Google is in talks with Filmyard Holdings, the soon-to-be owners of famed film studio Miramax, about a potential deal to gain digital rights to Miramax’s archives, according to people close to the situation.
What’s more, Walt Disney Co. is close to completing the sale of Miramax to Filmyard, run by Hollywood entrepreneur Ron Tutor and construction magnate Tom Barrack, whose private equity firm, Colony Capital, is funding part of the $664 million purchase.
The sale, which includes the rights in more than 700 films such as “Kill Bill,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “No Country For Old Men,” as well as the Miramax name, is expected to close by Dec. 10.
Sources said Google is eyeing the film rights to bolster its efforts to turn YouTube into a Web destination for longer form content, although Google may have to do battle with Netflix, which has also shown an interest in Miramax’s film library.
Google hired former Netflix executive Robert Kyncl in September as vice president of content partnerships to spearhead its efforts in Hollywood.
Kyncl, who is credited as one of the key engineers of Netflix’s popular on-demand streaming service, has been a constant presence in Tinsletown, unlike his predecessors who worked out of Google’s Silicon Valley offices.
A Google spokesman was noncommittal, saying, “We’re always talking to the studios about different things and Disney remains a valuable YouTube partner. Outside of that, we don’t comment on rumor or speculation.”
Miramax remains a Disney property until the sale to Filmyard, which was announced in late July, is complete. The deal has been slowed because the buyers had difficulty shoring up financing.
Filmyard is expected to name former News Corp. executive Mike Lang as its chief executive.
Several sources confirmed a report in the Hollywood Reporter that Barclays Bank and Jefferies & Co. will be lead lenders, replacing Comerica, Union Bank and Bank of America.
Some estimates peg the value of Miramax, founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, at closer to $440 million.
The brothers’ current studio, the Weinstein Co., which bid in conjunction with Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Co. and a Fortress-Colbeck partnership, had offered around $565 million for their former studio — about $100 million less than Filmyard’s proposal.
Another complication has been the extent to which the Weinstein Co. controls franchise rights over certain Miramax movie titles.
Separately, S&P issued a preliminary rating B+ rating — four notches below investment grade — on Filmyard Holdings proposed $408 million senior secured loan for Miramax. catkinson@nypost.com