A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles alleges that Cinderbird Screenworks raised $96 million (about €83 million) for its film A Map of Winter on the strength of a distribution agreement that was never signed. The complaint says the studio diverted $34 million to settle costs from an earlier production, leaving investors facing a payment date this week.
The claim, brought on 29 October by investor Ingrid Wessels, seeks repayment of $2.4 million in notes and damages. It centres on Cinderbird’s first issue of commercial paper — short-term, unsecured debt — under a programme capped at $420 million (about €362 million). The studio says the allegations misrepresent its financing and that the film remains on schedule.
The deal behind the notes
The complaint says investors were told that a major distributor would buy North American rights to A Map of Winter, a drama set in a snowbound desert town. But an exhibit attached to the filing lists the proposed sale as “subject to final approval” and gives no signature date. The same schedule shows $34 million allocated to costs for Cinderbird’s previous film, The Last Crossing.
Wessels, who says she bought the notes after receiving the studio’s financing summary, said the distinction was not disclosed to her. “We were told the film’s sale would cover the notes. Nobody told us that sale was still a possibility, not a contract,” she said in an interview. She is asking the judge to freeze further borrowing until the dispute is heard.
“A 90-day note cannot be paid with a film that has not yet been sold.” — Xavier Leal, film-finance analyst
Xavier Leal, a Los Angeles-based film-finance analyst, said short-term borrowing is common when a company can point to money due soon, such as a signed licence payment. But a hoped-for sale is a different matter, he said. “If the buyer can walk away, the borrower still owes the money on the due date,” he said. The notes in the lawsuit mature on 6 November.
A deadline before the premiere
The filing’s attached payment schedule lists $18 million due on 6 November, with further repayments scheduled through January. It says Cinderbird’s cash plan relied on rights sales for A Map of Winter, though the studio had not signed a buyer by the time the notes were issued. The complaint does not establish how much cash the company now has available.
Cinderbird says principal photography began in September in New Mexico and that editing is under way. Spokesperson Cynthia Andreassen said the film’s financing was “properly disclosed to noteholders” and called the lawsuit “an attempt to turn a commercial disagreement into a crisis”. She said the company expects to meet its obligations, but did not answer questions about the unsigned distribution proposal or the $34 million allocation.
Maristella K. Ferrara, who worked as a production accountant on the earlier film, said she recognised several vendor balances listed in the filing. She would not discuss the amounts, citing a confidentiality agreement, but said the schedule “matches the kind of bills that were still circulating after that production wrapped”. The complaint provides no evidence that the earlier film’s costs were improperly incurred.
The case lands as Cinderbird promotes A Map of Winter for a spring release, with its financing now under scrutiny among distributors and lenders. The judge has not ruled on Wessels’s request to restrict new borrowing. A hearing is scheduled for 9 November, three days after the first repayment falls due; the company has not said whether it will seek an extension from noteholders.
