been debated between the subsidiary and its parent company. Miramax had its biggest box office year ever in fiscal 2003 with more than $1 billion in box office grosses and about $200 million in profits.

But the company's ambitions have grown over the years with such expensive fare as ``Cold Mountain'' and ``Gangs,'' neither of which crossed the $100 million mark at the box office.

``Miramax has been the division that generates all the Oscars, but it's debatable whether it makes any real money for Disney, and obviously that's an important factor moving forward,'' observed media analyst Dennis B. McAlpine of McAlpine and Associates.

Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Eisner has stated that Miramax would remain a Disney company whether or not the Weinsteins are running it. Disney would also retain rights to the valuable Miramax library and to any films produced during the current agreement.

It is unclear whether Disney would continue to run Miramax as a subsidiary with new management or close it down and continue to maximize its library titles in the lucrative DVD market. The Weinsteins could conceivably strike a deal to work for a rival studio but would not have the rights to the company name.

The relationship between the Weinsteins and Eisner, already tenuous, was further strained this spring when Disney refused to allow Miramax to release Michael Moore's controversial movie ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' that Eisner said was too politically charged to be released during an election year.

The Weinsteins then personally acquired all rights to the movie, which was released in June by independent distributors Lions Gate Films and IFC Films. ``Fahrenheit'' went on to become the highest-grossing documentary in history, earning nearly $120 million at the domestic box office.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com