The producers of the Dev Patel-starrer Hotel Mumbai have filed a petition demanding that their movie be left out of The Weinstein Company bankruptcy sale, Variety reported. Directed by Antony Maras, the movie revisits the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, which left more than 160 people dead and over 300 injured. The rights to Hotel Mumbai are set to be a part of Weinstein Company’s asset sale to Lantern Capital.
Hotel Mumbai is scheduled for completion on April 30 and a release in September or October. It is one of several unreleased films included in the bankruptcy sale, alongside the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer The Current War and the Bryan Cranston-Kevin Hart comedy The Upside.
The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in March after its co-founder, Harvey Weinstein, was accused of sexually harassing and raping female assistants and actors. The movie’s producers, Hotel Mumbai Pty Ltd, claimed that they withdrew their contract after the allegations became public. According to the Variety report, Hotel Mumbai Pty Ltd attorney Maura J Wogan wrote to Weinstein Company COO David Glasser on February 14, rescinding the rights and citing the allegations against Weinstein. There was no further communication on the matter. Glasser was fired four days after he received the letter.
According to a legal 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.”
Hotel Mumbai’s producers have also stated that The Weinstein Company had agreed to spend $10 million on promoting and advertising the movie, and that they have received no assurances that the studio’s buyer will absorb the costs.
“The Picture is a highly anticipated film and is expected to be widely successful internationally,” the filing reads. “The Picture has special meaning to India in particular given the subject of the film.”