An Open Letter to Bob & Harvey Weinstein

What are you doing to us, guys?

According to your own web site back in May of 2005, The Libertine was supposed to be released “sometime this summer”. Since that time, you’ve given out release date after release date, made promise after promise, gotten hope after hope up… and for what? Except for a one-week run in New York and L.A. supposedly to make it an Oscar contender, we still have no Libertine.

This isn’t the first time, either. You did the same thing with Finding Neverland, a film that actually opened in possibly 80 theatres across the country before it came out on DVD; a film which you hyped and promoted and raved about, by the way, and then made impossible to find. Where’s the logic, Harvey? What’s up with that, Bob?

Are you even aware of the collective groan that went up from Depp fandom when we heard Miramax (now Weinstein) would be distributing this film in the U.S. shortly after the Finding Neverland fiasco? “OH, GOD! Not again!” We knew it would be the same story all over again. And we were right.

You do realize who stars in both of these movies, don’t you, boys? It’s a man who is more popular right now than in his entire 20-year career; a man who has topped the Imdb search list for several years straight; a man who has taken home the People’s Choice Award for favorite male movie star for the past two years running… Yeah, Johnny Depp! That’s him! A man who could make a lot of money for you if you’d just let him. Why don’t you just let him?

Perhaps the most infuriating part of this whole situation is that you seem to take great joy in the game. What else could explain waiting until January 12th to cancel the January 13th opening for The Libertine? Or waiting until today to cancel tomorrow’s opening? You certainly had to know you wouldn’t be releasing it more than a day in advance, yet you wait until the last minute to let anyone else in on the news. Are you rubbing your hands together in glee at the prospect of stringing us along just a teeny bit longer?

The very nice lady at your PR company says the release date is now set for March 10th. Is that *this* year, Harvey? Bob? Anyone??? Would you be willing to take a polygraph test to confirm that?

I don’t claim to know your business. All I know is that it takes money to make a movie. It takes money to purchase the rights, promote and distribute said movie. The whole point of any business is to make a profit… to get a bigger return on your investment than what you put into it. Right?

See, here’s the thing… you’ve got tons of people out here right now, standing here with money in hand waiting to give it to you in exchange for seeing this film. Why won’t you take it? You have unlimited free advertising venues you can use to promote the hell out of the thing. Why don’t you use them? You could play up the controversial aspects of the film and sell even more tickets to people who just want to see what all the fuss is about. Why don’t you do it?

You have a film that we want to see. Why won’t you let us see it?

I did find this article published today about obtaining credit to finance your films. Could that possibly be the hold-up on getting this released? It still doesn’t explain why the same thing happened with “Finding Neverland” last year — you certainly didn’t have any problems getting The Aviator out there. And if it was a matter of financing, why would you publish a release date at all, much less 3 or 4 you knew you couldn’t keep?

To borrow a phrase from a film we actually did get to see: If you’re waiting for your opportune moment… this is it.

Trish Bennett
www.deppimpact.com