Shooting Gallery to close shop
No new business for post-prod'n house Gun for Hire
Less than a week after its Canadian parent itemus announced a severe cash crunch, Shooting Gallery appears to be in the process of unwinding altogether.
Although no formal announcement has been made regarding the company's status, sources close to the situation said Shooting Gallery Ent., Shooting Gallery Intl. and the Shooting Gallery film series will likely be shuttered, while post-production house Gun for Hire is shutting its doors to new business. Staffers at the entertainment division will be paid through today.
Monday evening, itemus promised a formal announcement about the status of Shooting Gallery within the next 24 hours.
A spokesman for the tech holding company, which inked the ill-fated deal to buy Shooting Gallery in the fall, said it's in deep discussions with the shingle's principals and a bevy of advisers and lawyers to explore its options.
Those include bankruptcy, a fire sale of all assets, or the less likely possibilities that a white knight would step in or that the company would struggle on with drastically pared operating costs.
Last week, itemus said that it wasn't in a position to take on any extra financial burden that and Shooting Gallery couldn't service its debt obligations.
Itemus originally wanted to buy Shooting Gallery primarily for its digital media division, but had to rejig those plans to include the entertainment division after an examination of its books showed the original negotiations had not included significant Shooting gallery debts.
Topper Larry Meistrich is said to have been shopping the film slate and other entertainment assets, but those plans were scuttled when itemus came out with its dire pronouncement last week.
In a bizarre meeting Friday afternoon, Shooting Gallery employees were told they were welcome to report to work Monday but might not get paid. "It was disgusting. You're not fired, so you can't get unemployment," said one worker.
However, that's illegal under New York law. Itemus spokesman Michael O'Conner Clark said staffers will be paid for work Monday and today. After that, their status isn't clear.
On the sudden change of fortune, Clark said itemus took a gamble and it appears to have lost. The company assumed Shooting Gallery's debts and liabilities hoping to make a strong go of the Web and technology-based businesses in time to sell the film assets to the highest bidder. A drop in post-production plus a well-documented tech slowdown hit both companies.
