David Glasser is among the most powerful men in Hollywood. He is the executive producer of Lion, which is nominated for six Oscars next week, including Best Film.
But the day after the Academy Awards, he’ll be in court, forced to explain an $800,000 unpaid debt.
Glasser, the President and COO of The Weinstein Company, has been ordered to appear before the Superior Court of the State of California on February 27. He is accused of failing to pay the money to a banker named Gunnlaugur Erlendsson who provided seed finance for a new film production company. Glasser was one of the guarantors on the loan.
According to Erlendsson the court order follows years of attempted debt recovery: “Despite several settlement attempts, David has continued to repeatedly fail to pay the debt owed, with each settlement to be breached only shortly after his signature,” he said. “Years of promises of payment by David and his brother Phillip have also not been honored and as a result I can no longer trust their word or any agreement with either of them.”
Efforts to reach Glasser by phone were unsuccessful.
The court appearance comes as Glasser and the Weinstein Company are hoping that Lion, which stars Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, triumphs at the Oscars. Glasser is often called the ‘Chief Dealmaker’ of The Weinstein Company and the ‘Third Brother,’ besides founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that The Weinstein Company is facing a $15 million lawsuit for releasing The Founder and Gold within a weekend of each another. FilmNation subsidiary Speedie Distribution claims the company had previously agreed to not release any other film within a week of The Founder so as not to crowd the box office potential for the film.
The Weinstein Company has enjoyed a mixed box office record of late amid talk of ongoing tension between brother founders Harvey and Bob. The company recently delayed the release of two movies Leap! and Tulip Fever.
