EXCLUSIVE: Months after our report of funding trouble on conspiracy thriller Lone Wolf, starring Bryan Cranston and Lily Gladstone, many of the crew, vendors and some of the cast remain out of pocket, they have told us.
The movie is still facing a shortfall of around $2M before it can complete and there is still filming to be done with the lead actors before post-production can start. The financiers have been trying to get on the same page and close the funding gap for months, looking into various paths to funding. The lead actors are not among those still owed money.
Wagner Media Finance, led by producer Jordan Wagner, has had to step in to take over the production entity, having been assigned it from Yale Productions, which recently went bankrupt. Wagner has been a producer on the project from the outset and has credits as a financier including Hypnotic, Flight Risk and Afterburn. Rabbits Black, a U.S. equity investor and senior lender whose credits include Weekend In Taipei and Sneaks, was originally the main financier on the movie. The company says it has met its funding obligations.
We understand the partners are trying to pull together and arrive at a suitable finance structure. There are talks with some executive producers on the film to increase their stake and for the budget to be brought down. If a satisfactory solution can’t be reached, we understand legal action is being discussed among some producers.
As we revealed, the trouble started early on the film, with crew telling us that their pay was delayed from the early weeks of production. This led to union reps having to come down to set and the project stopping for multiple days following a Do Not Work Order from SAG.
Lone Wolf has a lot to recommend it. Mark Pellington directs the conspiracy thriller about a troubled vet (Gladstone) struggling with addiction who is recruited by a contractor (Cranston) for a covert government plot to assassinate a high-level politician. Cast also includes O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Jennifer Ehle, Chet Hanks and Spencer Garrett. The producing team includes Oscar nominee Christine Vachon and vet Ted Hope alongside others.
Today, producer Jordan Wagner, who is working with other lien holding creditors (including Blue Rider and Safier Entertainment) to resolve the funding issues, told us: “This process has been extremely challenging and, at times, frustrating. We originally stepped in to provide a short-term bridge loan to support the producers and financiers, based on contractual assurances that our capital would be repaid within a matter of months. However, after fully funding our loan, the production encountered significant complications, largely due to a breakdown in the financing structure. Unfortunately, the parties who initially brought us into the project did not meet the funding obligations outlined in the materials we were provided at the time of our loan.”
He continued: “To make matters worse, the original production company behind Lone Wolf, Yale Productions, faced significant financial issues and, as Deadline has already reported, has recently filed for bankruptcy. As a senior creditor, and with our investors’ best interests in mind, it became necessary for Wagner Media Finance to step in to take over the production entity, and we were ultimately assigned the entity from Yale Productions.
“We are working collaboratively with the project’s other lenders, financiers, and producers to chart a responsible path forward. I continue to believe in the creative vision behind this film, and despite the financial turbulence, I truly believe audiences will connect with it once it’s completed. Our priorities are clear: protect investor capital, ensure the cast, crew, and vendors are paid what they are owed for what appears to be the final week of production, finish post, and work toward delivering the finished film to our distribution partners.”
Those include Vertical for North America and a handful of international buyers.
Rabbits Black told us today: “It is still our understanding that Lone Wolf LLC intends to pay all outstanding bills. As previously stated, while Rabbits Black has fully met its contractual financial obligations in connection with the film, it remains actively supportive of the production’s efforts to resolve past due amounts. A new team is now leading efforts on our side to help facilitate a collaborative resolution, and we will continue to support all partners as we work toward bringing the film to completion.”
