*Is Weinstein bid for Miramax dead?

The LAT and NYT say the deal to buy the movie company from Disney has fallen apart, the WSJ says it's "on the rocks," and The Wrap says it's still alive - all citing anonymous sources. The Weinstein brothers had teamed up with L.A. billionaire Ron Burkle and other investors on a bid that was believed in excess of $600 million, and for the last several weeks they were said to be in exclusive talks with Disney. The LAT, NYT and WSJ stories all suggest some sort of complication over how Miramax would be merged into the Weinsteins' existing company. Why that would be a problem for the seller was not made clear in these reports. Also unclear are the sources of the reports and their motivations for leaking the apparent breakdown in talks. This is a classic case of post first and clarify later.

*Deadline.com also says the deal is still in play, describing the talks as "tense right now, but not over."