Greetings HHSE Friends & Followers - As mentioned in recent months, Hannover House is embarking on an exciting new chapter for the company - one that best reflects the current market conditions for the worldwide entertainment industry and the direction of new trends.
Rather than handle the DVD (and other format) distribution of third-party-owned features, Hannover House is instead focusing on a two tier business model with primary efforts on:
1). MYFLIX - the multi-studio / revenue sharing streaming service; and,
2). ORIGINAL PRODUCTIONS - the creation / production / ownership of feature films and television properties without the distraction and dilution of third-party owners.
As many HHSE longs know, the prior business model of handling distribution for third-party-owned, primarily low-budget, independent productions spiraled into nothingness as the consumer market for collecting physical DVD copies evaporated. During these declining years (2015 - 2018), Hannover House found itself as the target of five producer lawsuits, in which the program owners improperly blamed HHSE for the changing market conditions.
All five of these lawsuits could have - and should have - been dismissed immediately for lack of factual merit. However, Fred Shefte, in-house attorney and HHSE President (at that time) was struggling with dire health issues, and as a result, the company did not respond to these cases in a timely manner (and ended up with "default judgments"). Unfortunately, Shefte has since passed-away from his health challenges... however, the default judgments survived, and it was essential that HHSE deal with these prior to filing the S.E.C. Registration Statement.
How has HHSE dealt with these? In a snapshot, one could modestly proclaim "quite well" >>
* Default Judgment Debts - Originally $3.879-million dollars in total - were negotiated into settlements for a total of $627,500 in cash payments, a reduction of EIGHTY-THREE PERCENT.
* Cash Payments on Settlements (since Sept. 2021) have been $207,500, with monthly installments over the next 9-months from existing company cash flows sufficient to entirely wipe out all remaining balances.
* No New Lawsuits - Reflecting the company's refocus away from outside acquisitions, there have been no new lawsuits of any nature stemming from activities since the release of "Getting Grace" in March of 2018.
MEANWHILE - HHSE is in the final pre-filing stages for the Form 10-12(g) registration, the launch of the MyFlix streaming venture, and the completion of the feature film, "WILDFIRE: THE LEGEND OF THE CHEROKEE GHOST HORSE" (which was produced with financial and other assistance by Hannover House along with private investors and lenders for that specific project). The company is also in final pre-production for the Principal Photography of the epic $12-mm feature western, "THE LEGEND OF BELLE STARR" (although four days of seasonal-specific second-unit scenes have already been filmed).
The future is bright - the future is now. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the 29-year-old Hannover House operations!
Speaking of "THE LEGEND OF BELLE STARR," HHSE C.E.O. (and Belle Starr feature director) ERIC PARKINSON was hosted by the City of Wichita (Kansas) Parks Service and Historic Cowtown facility last week - for location scouting of scenes for this feature. Cowtown consists of approx. 65 period-correct (and fully functional) buildings from the late 1880's on a forty-acre city-owned park site. Cowtown has over 250 registered "wardrobe-correct" re-enactors available to appear in Belle Starr as background-extras - and the fully furnished homes and buildings will save the company hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars in art, props and set-dressing costs. All these savings will ADD to the bottom line for HHSE, to enhance the benefits already enjoyed from production overhead fees and eventual sales & licensing income.
Watch this space!
