Hat tip to Randall G Reese (@chapter11cases) for posting this:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/125441430/Rhythm-and-Hues-Chapter-11-Bankruptcy-Petition
Page 17 shows the law firm charging $489,402 + hourly fees. Is this the fee for bankruptcy or just general counsel. If its just for the bankruptcy it’s upsetting because a lot of people who were laid off with no pay could have been paid.
Soldier On.
looking at some of the “Wage/Benefits” owed (pages 11 & 12) they were not going to get far with $489k, but your right, every little helps.
Those are only the top earners. I bet there are many on that list of creditors who got paid considerably less per month but were stringed along for months too. Many of them probably need the money more desperately and could have been paid with those $489k.
Hats off to John Hughes for being so transparent and open about the documents.
Filling bankruptcy becomes public record.
He is being as transparent as he can be inside the company as well… emailing out a status update to remaining employees at 2 this morning.
Sad that artists name are not redacted. Document says the legal fees were prior to filing.
looks like the names are redacted…?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_costs_of_debt
If I read this correctly, the more R&H pays for the bankruptcy the more money it can get in return from taxes which could save them more money in the end making it possible to pay back more of the owed money.
Spend a dollar to save a dime… Not likely to do much help.
What’s amazing is they ask us to come in on Saturday, yet we’re still without pay. I don’t even think we’ll get paid next week.
We can still just be “let go” on a whim and screw us over by not paying us just like they screwed over the long time staffers here.
@RH_vfx
Now that they filed, they can’t do that anymore. Our wages will be protected and paid by whatever money the judge will allow to come in.
Yeah except for 3 weeks down the road is when R&H actually pays you… and then “WHOOPS” no money. The wages of the people laid off were protected by the law as well, but we’re still waiting for our check, aren’t we? For R&H the employees are last in line. We’ll see what the court thinks.
@Heywould Unfortunately, in the eyes of the bankruptcy court, those who were laid off are considered ‘creditors.’ As such, they’re in line to get paid along with any other creditors.
Employees who weren’t laid off are ‘assets’ and are considered needed to pay the creditors… as such, they will get paid once the money starts flowing again.
The creditors will have to wait unfortunately until the whole matter is resolved unfortunately.
Yeah no doubt they will be paid… just enough to keep them in their seats and then they will be shuffled over to the creditor section as well. Go look at your pay check. You last got paid on for work done on Jan 15th. When did you realize you did not get paid for work on Jan 16th — not until Feb 8 when they told you checks would be late. So enjoy your wonderful “asset” status while it lasts, because you will be owed many upwards of $10,000, just like the rest of us, in the future.
I was reading up a little on the bankruptcy procedure… Employees who are owed $10,000 or less are considered ‘priority’ meaning that they will be first in line of the creditors.
R&H intends to stay in business and is making great efforts to do so. It’s less of a matter of ‘if’ you will get paid and more of a ‘when.’
The good thing is, R&H is working with the court to go through proceedings on an accelerated schedule so that they can resolve these issues and get back to business.
I definitely feel for you though… I know if I was in the same situation I would be highly aggravated. (I don’t work for R&H)
Yeah. I’m incredibly pessimistic when it comes to this industry. Been screwed out of money many, many times before. Until I get a pay check in my hand and see the money in my account I assume that I will not be paid.
What a way to live.
Remaining employees are considered “assets” at this point as far as bankruptcy goes. As an ‘asset,’ you’re considered a necessary part of resolving R&H’s current debt.
Yeah… it’s a scary position to be in right now, but you’re much safer now that the papers are filed than you were on Sunday.
“What a way to live.”
Just curious, why do you choose to remain in such a hideous industry?
Oh trust me, I’m currently looking for other opportunities out of this shit hole industry.
oh I know this attitude – either you accept or you go…
Black light – you didn’t get this:
People on this blog are here because they want, and hope to change something
It is his personal option what he wants to do, but honestly I will leave only when the JOB is done
My radar is starting to pick up some UI’s…
@whitelight A couple of posts down, at the very bottom of the comments section in the post titled “Campaign to End VFX Subsidies Update”, user Andrew Swihart makes an excellent comment about the continually evolving nature of the film industry, going back all the way to the 1920s.
I admire what you guys are trying to do, but I don’t think you’re so much trying to change something as you’re trying to change something back to the way it was. This is not going to happen.
So instead of fighting an uphill battle against the studios’ deep, deep pockets, why not take your skills somewhere else where you’ll be appreciated and have job security? I can tell you from first hand experience that it can be scary, and you might have to pick up some new skills to supplement your existing skills, but the pay off – divorcing yourself from the whims of this volatile and callous industry – is worth it.
didn’t get this Blacklight?
I’ve told you – and it seems not to understand. But I know you…you are on the other side..so it is understandable.
Let me tell you something and better understand
WE ARE NOT GIVING UP
@whitelight Like I said, I admire what you guys are trying to do. It would be great if the film industry as a whole -not just vfx- weren’t the ugly thing it is today and has been since its inception. Best of luck to you.
this is hilarious, blacklight vs, whitelight CAGE MATCH!
[...] VFX Soldier – Rhythm & Hues Bankruptcy Docs Posted [...]
Interesting read…
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118066191/
Its interesting.. shows all VFX artist are getting hit hard..
I don’t know about you guys, but I work to get paid. Working for credits and prestige wears off rather quickly. If I was still at R&H, I would have walked. No point in continuing if you aint getting paid.
Word.
Most didn’t have a chance to walk. We we’re fired shortly after being told checks would be delayed. It is certainly in the power of those still working to walk though.
if I still worked there I would of walked. Well I would of asked to be ‘fired’ so I could collect unemploment and look for something new.
On a side note, they have developed a lot of tools that I think they could market and sell a lot like DD did with Nuke and Sony is doing with Katana.
Meanwhile in games
Bigpoint staff vote for employee organisation
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-12-06-bigpoint-staff-vote-for-employee-organisation?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=us-daily
Wise move. Hopefully more unionization votes to come!
One can only hope.
I’ll wager the game industry gets a union way before the vfx industry…
What kind of IP does R&H own? All I see in the document is some digital asset management system and render queuing… Which any midsize vfx facility have. That’s not going to prevent a studio from pulling out its project. I thought they had proprietary render & animation engines. They’re not listed in this document.
Voodoo is their proprietary animation package. Icy I believe is their lighting package. (Or composting.. I forget)
Voodoo is animation and tracking. Icy is compositing, lighthouse was shaders and I heard they were writing a new lighting package