Cook remained a staunch supporter of Miramax as rumors of the unit's demise swirled earlier in the year when independent filmmakers feared that Disney would abandon the often risky business of releasing offbeat sophisticated adult fare.
Even in the face of Miramax's box-office malaise, with such disappointments as "Adventureland," "Blindness" and "Happy-Go-Lucky," Cook told The Times in May that he still had faith in the direction of the specialty label and its leader, Daniel Battsek, the British executive whom he handpicked four years ago to run the once-maverick company founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 1979.
But that was then, and this is now. Miramax has never appeared to be a priority for Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, nor does it fit his strategy to focus on Disney's "branded" mass entertainment that can be exploited across the Burbank studio's various businesses including theme parks, television and consumer products.
After Disney's $4-billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment closes, Iger and his soon-to-be announced Cook successor -- Disney Channel head Rich Ross is said to be a top candidate -- will be plenty busy conjuring up ways to commercially exploit their new family of superhero characters.
As for Miramax, the division continues to struggle but has high hopes for its latest offering, "The Boys Are Back," an emotional drama directed by Scott Hicks and starring Clive Owen as a widower struggling to raise two sons, which opens tomorrow in limited release in Los Angeles, New York and a few other cities. The film, based on Simon Carr's 2001 memoir, received strong industry trade reviews and Oscar buzz at the recent Toronto Film Festival, where it received a five-minute standing ovation after its world premiere.
Miramax's most recent releases, "Extract," an R-rated comedy starring Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck, and director Stephen Frears' period romance "Cheri," headlined by Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend, didn't do much business.
It's unclear what Disney's plans for Miramax are now that Cook is gone and the studio is about to push the reset button on its movie agenda. Presumably it would be tough to find a buyer for the unit right now given the weak economic climate and the difficulty most smaller independent films face attracting adult audiences.
Then again, keeping Miramax alive doesn't cost Disney that much money and the specialty label's smart, low-budget movies provide a much-needed relief from its big sister studio's slate of mainstream films. As was its history under the Weinsteins, Miramax continues to put out movies worthy of Oscar attention. Its 2007 drama "No Country for Old Men" won for best picture and was profitable; Daniel Day-Lewis won a best actor Oscar for Miramax's 2007 film "There Will Be Blood"; and a year earlier, Helen Mirren took home a best actress statuette for the 2006 release "The Queen."
Nonetheless, chances are Disney will continue to scale back the operation, whose overhead and production and marketing budgets were dramatically slashed after the Weinsteins left in 2005. The company now has about 80 employees between its headquarters in New York and its L.A. office.
Or, not out of the question, Disney could do something more drastic, such as shuttering the operation as Paramount and Warner Bros. did with their specialty labels, and just concentrate on repackaging Miramax's rich library, which boasts Oscar winners like "Shakespeare in Love" and "The English Patient."
A studio spokesperson said Disney doesn't plan to unload Miramax and was noncommittal about whether a downsizing is likely.
"We have no plans to sell Miramax," said the spokesperson, adding, "As we have stated before, we continue to look at all of our lines of businesses and the best way to run them most efficiently."
-- Claudia Eller
Photo: Nicholas McAnulty, left, Clive Owen and Emma Booth in a scene from "The Boys Are Back." Credit: Matt Nettheim / Miramax Films
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Katee Sackhoff walks for a good cause and what other 'Battlestar' folks are up to
Katee Sackhoff needs to know how to sprint: Let's face it, every series regular on "24" has to run from a bad guy or a disaster at some point.
But Sackhoff's bigger concern at the moment is walking. She'll be participating in the Oct. 18 AIDS Walk L.A. She's hoping "Battlestar" fans will give her an assist in her effort to raise money; she will match donations made on her behalf up to $5,000.
To sponsor Sackhoff, go to the AIDS Walk L.A. page, click "Take Action," hit "Sponsor a Walker," select Sackhoff and donate, if you care to. One fan will receive an autographed photo and a signed Season 4.5 DVD boxed set from the actress.
"I've never doneanything like this before and this seemed like such a nice way to give back andbe a part of the continued fight against AIDS," Sackhoff said on Wednesday.
Fun fact: Speaking of running, I spoke to Sackhoff briefly at a Fox party in Los Angeles in August, and she said that she had requested to wear Easy Spirit pumps in her role as CTU analyst Dana Walsh on "24," which returns Jan. 17 on Fox.
What are the rest of the "Battlestar" alumni up to? Well, would it interest you to know that two new shows with "Battlestar" connections debut on the same night in January? Would it interest you to know that one alumni is in a remake of "Children of the Corn"? Do you want to know where to spot Mark Sheppard next? Which writer is working on a USA network pilot? Read on.
"Battlestar" executive producer Ronald D. Moore is working on "Caprica" and has directed one episode of that prequel.
Jane Espenson is an executive producer of "Caprica" and is hard at work on that show's first season, yet still finds time to Twitter. Also on the "Caprica" writing staff are "BSG" veterans Michael Taylor and Ryan Mottesheard, and Bear McCreary, "BSG's" amazing composer, will be creating the soundtrack for the show, which premieres Jan. 22.
