Stan Lee Media
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stan Lee Media was an internet based creation, production and marketing company that created branded super hero franchises for applications in all media. Its 165 man animation production studio was based in Los Angeles, California from 1998- 2001.
The company was founded by Spider Man, X-Men, The Hulk and Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee with his friend, Hollywood entrepreneur Peter F. Paul in 1998 as Stan Lee Entertainment. It changed its name to Stan Lee Media in July, 1999 when it acquired a public company, trading under the symbol SLEE.
The company subsequently failed. SLM bankruptcy dismissed on Dec 6, 2006 on application of US Trustee for cause. The company was taken back by the shareholders after its dismissal from bankruptcy and has hired a legal and accounting forensic consultant to review all transactions that occurred during bankruptcy.
The company remained under bankruptcy protection until the US Trustee for the Central District of California moved to dismiss the bankruptcy for failure of the company as Debtor in Possession to comply with basic requirements of filing monthly reports and paying quarterly fees to the Trustee. As of November 1, 2006, all of the officers and directors of the company had resigned or abandoned their positions and the company's lawyers for the Debtors in Possession attempted to obtain court authorization to destroy or dispose of the company's books and records.
On March 15, 2007, Stan Lee Media's new owner Jim Nesfield filed a lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment for $5 billion, claiming that the company is co-owner of the characters that Lee created for Marvel. Lee, who is no longer associated with Stan Lee Media.[1]