His paternal grandmother Pauline Fischman (Weinstein) was born in Noua Sulita, Bessarabia. In the late 1970s, using profits from their concert promotion busi-ness, the brothers created a small independent film distribution company called Miramar, named after their parents Miriam and Max. The company's first releases were primarily music-oriented concert films, such as Paul McCartney's Rockshow. In the early 1980s, Miramax acquired the rights to two British films of benefit shows filmed for the human rights organization Amnesty International. Working closelv with Martin Lewis, the producer of the original films, the Weinstein brothers edited the two films into one movie tailored for the American market. Miramax continued to grow its library of films and directors until, in 1993, Disney offered Harvey and Bob $80 million for ownership of Miramax. Agreeing to the deal that would cement their Hollywood clout and ensure that they would remain at the head of their company, Miramax followed the next year with their first blockbus-ter, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. In 1996 brought Miramax's first Academy Award for Best Picture with the victory of The English Patient. This would start a string of critical successes that would include Shakespeare in Love and Good Will Hunting. On March 29, 2005, it was announced that the Weinstein brothers would leave Miramax and would form their own production company, The Weinstein Company.