‘Wired’ Distribution Crumbles: Film Not Out of the Woods Yet

Just when it looked like the tortured saga of “Wired” was about to close, another chapter is opening. “It’s like bad Agatha Christie,” said Edward Feldman, who co-produced the controversial film about John Belushi’s life and 1982 death by a drug overdose.

The film’s producers are back in the market for a distributor this week, days after an agreement with Atlantic Entertainment Group fell apart because of that company’s deteriorating financial condition.

“It seems like endless troubles,” said “Wired” co-producer Charles Meeker. “At the moment we’re licking our wounds, thinking about what to do next.”

While some insiders hold out hope that chief executive officer Alan Saffron can pull Atlantic back from the brink, the departure last week of four top executives suggests severe disarray at the 14-year-old independent company, responsible for releasing such films as “A World Apart,” “1969” and “Stormy Monday.”

“We are working on several different things,” Saffron said Friday, adding that officers of the company will probably reach a decision about Atlantic’s future later this week. He declined to say whether a sale of the company was under consideration.

“We are definitely in business and going into the future,” said Saffron, who is also chief executive of KVC Home Video.

Saffron added that the distribution of “Wired” would be part of this week’s discussions within Atlantic. But Feldman, who said the movie is back in his possession, is already searching for other distributors.

Saffron bought the heavily indebted Atlantic last December from its founder, Tom Coleman, promising an immediate infusion of $25 million in new capital, and an additional $50 million for future film production.

Saffron’s inability to raise some of that capital is at the heart of Atlantic’s financial woes, he explained. “It’s difficult for all independents to raise capital in the market today,” he said.

Saffron said he regretted the departures of four top Atlantic executives last week. An Atlantic spokesman told the Hollywood Reporter that the executives left because “the company has severe financial problems.” And industry sources said the executives made the decision to leave after their paychecks stopped.

The four executives are: Jonathan Dana, president; Mitch Blum, distribution and marketing president; Jim Gould, executive vice president for motion picture finance and licensing; and Jeff Ivers, chief financial officer.

“Wired” has faced a series of obstacles since Feldman decided to make a film based on reporter Bob Woodward’s best-selling 1984 book of the same title. Friends and business associates of Belushi threatened to sue Feldman in 1985, and again in 1986, if he went ahead with the film. Soon after, in an unrelated development, financing for the film from New Zealand interests fell apart. A deal with the same investors was later resurrected, but by then Feldman had to hire a new director and cast.

When the film was completed last year, the producers settled on a potential distributor, New Visions Pictures. But New Visions backed out at the last minute--reportedly because of pressure from Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that once represented Belushi and continues to represent many of his close friends. CAA has denied exerting any pressure.