The producers of the upcoming drama “Hotel Mumbai” are trying to avoid getting roped into The Weinstein Co.’s bankruptcy fire sale.
According to court documents filed Monday by Hotel Mumbai PTY Ltd. in a Delaware bankruptcy court, producers for the upcoming fact-based thriller starring Armie Hammer and Dev Patel say they terminated the distribution deal with The Weinstein Co. in February, weeks before it filed for bankruptcy.
Representatives for The Weinstein Co. did not immediately return requests from TheWrap for comment.
The producers of the film dispute that “Hotel Mumbai” should still be considered an asset of The Weinstein Company that would be sold off in the bankruptcy in order to return money to creditors, according to their objection to motions the court will hear on Friday approving bidding procedures.
“Hotel Mumbai” is based on the 2009 documentary “Surviving Mumbai,” about the 2008 terrorist attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai that lasted four days, killing 164 people and wounding more than 300.
“The picture is a highly anticipated film and is expected to be widely successful internationally,” the producers wrote in the court filing. “‘Hotel Mumbai”s biggest concern is preserving the picture’s value and honoring its subject matter as best as possible, especially in light of the recently-revealed devastating and horrific allegations regarding Harvey Weinstein’s long history of sexual abuse and rape, among other things, and the impact Mr. Weinstein’s conduct has had on the previously stellar reputation of TWC and on TWC’s ability to operate its business,” it went on.
“Upon learning of these issues and in order to preserve the value of the picture, ‘Hotel Mumbai’ began its attempt to recover rights to the picture under the terms of the license agreement,” the producers’ objection read, noting that the completed film was scheduled to be delivered to the studio on April 30.
If the court approves the producers’ request that TWC uphold the previously rescinded distribution rights,the studio will have three films left unreleased: the Benedict Cumberbatch period drama “Current War,” the Bryan Cranston-Kevin Hart dramedy “The Upside,” the Rooney Mara biblical movie “Mary Magdalene.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.