Poster of The Legend of Tembo
Beijing Galloping Horse won the bid for the animated film "The Legend of Tembo" Wednesday pending court approval, former Digital Domain Media Group CEO John Textor confirmed.
Sales are set to be finalized at 1 p.m. Dec. 4 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan L. Shannon in Wilmington, Del., where the bankruptcy proceedings are being held. Details on the bid were not immediately available.
Officials for the China-based company could not be reached for comment Wednesday, so it's uncertain whether it will want to use Port St. Lucie's $40 million animation studio — built for now-bankrupt Digital Domain Media Group — to finish the film.
It's also unclear who will work on the film, though the company had a previous relationship with Digital Domain Media Group and was a co-producer on "Tembo."
Some crew members for the movie are still living on the Treasure Coast, including co-producer and co-director Chuck Williams. Other crew members left in search of work after Digital Domain Media Group laid off 346 employees in Port St. Lucie after the company's September bankruptcy filing.
Williams, fellow co-producer and co-director Aaron Blaise and other business partners, including Textor, had planned to bid on the movie rights. Williams has said he wanted to rehire the crew and finish the film in Port St. Lucie. Williams could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. Textor would not provide further comment.
Beijing Galloping Horse also combined with Reliance MediaWorks Ltd., based in Mumbai, India, to purchase the visual/special effects portion of Digital Domain Media Group, Digital Domain Productions in California, for $30.2 million. Digital Domain Productions has emerged from bankruptcy and is working on previously contracted projects while the rest of the company is auctioned and continues through bankruptcy proceedings.
Meanwhile, Port St. Lucie is still gathering information before determining what to do with the publicly funded Tradition animation studio, city spokesman Ed Cunningham said.
"We're eager to maximize the value of the building and the city-owned property inside," Cunningham said. "But we just have to wait for the bankruptcy court to work out its issues before we can move forward."
The city spent about $40 million to build and equip the studio and leased it to Digital Domain. Port St. Lucie also gave the company $7.8 million in cash out of a promised $10 million economic development grant in exchange for a promise to create 500 jobs by 2014.