Producers Ask Bankruptcy Court to Void Orion Contract : Film: They say the financially troubled studio lacks the money to adequately promote ‘Raise the Red Lantern,’ which won an Oscar nomination.

Producers of an Oscar-nominated foreign language film asked a judge on Tuesday to break their distribution contract with Orion Pictures unless the financially beset studio proves it can adequately promote the movie.

In Manhattan, Bankruptcy Court Judge Burton Lifland scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday to consider the request.

Anthony Princi, an attorney for the producers of the film, “Raise the Red Lantern,” said his clients fear that unless Orion fulfills its obligations, the commercial opportunities created by last month’s Oscar nomination will be missed.

Representatives of Orion, which in December sought federal bankruptcy code protection, said that they had not been able to review the motion filed Tuesday. Leonard White, Orion’s newly installed president, said through an aide in Los Angeles that the studio intends to distribute the film.

“Raise the Red Lantern,” set in the China of 1920, is scheduled to debut in the United States on Thursday, at Laemmle’s Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles.

The movie’s producers, Netherlands-based ERA International Film Sales B.V., contend in the court documents filed Tuesday that Orion has “defaulted on a number of contractual obligations.”

ERA International also alleges that Orion has failed to “promptly” make a $50,000 payment promised if the movie was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The papers filed Tuesday contend, too, that Orion has breached the contract by not consulting the producers regarding “the specifics of (the film’s) initial theatrical release.” And because certain professionals at the studio have resigned and not been replaced, the producers assert that Orion “can no longer perform any of its obligations.”

A number of senior Orion executives, including President William Bernstein, have left recently as the company has scaled down its operations.

Noting that the Academy Awards ceremony will be held March 30, the producers said that quick resolution of their dispute with Orion is crucial. Between now and then, the court papers say, “Red Lantern must be properly promoted, marketed and distributed in order to avoid waste and to capitalize on the recognition.”

Bob Laemmle, owner of the Laemmle theater chain, said he thinks promotion of the film in Los Angeles has approximated what Orion has done over the years. Laemmle noted that Orion on Sunday advertised “Red Lantern” in the Calendar section of The Times. On Tuesday, the studio took out a full-page advertisement in Daily Variety, the entertainment trade publication.

Princi, asked if the producers are trying to generate a boomlet of favorable publicity for their film, said their intentions are only to enforce the contract provisions with Orion.

“We have asked Orion repeatedly to let us know specifically what they plan to do with the movie,” Princi said. “And we’ve gotten no response. . . . This is a flat out, mainstream, garden variety, protect your rights kind of situation.”