A company with ties to visual effects/animation house Prana Studios–with offices in L.A. and a subsidiary in Mumbai, India–has submitted the winning bid to acquire Rhythm & Hues, the Oscar-winning VFX studio that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. The purchase price is about $30 million, with the deal receiving final approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday after a brief delay when two former bidders filed objections.
The acquisition of Rhythm & Hues is being made by 34×118 Holdings, a wholly owned affiliate of Prana. The new owner assumes responsibility for some $16 million in loans from Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox which have helped Rhythm & Hues to keep operations going this past month–despite the layoff of 250 employees–so it could complete VFX work on current projects, including the features Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters for Fox, and R.I.P.D. for Universal.
Prana reportedly beat out bids that included one from Psyop, another from India’s Prime Focus (which already maintains operations in Hollywood), and a Chinese venture affiliated with the president of film distribution company China Lion. The original stalking horse bidder–one intended to spark other competing bids–was JS Communications, a South Korean entertainment firm that pulled out of the running last week.
A visual effects team–led by Bill Westenhofer of Rhythm & Hues–won the Best Visual Effects Oscar last month for Life Of Pi, just 11 days after Rhythm & Hues filed for bankruptcy.
Review: Drew Hancock Makes Feature Directorial Debut With “Companion”
"Iris, wake up!"
Early in "Companion," lovely Iris and her nerdy-nice boyfriend Josh are driving to a secluded lake house for a stay with friends. Iris wakes from a nap and lovingly tells Josh she was dreaming about him. They reminisce about how they first met at the supermarket. All those oranges tumbling onto the floor! Ha ha.
In 20 minutes, absolutely everything about this sweet scene will be turned on its head in a terrifying and sinister manner. You will be surprised and shocked. Unless you saw the trailer, which reveals the whole thing.
And so we begin with a dilemma, dear moviegoer. "Companion," an exceedingly clever and entertaining sci-fi-horror-thriller-comedy by Drew Hancock in his feature debut, has more twists and turns than a corkscrew. But it's utterly impossible to write about the film without revealing the first of those twists.
So if you like coming in totally cold to a movie, then we're sorry to see you go, but stop reading! Otherwise, stay with us — we promise there'll be more surprises to come.
Moving on: Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) arrive at the estate. A nervous Iris stops at the door, worried that Josh's friends won't like her. He urges her to simply brighten up and act happy.
Kat (Megan Suri), Josh's ex, greets them. She is gorgeous, and frosty to Iris. Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his handsome boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage) are nicer. Then there's Sergey (Rupert Friend), Kat's aloof Russian boyfriend — sugar daddy, really — and owner of the house. The password to his devices is Stalin's birthday, which tells you something.
Things get dark, quickly. The next morning, someone dies. They will not be the first — this is a horror movie. And suddenly Iris, caked in blood,... Read More