Bankruptcy court to decide fate of Tim Allen comedy

Businessman Lance Ringhaver is still hoping to release his Tim Allen comedy, "My Dad's Six Wives," in the United States.

The film's lender, though, just wants a quick divorce. A U.S. bankruptcy judge may decide in January whether Ringhaver gets to release his movie domestically or if his Cayman Islands-based lender will retake the film.

Ringhaver is a prominent Riverview businessman who has run a heavy equipment dealership called Ringhaver Equipment and used to own a piece of the Tampa Bay Rays. He and some partners run a fledgling film production company called Ring Productions.

One of his company's first projects, though, has stalled. He received about $4.6 million to help make "My Dad's Six Wives" from a finance company called Aramid Entertainment Fund. Besides Allen, the film stars actresses Andie MacDowell, Jenna Elfman and Paz Vega.

The plot centers on Allen's character, who disappears while skydiving and leaves his six ex-wives to argue over his burial arrangements. It originally was titled "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay," but has been renamed. The film was completed and released overseas but has yet to be released in the United States.

Aramid Entertainment claims in court documents that Ringhaver's production company defaulted on the loan balance, about $4.5 million. That prompted Aramid to start foreclosure proceedings to take back the film. In turn, the business entity that Ringhaver created to own the movie, Six Wives LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.

On Monday, Ringhaver's attorney, Rich McIntyre, said his client has lined up a potential distributor called Outsource Media Group to distribute the movie in the United States. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Caryl Delano has scheduled a hearing on the plan in late January.

Aramid Entertainment claims in court papers that Ringhaver's firm filed for bankruptcy protection for an improper purpose - to prevent the lender from taking back the film. Ringhaver has no real plan to reorganize Six Wives LLC's debts, which is the real purpose of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, the lender claims.