EXCLUSIVE: The production company that houses Angels In The Asylum, the beleaguered British indie film starring Simon Pegg, has effectively filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
AITA Films Limited intends to appoint law firm Debenhams Ottaway to oversee the administration process. The development follows Angels In The Asylum halting filming halfway through its shoot after running out of cash, as Deadline revealed last month.
In the UK, company directors can put a firm into administration if it can’t pay its debts. Deadline has previously reported that Angels In The Asylum’s 150 crew members are owed at least £600,000 ($776,000) in wages, while suppliers are also out of pocket significantly.
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The administration process is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but unlike in the U.S., where directors remain in control of the business, Debenhams Ottaway will take charge of AITA Films’ operations and will attempt to restructure the company financially so that it can pay creditors.
The process protects AITA Films from legal claims from those owed money. It also means AITA Films can’t be forcibly wound up by creditors, which was a live risk for the company. Rob Sorrenti, the producer and director of Angels In The Asylum, is AITA Films’ sole director.
In a statement, Sorrenti and Heather Greenwood, his producing partner, said: “We have been forced into appointing an administrator as a precaution. We hope this is temporary while we continue to raise the funds for the film.”
Sorrenti and Greenwood told colleagues late last month that they are “exploring financing options that will not only meet all existing obligations to all creditors but will also enable us to complete production.” They added: “After deep discussions with our stakeholders, we believe that keeping AITA Films Ltd operational is the best decision, as it maximises our ability to settle all debts.”
The reasons for Angels In The Asylum’s financial strife are disputed. The position of Sorrenti and Greenwood is that funding under an arrangement with distributor Parkland Pictures has not materialized. Parkland CEO John Cairns told Deadline that his company had no agreement to finance Angels in the Asylum beyond its work as a sales agent.
Those caught up in the crisis are furious, with some complaining that the issues have been compounded by poor communication and false hope from those running the production. “I believe they gambled with people’s livelihoods, knowing full well the risk of not receiving investment, but such was their hurry to get their project to screen they overlooked this,” said one crew member.
Inspired by true events, Angels in the Asylum co-stars Katherine Waterston, Minnie Driver, Lesley Nicol, Rose Williams, Aurora Perrineau, and Alex Jennings. Cush Jumbo and Miriam Margolyes were originally attached. It centers on women who were forcibly confined in isolation at Surrey’s Long Grove Asylum in the 1930s after being deemed to be typhoid carriers. Those who have worked on the film talk animatedly about the strength of the script and rushes.
Pegg is an executive producer, though he has not invested in the film and has not been paid for his work to date. The Crown director Steven Daldry is also an executive producer.
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