"Ender's Game" Protected in Digital Domain Sale

Judge Brendan L. Shannon signed off on the sale of Digital Domain Media Group's (DDMG) assets to the Galloping Horse and Reliance MediaWorks joint venture. The group will pay $30.2 million, additionally take on contracts worth $3.6 million and pay employees $2.9 million in wages. Court records show that the Chinese-Indian team beat out 3 other bidders, but Ender's Game producers OddLot Entertainment (OLE) did not participate in the auction. We reported last week that OLE has filed a motion with the court to protect the Ender's Game project:

Given the importance of the assumption of all of the Agreements to the success of Ender's Game, OLE is particularly concerned that a buyer may agree to assume all of the Agreements at the Auction and the hearing on the Sale Motion, only to turn around and assume only certain of the Agreements after this Court has approved the sale.

Documents show that OddLot has been successful with this motion, as the now approved Asset Purchase Agreement (PDF) has been revised to include the following:

On or before the Closing, Buyer may, from time to time, update the Schedules hereto listing Acquired Assets to add or remove a Contract, lease or other asset to or from such Schedules. Provided, however, that Buyer shall not remove any of the agreements related to Ender's Game. (page 12)

Within 30 days after the Closing Date, Buyer may by written notice to Sellers indicating which, if any, Post Closing Contracts or Post Closing Assets shall be assumed by Sellers and assigned to Buyer on the Assignment Effective Date [...] Provided, however, that none of the agreements related to Ender's Game shall constitute Post Closing Contracts notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary. (page 13)

That should ease the most severe of OLE's concerns about the Digital Domain sale, and after all the threat of moving Ender's Game VFX work to another provider could have only been that... a threat! Another reassuring fact for OLE should be that Galloping Horse has extensive experience as a film/TV production company. The most prominent film is probably 2010's The Karate Kid with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, where Galloping Horse was co-producing.

We haven't seen an official statement from Summit Entertainment or OLE yet, and we can only speculate if the relationship between those two companies and Digital Domain Productions has been harmed too badly in the process of this bankruptcy. I personally hope that everything can be worked out, the producers continue to support Digital Domain, and together they bring us a spectacular Ender's Game film on November 1, 2013.