When things seem to be at their darkest for the Oscar-winning studio, a glimmer of hope appears on the horizon, only to fade each time. First, an expected deal between the studio and Prime Focus fell through. R&H then was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. However, R&H was given a bridge loan by three studios to keep the company afloat until April, when work on a number of big films would be completed. Now, however, there are reports that the studio needs to be sold by mid-March or it will run out of money to complete the pending work. As a result, the studio has requested that court act quickly on the auction process to sell the facility.

The bridge loan came from Legendary Pictures, Universal Studios, and 20^th Century Fox.

It all adds up to a vicious cycle. The studio needs an influx of cash to continue work and, importantly, to get new work so that it can pay off its debts. A good deal of that involves employees, as the studio recently laid off approximately 250 staffers while many others say they are waiting to paid.

A sale would create stability at R&H so that it could retain its creative and production teams, as well as the business of its largest customers.

More than a dozen entities are said to be interested in purchasing the studio.