Harvey Weinstein is the mega-producer and studio executive who co-founded The Weinstein Co. and Miramax. Some call him God. Madonna calls him The Punisher. We call him a “Creator.”
Where it started:
When he was 14, Weinstein and his buddies went to see “The 400 Blows,” hoping for a lesson in sex education. Instead, the subtitled French drama about a young thief made him fall in love with movies.
What’s in a name?:
For Weinstein and his brother, Bob, a lot of history. The two launched Miramax in 1979, named for their parents, Miriam and Max. “The only regret is that I didn’t get the name back,” Weinstein says of Miramax’s sale to the Walt Disney Co. in 1993, after years of propelling the independent movie market. “Bob Iger [CEO of The Walt Disney Co.], who currently runs the place, was very much for us getting the name back. The people who were above him at the time were very much against it. I think they thought they were going to recreate what we did. My mom always wanted it.”