Last November, the backer pulled the plug.
Perhaps they were associates of the backer – a London-based Indian film producer– tracking their investments.
But two days before pre-production began, the backer pulled out.
But he was also the backer for the raucous slapstick of Monty Python movies.
Mr. Adams had been puzzled by the Backer family's brief tenure at No. 51.
They had expected filming to have started by now, but the backer pulled out.
Leslie won his release, his son said, by agreeing to turn over the business to the backer and create a collection for him under virtual house arrest.
Suzanne Schiffman said, "He usually had a script to submit to the backer, but he didn't care about it, because he wasn't going to follow the script.
The backer of the closed-circuit broadcast, Jerry Perenchio, is on camera as well, negotiating by phone with a European distributor.
With its depth of 93 feet (Manhattan town houses are typically 75 feet deep), the Backer home had a startling 8,000 square feet of living space.
