I was a bit taken aback watching a trailer in a theater for a new Alexander Payne film, The Holdovers, when I spotted the logo for Miramax Films at the end. Wait, the company founded by disgraced, convicted sex predator Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob is still in business under that name?
I know the Weinsteins sold the company years ago, and it has changed hands a few times since, but I would have thought an effort to cleanse the brand by giving it a new identity would be the least the current holders could do.
On the flip side, if you DO pay attention to that stuff then you probably know Miramax isn’t associated with Weinstein any longer so, again, no reason to avoid it. You only have to worry about some middle ground who knows enough about their history to recognize the connection but little enough to assume it still has cooties on it.
Almost all moviegoers will fall into one of two categories;
(The overwhelming majority) don’t notice those production company logos and don’t really care.
People actually into that sort of thing who know about the connected between Harvey Weinstein and Miramax, but who are also aware he’s no longer a part of the corporation.
It’s weird - just last night I happened to see a movie (a not-very-good Guy Ritchie action-comedy) featuring the Miramax logo before it, and I went through the exact same thought process as the OP. Why would a company keep such a toxic name and logo? Maybe most people don’t know or care about production companies, but those who do don’t have very good associations with it.
I associate production company names/logos/animations with films, not owners. I suspect most of the movie watching public does as well. when I see Miramax I think Kill Bill, Spy Kids, and Hellraiser, not Harvey Weinstein.
But the Weinsteins were producers, not just money guys. None of those movies you liked would likely have happened without them. As an independent production (and acquisition) label, Miramax was visionary.
I worked as a theater projectionist in the 80s and 90s. There were lots of independent companies releasing art films back then, and most of them came and went. Cinecom, Skouras Pictures, the Samuel Goldwyn Company, Angelika Films, many more had their time, when it seemed like they were up-and-coming players, then they vanished. But Miramax thrived. I think their first release was Errol Morris’ The Thin Blue Line, which was a hit in independent terms.
Harvey was and is a rotten person, as a businessman as well as personally. But he and his brother were successful where many others playing the outsider game were not. It’s complicated! You could say the major studios all became majors because of their cutthroat behavior. But MGM, Warner Bros. and the others were able to keep the ugly side of their doings under wraps for the most part. Not so easy today. Miramax was powerful in its day, and I think many regular moviegoers know it’s because of Bob and Harvey. But that association has made the brand toxic.
(After selling Miramax to Disney, they started the Weinstein Company. The films they made there, some quite successful, have been sold to a venture capitalist, who wisely created a new label, Spyglass Media, so you won’t be reminded.)