Chris Fenton Accused of Masquerading as ‘Player’ as DMG Lost

Discuss the VALIANT comics, characters, and collecting.
PLEASE DO NOT REVEAL SPOILER INFORMATION IN YOUR TOPIC TITLE.

Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg

Post Reply
User avatar
syzhang28
5318008
5318008
Posts: 587
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:20:02 pm
Chris Fenton Accused of Masquerading as ‘Player’ as DMG Lost

Post by syzhang28 »

The comments on this story are crazier than the story. What a mess this whole thing is.

https://variety.com/2019/biz/asia/dmg-c ... e-comments" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
DMG Entertainment has fired back against Chris Fenton, the former head of its motion picture group who filed a $30 million breach of contract suit in February.

In a counterclaim, DMG blasts Fenton as a disloyal employee who advanced his own interests at the company’s expense. The suit alleges that Fenton “cultivated his persona of a ‘player'” in the industry even while losing millions of dollars.

“Fenton was terminated for his poor performance, gross mismanagement, and fraud on the companies he served,” the counterclaim states.

Fenton departed in February 2018, and alleges in his lawsuit that he was wrongfully cut out of the profits from the company’s IPO. Fenton claims his put his reputation on the line to defend DMG from an SEC investigation into possible bribery of Chinese officials.

He also says he lost faith in founders Dan Mintz, Wu Bing, and Peter Xiao, concluding that they were engaged in risky borrowing against company stock to finance the purchase of a $30 million jet and a $20 million mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. He also alleges that the founders have run the company into the ground.

The counterclaim accuses Fenton of sloppy business practices, including failing to perform adequate due diligence or maintain proper business records. “He either was unable or unwilling to carry out even the most basic managerial tasks,” the suit alleges.

The suit also accuses Fenton of claiming credit for others’ work.

The suit states that Fenton, in 2016, cost the company millions in damages on a deal to produce live shows in China featuring the Transformers characters. DMG alleges that the shows were delayed, and that Fenton’s production partner, S2BN, allowed its licensing deal with Hasbro to expire. The shows were never produced.

“Fenton was driven by his own ego and desire for personal glorification in the public eye; in order to cultivate the persona of a ‘player,’ his priority was getting a deal ‘done,’ rather than looking out for the best interest of DMG CC,” the suit alleges.

The suit also accuses Fenton of making misstatements to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in order to gain admission, and that he used his membership “for his own personal gain rather than for the benefit of DMG CC.”

The suit accuses Fenton of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence, and seeks $30 million in damages.

Fenton’s attorney, John R. Baldivia, issued this response:

“We find it interesting that our client, who was responsible for putting together the deals for both ‘Iron Man 3’ and DMG’s ownership of Valiant (as well as many other successful endeavors that DMG now brags about) is now on the receiving end of a cross-complaint concerning his performance as a former DMG employee. As we have said before, we will allow the facts to speak to the truth about DMG’s actions, as well as the actions of our client.”

A DMG spokesperson shot back: “Once again, Fenton is trying to take credit for work he didn’t do. He made a mess of those deals, which others had to clean up.”

User avatar
AnarchoMambo
Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
Posts: 400
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:42:33 pm
Valiant fan since: 1993
Favorite character: Shadowman
Favorite title: Harbinger
Favorite writer: Jeff Lemire
Favorite artist: Trevor Hairsine
Location: Chicago, Il
Chris Fenton Accused of Masquerading as ‘Player’ as DMG Lost

Post by AnarchoMambo »

Yeeesus, I cannot believe these yahoos with their corporate jets are (or were) investors in the publisher we all love and have spent a greater part of our lives following. In my opinion, Valiant publishing has really gotten their house back in order, but can anyone interpret what this could mean to DMG and to the health of Valiant Entertainment? Will the answers cover the range from “nothing,” (Yingly is not DMG) to the other extreme of “everything” (Yingly is DMG,) or somewhere in the middle (Yingly was DMG, and lawsuits have tails?) Is it all pure conjecture at this point, or is this absolutely metaphysically bad for Valiant?

User avatar
syzhang28
5318008
5318008
Posts: 587
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:20:02 pm
Re: Chris Fenton Accused of Masquerading as ‘Player’ as DMG

Post by syzhang28 »

- I am not of the opinion that Valiant has anything in order. They seem more disorganized than ever. Announcing Tim Seeley and Tini Howard as big players in the future of publishing and then them announcing a full time executive job and a Marvel exclusive contract in the next 2 days is beyond incompetent in my view. Valiant is announcing more things now but with the exception of Life and Death of Toyo Harada (which the old management put together) the books are still a long way below the quality VEI had from 2012-2017. The booths at this years cons smacks of low funds. The clear relegation Valiant has had by Sony from the movie is also pretty damning.

- DMG is DMG even by another name. This is just one more bad sign for Valiant (or good if you're hoping DMG is forced to sell back to Dinesh)

User avatar
depluto
[custom level vored]
[custom level vored]
Posts: 19504
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:38:47 pm
Valiant fan since: Yes
Favorite character: Yes
Favorite title: Yes
Favorite writer: Yes
Location: Pluto Beach FL
Re: Chris Fenton Accused of Masquerading as ‘Player’ as DMG

Post by depluto »

Holy crap, what a bananas situation. And yep, those comments are fantastic!

User avatar
Ramses818
Rockin' out in Torquehalla
Rockin' out in Torquehalla
Posts: 2449
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2012 3:46:41 pm
Valiant fan since: X-O Manowar 14
Favorite character: Rai
Favorite title: X-o but maybe soon to be Rai
Favorite writer: Joshua Dysart
Favorite artist: Clayton Crain
Location: Southern California
Re: Chris Fenton Accused of Masquerading as ‘Player’ as DMG

Post by Ramses818 »

This stuff is just bad going to worse. Very sad from something that had amazing potential and on the cusp of something great!


Post Reply