HARVEY WEINSTEIN, the Hollywood film-maker who co-founded Miramax, will be locked in talks this weekend with senior Disney executives over an exit deal that would see him pocket a multimilliondollar payoff.

Mr Weinstein is understood to want to part company with Disney, to which he and his brother sold Miramax in 1993, and set up a new entertainment company.

His departure would draw to a close a difficult relationship between Mr Weinstein and Michael Eisner, chief executive of Disney.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films, winner of more than 50 Academy Awards in the past two decades, are expected to meet Disney executives in Los Angeles.

Disney is expected to outline an agreement that would see the Weinstein brothers, who remain co-chairmen of Miramax despite selling it to Disney for $75 million (£41 million) a decade ago, part ways professionally for the first time in 25 years. The company was named after their parents, Miriam and Max.

Under the deal to be discussed, Bob Weinstein would remain with Disney and continue running his successful Dimension Films venture, which was behind the Scream and Spy Kids franchises. Harvey Weinstein would establish a new company, most probably with Disney having the first right of refusal to distribute its films. Disney might also license the Miramax name back to Mr Weinstein for film projects.

Sources familiar with the situation said that there was still room for alternative outcomes.

They said that the Weinstein brothers could still leave Disney but that the least likely scenario would be that they both stayed.

Harvey Weinstein’s likely exit follows several disputes with the Walt Disney chief executive over the size and direction of Miramax. The company started as a producer of low-budget arthouse films but has recently concerned Disney by committing bigger budgets to films, not always successfully.

The talks come as Disney last night unveiled a 20 per cent rise in profits for the third quarter, up to $604 million from $503 million a year earlier. The rise was fuelled by a 32 per cent increase in earnings from its theme parks, which offset lower returns from its film business.

The expectation that Mr Weinstein will exit Disney has fanned interest among Wall Street financiers amid expectations that the movie mogul will require start-up funding for the new venture, although no specific business plans have been formed. It is understood that Disney and Miramax want to strike a deal before Disney’s financial year begins on October 1.

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