By the way, that's the same day that "Battlestar" vetaran Lucy Lawless' new Starz show, "Spartacus," debuts. (It's Whedonite vs. Whedonite: Both Espenson and Steven S. DeKnight, the creator of Starz's "Spartacus," are veterans of Joss Whedon shows such as "Buffy" and "Dollhouse.")
Former "Battlestar" writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson wrote the "CSI" season premiere, which airs tonight, and they're working on the "CSI" crossover that will have characters appearing on all three incarnations of the CBS franchise. The Las Vegas installment of the crossover airs Nov. 12.
Mark Verheiden of the "Battlestar" writing staff is a part-time consultant on "Heroes." Verheiden is also working on the features "Ark" at Sony and "Quatermain" at DreamWorks.
UPDATED: Michael Angeli has been very busy: He's penned episodes for the most recent seasons of "In Plain Sight" and "Monk" and he wrote an episode for the upcoming season of "Law & Order: SVU." He's a co-executive producer on USA's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and he also penned a pilot for USA called "John Q." As if that's not enough, he is writing an adaptation of the Dean Koontz novel "Dragon Tears" for Starz and he's penned a piece for a November issue of Rolling Stone.
Michael Nankin, a terrific "Battlestar" director, has helmed a couple of "Caprica" episodes and may do one more. He's preparing to direct two episodes of "FlashForward," he's directing an episode of "Heroes" and may direct another "CSI" episode this season (he directed the outstanding "sci-fi convention" episode last season). He also wrote a pilot called "Butterfly."
Edward James Olmos (Adama) appeared in and directed the upcoming "Battlestar" movie "The Plan," which was originally to debut this fall but has been shifted to a 2010 Syfy air date (the movie is still coming out on DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 27). Olmos is also appearing in the upcoming "Green Hornet" movie.
Mary McDonnell (Roslin) appeared in the most recent season of "The Closer."
Michael Hogan (Tigh) appeared in a "Warehouse 13" episode (along with his wife, Susan, another "Battlestar" alum) and will be in the Oct. 9 episode of "Dollhouse." (For more info on Hogan's episode and on "Dollhouse" in general, look here.)
Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), by law, must appear in every scripted series shot in North America. You no doubt enjoyed him in "Burn Notice," "Leverage," "Dollhouse" and "Warehouse 13" (and those are just a few of his recent credits). Look for him next in the series premiere of USA's "White Collar" (Oct. 23).
Tahmoh Penikett (Helo) is a series regular on "Dollhouse," which returns Friday on Fox.
Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben) appeared on "Californication" and "Harper's Island" and has a recurring role as a Russian mobster on the new season of "24," which arrives in January.
Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama) is a lead on "Law & Order: UK" and is in Friday's "Dollhouse" season premiere.
James Callis (Baltar) was in an episode of "Numb3rs" last season and also appeared in a UK version of the "Merlin" tale.
Lucy Lawless appeared on "The L Word" and "Flight of the Conchords" and has a new show coming up on Starz, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand."
Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta) will appear in Syfy's December remake of "Alice in Wonderland," which stars Kathy Bates and is called "Alice."
Kandyse McClure (Dualla) is in Syfy's remake of "Children of the Corn," which airs Saturday and also stars David Anders ("Heroes," "Alias").
Grace Park (Boomer/Athena) was a series regular on "The Cleaner" and also appeared on a Canadian series, "The Border."
Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle) has a guest role in the premiere of "Human Target," which arrives on Fox Jan. 17. The "Human Target" pilot is just so-so but it's worth seeing for a short scene between Rhodes an Jackie Earle Haley, which may cause thousands of fanboy and fangirl brains to explode.
Tricia Helfer (various Cylons including No. 6) is a guest star in "Human Target's" premiere and also appeared in "Chuck" and "Warehouse 13" this year. She'll also appear in the upcoming film" "Open House" and "A Beginner's Guide to Endings." (Speaking of charity efforts, Helfer is a strong supporter of animal organizations such as Kitten Rescue of LA).
Stephanie Jacobsen (Kendra Shaw from "Razor") appeared last season in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and is a regular on the CW's "Melrose Place."
The tremendous Michelle Forbes (Helena Cain from "Razor") livened up the wild second season of "True Blood," appeared in the second season of "In Treatment" and is in the second season of the Canadian series "Durham County," which arrives in the United States on Ion TV in October.
On a sad note, the "Battlestar" cast and crew came together a few weeks ago to remember the life and work of the show's beloved line producer, Harvey Frand.
If there's a "BSG" alumni project you've heard about, feel free to mention it in comments.
Eric WainainaÂ's musical opens at New York Festival
Award-winning musician Eric WainainaÂ's production, Mo Faya — formerly Lwanda, A Ghetto Story — opens next week at the Big Apple.
The Star Report: Hit the road, Macy Gray
Macy Gray gets the boot on "Dancing With the Stars." Cast members from "Fame" strike a pose. Plus: Usher, Tom Jones, Estelle and Bode Miller.
Comedian Ansari Enjoys Playing Sleazebag On TV
Aziz Ansari was doing stand-up the entire time he was studying business at New York University. Now, he plays public servant and jerk Tom Haverford on NBC's new sitcom Parks and Recreation. Ansari says it's "always fun to play a dude who's kind of a sleazebag."
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