People to Meet: Joe Patrick, Miramax

Joe Patrick is head of worldwide sales at Miramax.

He is heading up the distribution effort for Miramax as the Hollywood producer and distributor heads into its first-ever MIPCOM. Having been bought by investment firm Filmyard for US$663 million last year, Miramax is upping its profile in the TV business and will exhibit at MIPCOM for the first time, while company CEO, Mike Lang, will be giving a keynote address at the market.

“Miramax is re-establishing a distribution organisation having acquired the library from Disney,” Patrick says. “In some ways we look like a start-up company – but we are a twenty five year old brand.”

Patrick, who joined the company from MGM earlier this year works alongside Eric Doctorow, who heads up digital distribution. The company’s focus is distributing movies from its 700-title catalogue, which has titles including Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago, Good Will Hunting, The English Patient and No Country for Old Men. It has a trio of new titles for 2011: The Debt, starring Helen Mirren, the Guillermo del Toro-produced Don’t be Afraid of the Dark and Last Night, starring Keira Knightley.

Miramax also has plans to launch channels. “We will offer the catalogue and if that develops into branded on-demand or cable TV services then we can focus on both,” Patrick says.