CANNES -- Even as the multitasking Harvey Weinstein arrived Wednesday on the Croisette -- where he plans to represent projects that will be released by Disney's Miramax Films and his and Bob Weinstein's new venture -- the fledgling Weinstein Co. secured North American rights to the new project "Stormbreaker."

"Stormbreaker" will introduce to the screen the 14-year-old special agent Alex Rider, hero of Anthony Horowitz's series of novels about a reluctant teenage superspy. The $40 million-budgeted movie, which is in preproduction, also has been presold to Entertainment Film Distribution for the U.K.

First up on the Weinsteins' Cannes agenda is a screening of 20 minutes from Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm," which has been set up for Friday at the Olympia. Gilliam and Monica Bellucci will accompany the film, which Miramax's Dimension opens stateside July 29.

Following the screening, the Weinsteins will host a distributors' cocktail party at the Majestic, where they'll be joined by John Madden, who is directing the Quentin Tarantino presentation "Killshot," a Weinstein Co. film, and Mia Maestro, star of "Secuestro express," an upcoming Miramax release.

The occasion will celebrate "Sin City," Dimension's first-ever film In Competition at Cannes, and "Wolf Creek," the Weinstein Co. pickup playing in the Directors' Fortnight. (The film will screen without the benefit of a Weinstein Co. opening logo, which hasn't been designed.)

The Weinsteins also will appear at the traditional Miramax distributors lunch at the Majestic Beach on Tuesday where they will be drumming up interest in the Weinstein Co.'s Jim Sonzero-helmed "Pulse," Kevin Smith's "The Passion of the Clerks" and John Gulager's "Feast."

Other titles Miramax International is handling include "The Underclassman," "The Amityville Horror," "Proof" and "Curandero."

For anyone else, handling the interests of two companies simultaneously might create an identity crisis, but Harvey Weinstein said: "We're excited about juggling Miramax and the Weinstein Co. projects. There are over 25 joint projects with Disney."

As for "Stormbreaker," British-based sales and financier Capitol Films is handling international sales on the title.

Rights to Horowitz's books were first optioned by British production company Samuelson Prods. more than three years ago and will be produced by them with backing from the Isle of Man Film Commission and VIP Medienfonds 4, in association with Rising Star. The U.K. Film Council is pumping £2.3 million ($4.3 million) into the production from its Premier production fund, a council spokesman said.

The deal with the Weinstein Co. was negotiated by Charles Layton, who represented the Weinstein Co., and IOMFC's Steve Christian, who was represented by John Sloss.

Geoffrey Sax ("White Noise") will direct the project from a screenplay by Horowitz based on his own novel. The producers are starting the search for the actor to play lead character Alex Rider.

Horowitz has written six Rider novels to date and his first, "Stormbreaker," has sold more than 1 million copies.

The series of novels center on a schoolboy who is recruited by British secret service MI6.

The movie will be produced by Marc and Peter Samuelson, Steve Christian of IOMFC and Andy Grosch of VIP Medienfonds 4. The London- and Los Angeles-based Samuelson Prods. first sealed an overhead and development deal with the Isle of Man Film Commission in May 2002 (HR 5/18/02).

It is one of the first projects to be developed through the deal with the U.K. offshore tax haven's film commission.

The Samuelsons worked with both Horowitz and the IOMFC on "The Gathering," which shot on the island and was co-written by the author.

Previous Samuelson productions include "Arlington Road," "Wilde" and "Tom and Viv."