So: Miramax is suing Daily Mail columnist and chick-lit novelist Allison Pearson, alleging that in 2002 they gave her an advance and a two-year contract to produce a new book, on which they’d own the movie rights. To give some perspective: the deal was brokered during the Harvey Weinstein era, and Miramax now alleges that they haven’t even been able to get Pearson to return their calls since 2006––a year after the Weinsten’s gave over their stake in the mini-major to Disney and left to start their own company.

But: Since Pearson is married to New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane, and according to Gawker, there is “speculation that critic-pandering Harvey Weinstein—when he was at Miramax—might have been inspired to buy her book because of Pearson’s husband.” Which make me wonder: totally hypothetically, if Anthony Lane was paid off to wink-wink positively review Miramax output from 2002 until the Weinsteins left the company in 2005, did he at least do a good job of it? My findings after the jump.

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