Miramax Films, the company behind three Oscar contenders, is cutting 14% of its workforce according to reports.

The cuts see about 75 lower or mid-management staff being made redundant in Los Angeles, London, Rome and its headquarters in New York, Daily Variety reported.

The Walt Disney-owned company has seen Amelie, In the Bedroom and Iris nominated for this year's Academy Awards.

But redundancies have been blamed on several money-draining factors such as the now-defunct Talk magazine and expensive productions such as The Shipping News and All the Pretty Horses, which failed to recoup at the box office.

Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridge Jones's Diary has been a worldwide hit

Miramax have so far been unavailable for comment.

But a spokesman earlier told Variety that staffing had been increased by 16% in the previous four months and the cuts restored numbers back to October levels.

Talk magazine, the high-profile celebrity magazine run by British editor Tina Brown, was closed down in February, with the crash in advertising being blamed.

The magazine was launched in a blaze of glamour in 1999 in a joint venture between Miramax and Hearst Corp.

But although producing its own movies became a drain on resources, Miramax has scored well distributing films it has acquired.

Among the success stories are Bridget Jones's Diary, Chocolat and Apocalypse Now Redux.

Oscar nominee In the Bedroom has so far taken $32m (�22.5m) at the US box office while French comedy Amelie grossed $30m (�21m).

Both will compete for five Academy Awards at Sunday's Oscar ceremony, alongside Iris, which received three nominations.


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