'Odd Thomas' Producers Suing Over $35 Mil in Marketing and Distribution Costs, Loans

Two Out of Ten Prods. and Fusion Films claim that several entities failed to pay up on the feature starring Willem Dafoe and based on a Dean Koontz novel.

The producers of Odd Thomas, a feature starring Willem Dafoe and based on a Dean Koontz novel, are suing several entities alleging that they failed to provide $35 million that would have gone toward marketing and distributing the movie and paying back production loans.

Two Out of Ten Prods., known at TOOT, and Fusion Films filed their lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, naming as defendants Outsource Media Group Fund, ABS Investment Group, individuals Craig Chang and Mark Bishop, and Outsource Media Group. The latter, referred to as OMG in the lawsuit, is run by principals Bradley Holmes, Dan Reardon and Harrison Kordestani, an executive producer of lower-budget horrors and thrillers such as The Coffin, Already Dead, In a Dark Place and Intervention.

Read the full complaint: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Documents/ESQ/Odd_Thomas.pdf

The lawsuit alleges that when money was promised but did not arrive, “substantial problems with the distribution of the film and with the plaintiff’s existing investors and international distributors” arose.

The producers had several meetings with OMG at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 and amended their agreement, and promises that money would be forthcoming were again made. Some of the money, according to the lawsuit, was to come from Justin Thompson, a son of one of the founders of Skype, and via Mark Bishop, an expert in mortgage-backed securities.

While at Cannes, says the lawsuit, Bishop “reiterated that he had $45 million in bonds that he was willing to pledge to ensure that the print and advertising commitment for the picture was met.”

Still, the money never arrived, according to the lawsuit.

TOOT and Fusion are suing for compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs of the suit and other relief.

Odd Thomas tells the story of a clairvoyant short-order cook working in a desert town who encounters a potentially dangerous and very mysterious man.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/odd-thomas-producers-suing-35-416288