The Weinstein Company is officially drowning in debt after the company, owned by disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, filed bankruptcy Monday .(March 19) Caused by the sexual harassment allegations, which forced Weinstein to give up his company and spark the #MeToo movement. With less than $500,000 cash, according to Variety, the company owes a myriad of people, including Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler and the former president Barack Obama’s daughter Malia Obama.
Deadline obtained the official court document, a 394-page list of people the company owes. Movie bigwigs like Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Dame Judi Dench aren’t surprising names on the list. It’s names like David Bowie, Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe, Robert DeNiro, CBS, ABC, Netflix and Amazon that are jaw-dropping.
Former employees are listed as well, which explains Obama as she interned for the company last year.
Bidding wars for The Weinstein Company are underway after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Reportedly billionaire investor Ron Burkle threw up a bid for $500 million, but it fell through after the Weinstein Co. board felt Burkle and his partner Maria Contreras-Sweet weren’t negotiating in good faith. Lantern Asset Management offered $310 million in cash, plus $125 million in assumed liabilities and $15 million in fees for current projects, according to Deadline, and it seems like the best offer on the table.
Obama and Coogler might not get their money until everything is sorted out, but with the ongoing success of Black Panther (it’s continuing to shatter records, grossing $605.4 million in the United States and $1.1 billion worldwide), we can guarantee Coggler is still eating.