UPDate: The Hollywood Reporter says negotiations are still ongoing! It's gonna be a long weekend.

As of mid-April it seemed like a sure thing that Bob and Harvey Weinstein would be able to buy back Miramax, the indie studio they founded and then were pushed out of by Disney, only to watch the entire outfit founder under Disney's rule. Disney wanted to get rid of it, the Weinsteins had rounded up enough money to buy it, and there seemed no reason it would fall apart.

But now, of course, it's fallen apart. According to The Los Angeles Times , negotiations between the Weinsteins and Disney have fallen apart, even though Disney had hoped to have the deal finalized by today. The sticking points range from debate over how the Weinsteins would integrate Miramax into their Weinstein Company from the simple issue of money; apparently Disney is prepared to approach two other bidders whom the Weinsteins had beaten out in April.

It goes against all logic I can think of to imagine anyone other than the Weinsteins taking the Miramax name, but then again, Hollywood studios don't often operate with logic I can understand. We'll let you know if the Weinsteins somehow pick themselves back up and snag the rights to the company they named for their parents, but it's not looking particularly good right now.