West Virginia daily

Picturehouse, 's new big kid on the specialty block, gets enormous leverage out of its closely integrated relationships with and . But looking at the few pictures the distributor has released this year, you'd think the company was a minor-league indie: 's "," which made under half-a-million dollars, as well as the family comedy "" and the Israeli orthodox Jewish drama "," both of which hovered around the $1 million mark.

But Picturehouse is ramping up for a potentially big 2006. With at the helm -- the man behind such indie juggernauts as "" and "" -- Time Warner is hoping for another sleeper hit. Originally scheduled for release this year, the company moved 's "" out of the busy award-season and into late January.

Other upcoming releases include the film "," ' HBO portrait "," 's "," starring as photographer , and 's "." For the latter pic, a star-studded affair (, , , , etc.), the company flexed its moneyed muscles, beating out several competitors with a reportedly hefty $3.75 million deal.

Together with HBO, the company's '06 slate is rounded out by Section 8's comedy-thriller "," romantic comedy "," and 's latest Shakespeare adaptation "."

The low-cost, high-reward model of the specialized business only makes sense if there are, in fact, high rewards at the end of the tunnel. It's still up for grabs whether any of these films will break out. "Factotum" received positive reviews out of Cannes, where Picturehouse acquired it; "Bettie Page" less so, out of Toronto. "Tristram Shandy" is a critics' favorite, yet another recent adaptation, the Branagh Shakespeare film "Love's Labour's Lost" back in 2000, tanked at the box office.

But Berney's known for tricks under his sleeve and strong relationships with exhibitors. And he's got a strong team, including Fine Line marketers , , and as well as United Artists veterans , in acquisitions, (from Newmarket) in publicity and from HBO, in marketing on the West Coast.

So far, the company has strayed away from the genre fare that's defined the moneymakers at 's and Miramax's (now part of the Weinstein Co), perhaps because parent company New Line has its fair share of such pictures. Foreign-language films are also rare: it's not until 2007 that the company plans to release its Russian epic "," about the life of Genghis Khan.

Picturehouse will face fierce competition at Sundance from the heavily bankrolled specialty divisions, like , , and 's new specialty division. But all eyes are on the brothers, the entertainment showmen who are proving they can build a media empire from the ground up. Unlike their rivals, the Weinstein Co. is not bound by MPAA rules and corporate higher-ups; they are now arguably the most powerful men in the truly independent film arena. If anything, the Weinsteins' only watchdogs are on Wall Street.

The Weinsteins raised $490 million in private equity through various investors and companies to get up-and-running. And off they went, announcing their control of a new home video label formed with (along with 70% ownership of art-house distributor ), an international sales arm lead by (plucked from Focus International), a TV development slate, and strategic partnerships with , serving as their exclusive home video distributor and foreign sales agent for . It wouldn't be surprising if they announced their own television channel shortly, with the help of Rainbow.

The company's first release, the critically lambasted "," met box office expectations (grossing over $33 million). In a one-week Academy run, "," starring , showed promise, but the film could easily flounder if nominations don't come through; other releases "" and "" are also coming out strong in limited release.

Together with films they acquired while working under Miramax, the Weinsteins have amassed dozens of films in various stages of production. Soon to be released are 's epic "," animated comedy "," Aussie horror film "" and Sundance premiere "."

The company's production slate resembles the kind of eclectic mix the Weinsteins have been known for, balancing genre titles ("," "," "") with director-favorites ('s "," 's "," 's ""). But so far, the Weinstein Co's slate is missing the kind of Oscar bait they could push in 2006. But there's always Sundance: Why drop millions into a commercially challenged prestige picture if you can buy a ready-made one in Park City?

Among the Weinsteins' many investors is one , the new technology billionaire turned Dallas Mavericks owner turned media entrepreneur. Together with partner , Cuban has put together a mini-empire called 2929 Entertainment, which includes (co-financiers of ""), distributor , Magnolia's new home video label and the chain. They also own a controlling stake in (producers of "" and upcoming flicks from and ) and a pair of HDNet cable channels. Like the Weinsteins, Cuban and Wagner have created a completely integrated media company, which serves them well in the corporate-dominated specialized arena.

Wagner and Cuban made headlines when they announced their Hi-Def digital collaboration with Oscar-winner , who will make six films for HDNet. The first, "," will be released at the same time in theaters, on DVD and on HDNet in January. While the big studios are dismissing the impact of Magnolia's controversial all-format release, citing the film's small stature, the specialized community will be watching closely: Will "Bubble's" bottom line ultimately be helped or hurt by the simultaneous release?

Another new 2929 Entertainment endeavor that's drawn some detractors is . Similar to a service deal, filmmakers pay an up-front fee of $40,000 to $150,000 for a guaranteed one-week run from five to twenty markets. Critics call it glorified four-walling, but 2929 maintains that their exhibition access and marketing expertise makes the deal worthwhile for filmmakers.

When the program was first announced, one indieWIRE reader posted an illuminating critique: "For the same amount of money a filmmaker can hire an independent distributor who can secure open ended play dates, oversee your advertising campaign creation and independently steer your release through the entire country, not just the 20 Landmark cities."

Again, whether the program is ultimately beneficial or opportunistic remains to be seen. But Wagner and Cuban are happy to take that risk. As Cuban writes on his own blog (blogmaverick.com) about the company's innovations, "If it works, everyone, particularly consumers, benefit. If it doesn't, everyone calls me a dumbass, and we go back to doing it the way it was always done."

This is cache, read story here