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Remember the CGI 2Pac “hologram” that Digital Domain created for Coachella earlier this year. The gimmick was well received, but Digital Domain CEO John Textor (above, right), who we’ve already established isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, somehow convinced himself that animating CG versions of dead celebrities was an actual business model.

A couple weeks ago, Textor boasted to investors that he was trying to “tie up the real estate” of virtual humans. How could anyone miss with such an obviously sure-fire business, Textor claimed, “as long as we’re the only people in the world that can do this work.” It was just a matter of “getting the contracts, securing the rights, negotiating with the families, making sure that the likeness rights line up with the music rights and the venue rights and that’s what we should be doing.”

What Textor didn’t tell investors is that there are literally hundreds of other high-end VFX/CG companies that can create computer-animated human characters nowadays. Textor’s scam unfolded when rumors began floating around of a Ronald Reagan hologram that would appear at the Republican National Convention. Textor quickly told the Wall Street Journal “that rumor isn’t true.” Except it is true. Today, businessman Tony Reynolds, confirmed to Yahoo! News that he is indeed working on a Ronald Reagan hologram, and he’s not using Digital Domain to make it.

Holograms of dead people are the least of Textor’s worries though. Since DD’s stock peaked on May 1st, the company has been in freefall. Today, Digital Domain’s stock plunged 21% to a 52-week low of $2.31. In the past four months, the company has lost $300 million in value.

It gets worse. Textor owns 24 percent of Digital Domain. He took out a $12.5 milion loan to buy the shares in the company, and now he can’t pay back the loan. But here’s where it gets Lehman Brothers-style sketchy—and downright insane, if you ask me: Textor got the loan from Digital Domain’s largest shareholder, Palm Beach Capital. The Palm Beach Post has the sordid story:

Corporate governance experts said it’s rare for a shareholder to lend money to a CEO to buy shares. “It’s just not a smart idea,” said Charles Elson, a finance professor at the University of Delaware. “If you can’t pay it back, what happens?” If Textor were to default on the loan from Palm Beach Capital, his annual interest rate would go from 12 percent to 19 percent, Digital Domain said this week. Collateral for the loan includes 8.5 million shares of Digital Domain stock owned by Textor and mansions in Stuart and Mountain Village, Colo.

Executive compensation expert Paul Hodgson of GMI Research said such arrangements are “not very usual. It’s kind of generally been frowned upon because it tends to complicate relationships and undermine situations from a governance point of view. That would raise a red flag with us.”

There are already many victims in this situation. I feel awful for the artists who are working on Digital Domain’s first (and potentially last) feature The Legend of Tembo, as well as for all the other Digital Domain employees. I feel bad for Florida citizens who handed $132 million of their taxpayer dollars to a reckless and clueless businessman. I feel outraged for the incoming students of Digital Domain Institute who may have to perform slave labor because Digital Domain doesn’t believe in federal labor laws.

But you know who I don’t feel sorry for?

John Textor.

Cartoon Brew | Permalink | 3 comments | Post tags: 2Pac, Digital Domain, hologram, John Textor, Ronald Reagan, Tradition Studios, Tupac

TUPAC RISES FROM THE DEAD TO PERFORM WITH DR. DRE AND SNOOP DOG!


Ok, so it was only a hologram of the late (and much missed) rapper, who died almost 16 years ago, but seriously? How cool is that? I miss Tupac. One of the best hip hop artists ever, in my humble opinion. I loved how the image is so realistic.


Wouldn't it be funny if, one day, communication among other things, went to holographic images. Like, instead of Skyping on the computer, we'd Skype with an image...making it feel like the person you're skyping with were really there with you. I wouldn't be surprised at all. It's coming. Mark my words...


OMG, this is so cool!


I must warn you, there are some profane language.

A continuation of last post...

3. 7th Anniversary of 9/11: Really, this whole country was affected, but not everyone was directly affected (didn't lose loved ones in the planes, twin towers, or Pentagon). This year, I decided to just say a little prayer to God for the continued strength of those who lost loved ones. I opted not to watch the shows that replay the images of that day. In the past, every time I watched the shows, my heart hurt. Listening to the frantic calls of the ones who didn't make it...seeing the towers fall...looking at the big hole in the Pentagon...learning that the passengers in United 93 decided to do something about the hijackers...I just didn't want to do it this year (watch the shows). The images are already forever etched into my brains. To me, it was the day America learned that she was not untouchable. I will NEVER forget that day - couldn't, even if I wanted to.

4. 12th Anniversary of Tupac's Death: Tomorrow, September 13th, will mark the 12th anniversary of Tupac's death. I felt it (in my heart) when I'd heard that he was gone, like, is this some kind of sick joke? He's not really dead...is he? And now, some magazine has listed Tupac as the most overrated person in music (link: http://news.yahoo.com/story//nm/20080903/music_nm/overrated_dc)! I mean, come on, really? I have to admit, I'd gotten tired of the "Tupac's really alive" comments that circled around since his death, BUT, to say he's overrated, in IMHO, is just plain...dumb. Pac is one of the best. His death didn't stop that. Now, he's not my all time favorite rapper (Nope, Jay Z has that title), but he is in my top 5. Overrated? I don't think so!

And last, but certainly not least,

5. Hurricane Ike: So, we're preparing for Hurricane Ike right now. It hasn't even made landfall yet, but Galveston is already having flooding issues. The waves have started crashing over the sea wall, built to protect Galveston from hurricanes. They've predicted that, after all is said and done, Galveston will be under water. I'm in Houston, which means we won't get the storm surge, but we will get the wind and rain (and, in some areas, the flooding). Thankfully, I don't live in an area that has bad flooding. We're just concerned with the wind and electricity going out. The reporters are comparing this hurricane with Hurricane Alicia, which devastated both Houston and Galveston in 1983. This is going to be weird for me. I've never been in a hurricane - always had the threat, like H. Rita - but never been in one. Hurricane Alicia hit here a year before we moved to Houston and Hurricane Rita skipped our area (although one of our windows blew out) and hit the areas about an hour or more away. My family's preparing, though. Got the food, batteries, gas, etc. The 'cane isn't set to hit 'til early tomorrow morning, but the sky's getting a little darker, and the wind is picking up on what would normally be a scorching, sunny day. My prayer is for all of us, especially those who have homes in Galveston. And, can you believe that there are still some people who refuse to leave? I'm not talking about people who can't leave. I'm talking about those who can leave, but are refusing to. Everyone (Galveston's mayor, reporters) is saying how imperative it is that they leave (even to the point of saying it's life or death) but they won't. I can't understand that. It's already flooding and Ike hasn't even hit yet. Those waves crashing above the sea wall? About 15 ft. Did I say that Ike hasn't even hit yet?

Galveston Seawall on a good day...see how far the water is?

Galveston Seawall today...15ft waves crashing against the wall.