Weinstein and Disney, Together Again

LOS ANGELES â€" Time apparently does heal all wounds: Harvey Weinstein, who bitterly parted ways with the Walt Disney Company in 2005, leaving behind his Miramax Films, will produce a movie adaptation of “Artemis Fowl” for Disney.

Disney made the announcement late Monday, saying that it had decided to move forward with a live-action movie based on the first and second installments of the best-selling children’s book series “Artemis Fowl,” about a 12-year-old boy who is a millionaire, a genius and a criminal mastermind. Mr. Weinstein â€" but not his Weinstein Company â€" will produce the movie.

“If you would have told me five years ago I would be producing a project with Disney I would have thought you were crazy,” Mr. Weinstein said in a statement. “This is a special project for me because my children absolutely love this book.”

For its part, Disney heaped praise on Mr. Weinstein. Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement, “Harvey is one of the pre-eminent producers in the industry, with impeccable taste and creative instincts.”

Don’t expect to see young Artemis on the big screen anytime soon. The project is in the early stages. And movies announced as “in development” frequently fail to make it to theaters. But Disney also said that Michael Goldenberg, whose credits include “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” is working on a screenplay.

The eight books in the “Artemis Fowl” series, written by Eoin Colfer, have sold 21 million copies in 44 languages. The series is now part of Disney Publishing, but it started its life in 2001 under Miramax Books, which Mr. Weinstein formerly ran as part of Disney-owned Miramax.

After selling his Miramax Films to Disney in 1993, Mr. Weinstein released 300 movies, including “Chicago” and “Shakespeare in Love.” But Mr. Weinstein and Michael Eisner, Disney’s chief executive, ended up arguing bitterly over ballooning Miramax budgets and Disney’s refusal to release “Fahrenheit 9/11,” among other matters. Mr. Weinstein was ultimately forced to leave behind Miramax and start a new independent studio, the Weinstein Company, from scratch.

Disney sold Miramax Films in 2010.