Hollywood - Inside.com reports that Miramax has paid the producers of O about $1 million to settle a complaint alleging the studio breached its distribution agreement by failing to release the film before March 17. Miramax co-chairmen Robert and Harvey Weinstein shelved the film, a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, for what some are calling political reasons. In a letter to the film's producers, Miramax proclaimed they were changing the film's release date as a social responsibility in the wake of the Columbine High School shooting and other high profile cases of the same nature. The Weinsteins were major supporters of the Democratic Party's presidential candidate Al Gore and his running mate Joseph Lieberman, an outspoken opponent of violence in the entertainment industry. According to Inside.com, the film's producers' suit alleges that Miramax licensed the rights to the film to third parties in foreign markets. The suit also alleges the Weinsteins threatened to release the film on 1,000 poorly venued screens and without public relations support unless the producers agreed to allow Miramax to assign the film to a third party for release under a different name. In April, Miramax sold the rights to the film to Lion's Gate, which plans to release the film in August. Producers claim that because of the delayed release date, they were not able to capitalize on the popularity of its cast, which includes Julia Stiles, Josh Hartnett and Mekhi Phifer.
