Producer of Simon Pegg’s Canceled Film ‘Angels In The Asylum’ Criticizes Financier Amid Company Closure
AITA Films to Cease Operations Amid Financing Dispute for Angels In The Asylum
AITA Films, the production company behind the troubled Simon Pegg film Angels In The Asylum, is set to shut down due to an unresolved financing conflict. The company has been under administration for over a year, having halted production of the film in February 2025. It now faces debts totaling £3.8 million ($5 million).
In a statement, a spokesperson for Angels In The Asylum attributed the closure to a failure to secure financing from John Cairns and his company, Parkland Pictures. Cairns contended that no financing agreement existed beyond Parkland’s role as a sales agent for the film.
“Production was paused because expected funding from Mr. Robert John Cairns and Parkland Pictures, which had been promised several months earlier, did not materialize,” the spokesperson explained. “When shooting was due to start, Mr. Cairns then personally guaranteed a bridging loan from Brandhouse Global Limited, while maintaining that the promised funding would arrive imminently.”
The spokesperson further noted that the bridging loan complicated the production’s intellectual property situation, preventing progress on the film. “We have made proposals to Brandhouse Global that would allow the IP to be released so that the film can be completed, but unfortunately those discussions have not yet led to a resolution, and this has left the administrator no choice but to allow the company to fold.”
They clarified that the financing and bridging loan were “facilitated by a former colleague who is no longer connected with the project,” though the individual’s identity was not disclosed. Rob Sorrenti, the sole director at AITA Films, served as producer and director of the film.
“Our only viable path to complete the film is for this IP to be in production. We have done everything in our power to make this happen and remain fully committed to doing so,” the spokesperson added.
Crew members involved in Angels In The Asylum expressed frustration over their financial losses, with one worker indicating they would receive only about a third of what they were owed. “It’s absolutely outrageous,” they said. “The government is paying up for the mistakes of the producers. This is not why I pay my taxes. Pegg and the executive producers could write this off in a second and pay everyone off.”
Based on true events, Angels In The Asylum features co-stars Katherine Waterston, Minnie Driver, Lesley Nicol, Rose Williams, Aurora Perrineau, and Alex Jennings. The film focuses on women who were forcibly confined in isolation at Surrey’s Long Grove Asylum in the 1930s after being deemed typhoid carriers. Pegg starred in the film and served as an executive producer but was not involved in its finances and did not receive payment for his work.
In an official statement, the Angels In The Asylum team reflected on the film’s 18 years in development and the efforts made to secure new financing. “We have worked extensively to secure new financing, complete the film, and meet our obligations to creditors,” they stated. However, they acknowledged that the plans did not come to fruition, resulting in the decision to wind down AITA Films Ltd.
