Bill Block is out as CEO of Miramax.
The executive and film producer was hired in 2017. Block’s contract expired this week and was not renewed, sources said. He’s been rumored to be out for months. A representative for Miramax had no immediate comment on the matter.
Insiders said new leadership was necessary at Miramax given that Paramount Global, which owns a 49% stake in Miramax, is grappling with a volatile marketplace. Insiders believe the unit behind films like “Pulp Fiction,” “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” and “Shakespeare in Love” should be mining its own intellectual property for new projects, not acquiring finished films or snapping up distribution rights. Block is not the person to take them in that direction, as evidenced by his canning.
Miramax was founded in 1979 by disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob. It became a transcendent brand and gatekeeper of independent films. Block was the founder and CEO of production company-financier QED. Before that, he served as the president of Artisan Entertainment and headed West Coast operations for ICM.
The past few years under Block’s leadership have seen middling, forgettable projects like the Netflix-distributed reboot “He’s All That,” a funny but undersold reboot of the Fletch franchise starring Jon Hamm (“Confess, Fletch”) and a lucky co-production with Blumhouse on “Halloween Ends.” Upcoming titles on Miramax’s slate include the Jason Statham thriller “The Beekeeper” from David Ayer and the Fantastic Fest buzz title “Strange Darling” from director J.T. Mollner.
Brent Lang contributed to this report.