If you love Project Runway, you can thank a Dallas-based investment company that the next season is being cast now, ensuring no interruption.

The intentions to keep a beleaguered Hollywood studio operating put Dallas-based Lantern Capital Partners at the front of the table in the bidding for The Weinstein Co. as part of the movie studio's bankruptcy filing late Monday.

Other companies can still bid on the studio, but the private equity investors have agreed to be the "stalking horse" bidder, which in addition to making an offer for the company keeps others from making a low-ball bid.

Lantern Capital co-founders Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic will be making their first investment in the movie business if successful in the bidding. The movie studio has estimated assets of $225 million, including a 277-film library and the television show Project Runway.

The agreement is pending the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The Weinstein Co. board said it selected Lantern in part due to the Dallas investors' commitment to maintain the business and employees vs. selling off the company's assets.

Mitchell and Brajovic said in a statement Monday that they have been evaluating the studio over the last several months and believe they can "improve the performance of the company's businesses with the utmost respect to all employees and promote a diverse and transparent environment."

As of Monday, the studio had 85 full-time employees, and it asked the bankruptcy court to continue paying them salary, benefits and payroll taxes of $1.31 million a month.

Andy Mitchell co-founded Dallas-based Lantern Capital Partners in 2010. (Lantern Capital Partners)

The statement continued that they "promise to reposition the business as a preeminent content provider, while cultivating a positive presence in the industry."

Lantern Capital, a private equity firm founded in 2010, specializes in turning companies around. Its recent deals include Bluejack National, a luxury resort north of Houston, and the Montage Kapalua Bay hotel and residential development on Maui.

Variety reported that Lantern's bid is in the range of $300 million to $320 million, according to one source, while it quoted a second source that said it was substantially higher, at almost $450 million. Both figures are less than the $500 million bid from billionaire Ron Burkle and Maria Contreras-Sweet, the former Small Business Administration chief, which collapsed in early March, Variety reported. Lantern Capital was also part of the earlier bidding.

It's not clear how much money will be available for dozens of victims of co-founder Harvey Weinstein's alleged harassment that occurred over a period of more than 30 years. Those uncertain liabilities caused prior bidders to back away.

The Hollywood movie studio, which has become the poster child of the #MeToo movement, will likely have to change its name, maybe to Lantern Entertainment. That is how the Dallas investors appear in court filings.

The studio has been financially rocked since October when The New York Times and The New Yorker reported decades of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein, who has denied "nonconsensual sex."

The Weinstein Co. board, which fired Weinstein last fall, said the sale through the bankruptcy process is "an important step toward justice for any victims who have been silenced by Harvey Weinstein."

Weinstein used nondisclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers, reports said. Effective immediately, those "agreements" end, the company said, adding that it "expressly releases any confidentiality provision to the extent it has prevented individuals who suffered or witnessed any form of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein from telling their stories."

The statement continued that "no one should be afraid to speak out or coerced to stay quiet." The statement thanks "the courageous individuals who have already come forward. Your voices have inspired a movement for change across the country and around the world."

The board statement said it "regrets that it cannot undo the damage Harvey Weinstein caused, but hopes that today's events will mark a new beginning."

The board said it's cooperating with the New York Attorney General's office in "its pursuit of justice for any victims."

In February, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a civil rights lawsuit against The Weinstein Co., Harvey Weinstein and Robert Weinstein for egregious violations of New York's civil rights, human rights and business laws.

In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Weinstein board member Tarak Ben Ammar said that it's been a priority that Weinstein's personal actions not destroy the company.

Once a new company emerges from bankruptcy, it will be free of legal entanglements, Ammar said in the interview. The bankruptcy will include the establishment of a victims' settlement fund. There is $30 million from an insurance policy for class action settlements and Lantern or another bidder will add to that mix, Ammar said.

The Weinstein brothers founded the studio in 2005 to create, produce and distribute films and television programs. Its assets consist of intellectual property, distribution rights and cash flows related to its film library, television shows and portfolio of unreleased films.

The company has produced several successful films and has received 23 Academy Awards, including Best Picture for The Artist and The King's Speech, and 113 Oscar nominations.