Walt Disney Pictures had optioned the rights to make a film based on the Rifts RPG series. At the time, Bruckheimer was said to be developing the movie in conjunction with screenwriter David Franzoni. An April 19, 2006 press release asserted that "until Jerry Bruckheimer has a script he loves, the movie can't get the green light." In the April 14, 2011 weekly update, Siembieda said that the film option would be renewed for a ninth year. In 2015, Palladium entered into an agreement with Pinnacle Entertainment Group to publish Rifts material under the Savage Worlds game system. Multiple books, maps, and other supplements for Savage Worlds: Rifts have been released in the years since. Embezzlement case and financial difficulties On April 19, 2006, Kevin Siembieda issued a statement that revealed Palladium Books' critical financial difficulties due to alleged embezzlement and theft resulting in losses from $850,000 to $1.3 million, coupled with a series of delays in negotiating license deals for their properties in other media (the Nokia N-Gage game, the Jerry Bruckheimer movie, a massively multiplayer online game license, and other potential deals). They raised money to continue operations by selling a signed and numbered – but not, strictly speaking, "limited edition" – art print by Kevin Siembieda, as well as by urging fans to buy directly from their online store if their financial situations would allow for it. An April 26, 2006 article in the Kingsport Times-News revealed that Steve Sheiring, Palladium's former sales manager, had been sentenced in a plea bargain to a misdemeanor conviction, one year of probation, and ordered to pay $47,080 in restitution to Palladium Books in connection with these thefts. It also provided more information about the thefts, which took place from 2002 to 2004 and were only discovered when Palladium took inventory. Criticisms Palladium is entirely controlled and owned by Kevin Siembieda. Some writers who have been published by Palladium have stated that Siembieda's method of management was too centralized and not adapted to the size the company had reached (no delegation of responsibilities, lack of open dialogue with employees, bad interpersonal relationships), which they cited as a reason they were no longer working for the company. One of the writers later apologized for the manner in which he made his statements, but did not retract his claims. Robotech RPG Tactics Palladium Books and Kevin Siembieda continue to receive criticism regarding the