Play It Again, Boys

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Yet their indie upbringing taught them to be tight with a dollar and careful about cash flow. A key strategy calls for building a formidable library that can spin off immediate revenues while providing fodder for various platforms. Former MGM owner Kirk Kerkorian--who flipped his studio three times--advised the Weinsteins to scoop up all the solid content they could get their hands on. The fickle nature of the movie business makes each film a gamble. Hence a large library reduces overall risk.

Summing up their strategy, Mike Medavoy, a veteran producer involved with the Weinsteins on two projects, says, "They probably learned a few lessons from their time at Disney. No. 1: it's nice to have a big banker in back of you. No. 2: this business is filled with mistakes, and margins are shrinking, so you have to be more careful than ever before. And No. 3: it's good to hedge your bets."

In the evolving media environment, the Weinsteins are multiproduct, multichannel. "One of the most important things is the ability to do a lot of movies and slot them in various places," says Harvey. "Some will go directly to TV or video or the Net. Others will go to theaters. It's a brave new world." Plans call for 18 big-screen projects in 2007, with an equal or greater number going direct to video. "The emphasis on theatrical is to be pickier," he explains.

Their early slate of theatrical releases has had mixed results. Hits included sequels Clerks II and Scary Movie 4, along with the computer-animated Hoodwinked! Another toon, Doogal, was a dog, as was Mrs. Henderson Presents. "We've been hitting singles and doubles, but when you get a lot of those, they turn into runs," says Harvey.

Over the past year, the brothers seem to have made more big deals than big movies. "Our meetings used to be about acquiring films. Now they're about acquiring companies," Bob recently told Harvey, only half-joking. They got 70% of publicly traded home-video label Genius Products in exchange for licensing the DVD rights to Weinstein movies--a "pretty radical" move, says Genius chairman Stephen Bannon. Genius distributes material from World Wrestling Entertainment, Discovery Kids and ESPN and in November signed an exclusive rental agreement with Blockbuster. Other affiliations include ownership of a small arts and entertainment channel with Hubbard Broadcasting, J.P. Morgan Chase and Perry Capital; a publishing pact with Hachette; a production arrangement with BET founder Robert Johnson; and a new Latin American film fund.

Their most undervalued asset, says Harvey, is a stake in private online company aSmall World.net an invitation-only social-networking site that hopes to attract international movers and shakers: think of it as a MySpace for millionaires, where you could interact with Naomi Campbell instead of Tila Tequila.

Ah, but it's only money. The real prize lies in the pursuit of power, innovation and, of course, approval from Mom. Miriam Weinstein, 80, is still upset with Disney for not allowing her sons to take back her namesake banner. Maybe if her boys do well this time around, they could just buy Disney instead.