September 17, 2003 -- Two of Hollywood's biggest superheroes are talking about joining forces to capture the "Blair Witch" studio, The Post has learned.
Marvel Enterprises, the leading publisher of Spider-Man and other comic book heroes, is considering teaming up with Harvey Weinstein's Miramax Film Corp. to make a run at Artisan- the indie film company behind the blockbuster smash "The Blair Witch Project."
Sources familiar with the situation say that Marvel has talked to Miramax and others about forging an alliance in the last week or so to combat a competing bid from a team led by former USA Films Chairman Scott Greenstein and buyout big shot Thomas H. Lee Co., which at one point was thought to have an inside track in the auction, which got under way in May.
However, talks between Artisan and the T.H. Lee team have cooled after the investment team tried to lower its bid.
Meanwhile, Artisan has extended the auction process to accommodate new entrants who've emerged. They include: Echobridge, a team formed by former USA Network executive Michael Alexander, with backing from Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking; Jeff Sagansky, former vice chairman of Paxson Communications, with backing from the Gores brothers; and Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, which recently asked to be admitted into the process, sources said
And one spurned suitor, Lion's Gate Entertainment - the publicly traded indie filmmaker that has been courting Artisan for more than a year - is back at the table with backing from media investors Providence Equity Partners.
Final bids for Artisan are due Oct. 9. Artisan attracted initial bids of between $230 million and $300 million, including the assumption of $85 million of debt.
An Artisan spokesman declined to comment. Officials at Marvel could not be reached for comment. "This is just speculation," a Miramax spokesman said.
Artisan is currently rolling cameras on two Marvel movies: 'The Punisher' and 'Man-Thing'.