Harvey Weinstein and the Curious Case of the Broken Sundance Sculpture

The long history of the Weinsteins at Sundance added an unusual footnote this morning when an interview session at a Park City art gallery resulted in broken $1,200 sculpture. The sculpture in question -- a heavy, smooth, swooping piece of basalt entitled "Rising Phoenix" -- took a tumble and split clean in half prior to interviews for the Weinsteins' film Nowhere Boy, premiering tonight at at the festival. According to one Movieline source, the Weinstein Company picked up the tab quickly after hustling the press junket to a hotel across Main Street. Or... did they?

Separately, a gallery source said that the sculpture was broken by an unnamed journalist covering Nowhere Boy, but went on to explain that the journalist covered the cost of the damaged art herself. Meanwhile, when asked for comment, a representative for TWC noted that a member of its Sundance publicity firm knocked it over -- not a journalist. She noted further: "The gallery was able to fix the sculpture (I guess immediately) so there was no charge to anyone." Presented with the above photograph of the damaged piece (here's what it looked like before), the rep restated that no one affiliated with TWC or Nowhere Boy was asked to pay for it.

Not to start Sundance SculptureGate or anything (this is far goofier than it is nefarious), but in any case, the purchaser will receive a lovely, refurbished version of sculptor Brian Berman's work, with the pieces fastened back together and bound by a customized leather belt. And if Harvey Weinstein does ultimately wind up with the broken piece, let it suffice to say this probably wasn't the ideal first Sundance acquisition the company had in mind. That said, at least no one will complain when it winds up on a shelf at Weinstein HQ. Developing...