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MGM In Trouble!? Will James Bond Lead Those Hobbits To A New Home??
Merrick here...
Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood has some alarming details about phone calls which went down yesterday between MGM and bondholders.
MGM made a desperate plea for money because the studio had missed its numbers and was going to be out of funds very soon. "The implication was that it's teetering on bankruptcy," one source told me. MGM said it needed $20M in short-term cash flow to cover overhead, and an additional $150 million to get through the end of year and continue funding its projects, and to start Peter Jackson's Hobbit.
[EDIT]
...if MGM were forced into bankruptcy, then it would lose James Bond and the studio doesn't think it can stay alive without 007.
[EDIT]
Also, if MGM goes through bankruptcy, that's a very expensive prospect (where only the lawyers get rich), and extremely disruptive (since who would do business with MGM in the interim) and won’t get the creditors what they want which is their money back. It's more than simply MGM losing Bond. The studio could lose a lot of other franchises.
...says Nikki HERE, where you can find many more details on the matter.
It's a safe bet that both THE HOBBIT and BOND would quickly find new homes (THE HOBBIT at Warners or Sony? BOND exclusively at Sony?). But, what would happen to other properties - like ROBOCOP? BUCKAROO BANZAI? And much more?
Stay tuned...
[EDIT]
...if MGM were forced into bankruptcy, then it would lose James Bond and the studio doesn't think it can stay alive without 007.
[EDIT]
Also, if MGM goes through bankruptcy, that's a very expensive prospect (where only the lawyers get rich), and extremely disruptive (since who would do business with MGM in the interim) and won’t get the creditors what they want which is their money back. It's more than simply MGM losing Bond. The studio could lose a lot of other franchises.
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+ Expand All
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Who's in charge there?
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Just sayin...
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I don't see the problem with Sony fronting them the money to continue operations.
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MGM is practically his personal loudspeaker system.
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Oh dear god, please let there be SEQUELS!
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I hope MGM fails in the worst way possible.
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When Sony first bought MGM a couple of years ago, they were distributing their home video product. That didn't last long though. For whatever reason, MGM decided to partner with Fox to take over that part of their business.I'm only speaking about Blu-ray because I haven't so much as looked at a DVD in years so I have no idea if that carries over to that moldy old has-been of a format.
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then you'll have slashfilm's front page covered.
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MGM is always in trouble. Glad Sly said no to ROCKY VII when they offered it to him.
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if I were to slip something into your pocket...
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I'm sure of it.
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Sep 25, 2009 11:18:32 AM CDT
Yes, the world has been screaming for a Buckaroo sequel.
by doctor_leonard_mccoy
Oh the horror.
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Sep 25, 2009 11:20:52 AM CDT
i thought the hobbit was new line/wb like the LOTR trilogy?
by bouncy x
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I had no idea a sequel or remake was in the works. Silliness. BIG BOOTAAAAAAY!
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Sep 25, 2009 11:26:39 AM CDT
Tell the MGM execs to go give head on LaBrea to raise cash.
by azultool
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You can take that to the bank. HOBBIT will outdraw any new Bond film 3 to 1.
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One day...
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Fuck, yeah, BRING IT! I LOVED that wackedy craziness. Any movie that has an alien flipping the bird is okay by me. Plus spaceships sploding through brick walls. Plus Ellen Barkin. Wasn't a sequel promised with the end credits? Can't remember... Also, Nikki Finke drives me crazy. Almost all her stories include "...[news] which I broke [at some point in the past]." Okay, we get it, you've got great sources. Relax, already.
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..convince these dimwits to stop churning out crap that no one wants to see. Men in suits, focus groups, and regurgitating remakes, sequels, and movie versions of old tv shows and cartoons... oh yeah, that'll make em rich... ugh. No wonder studios are hemorrhaging $$
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They DID promise a sequel... but they shoulda done it like a year after the first one (which I loved!) BB was lightning a bottle. Lithgow shoulda gotten a golden man for that one.
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Who gives a fuck which megacorporation the IP ends up with.
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Sep 25, 2009 11:48:23 AM CDT
And Warner Bros. owns all the good MGM stuff anyway.
by margot_tenenbaum
Thanks Ted Turner.
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Glad your memory is better than mine, thanks for the confirm. Granted, a sequel back then would have been far preferable to a sequel now, but still, I'll take what I can get. Peter Weller's available, I'm guessing.
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Sep 25, 2009 11:53:43 AM CDT
As a fully registered member of the Banzai Institute...
by mr. nice gaius
...I say bring on BUCKAROO BANZAI AGAINST THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE. Once again, it's time to help him help us.Remember, no matter where you go, there you are...
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What...It's the Truth!
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I guess it's time that a major, long term studio go downhill. Perhaps this will make other studios realize they need to make good movies instead of the crap that's been coming out. Depending on one franchise is not a good way to stay in business
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unfortunately. but someone has to pump out endless dvds and blus..the author of the story was talking about back catalog films...personally, i have a few bucks, i'll take the rights to the BB theme song and have it blasting as me and my boys walk the streets and eat in fancy diners.
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What are you trying to say? That Bond is not and has not been a huge moneymaking franchise for 47 years??? Are you an idiot? I love LORD OF THE RINGS, but that's a complete trilogy and it does not guarantee that THE HOBBIT will do the same business or be as successful. Bond is doing just fine, thank you very much.
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Strangely enough, no one here gives a shit.
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I kid! I kid! I kid, because I love.
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sequel to backaroo banzai?
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Sep 25, 2009 12:17:58 PM CDT
Doesn't MGM threaten to go out of business every 5 years or so?
by roguescribner
Maybe they should just give it up already. They haven't been relevant in decades.
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Give us the rest of the bond movies on bluray, the restorations, extras hell even the cover art is already done. Fans want them so put them out and we'll buy themGoldeneye and OHMSS would be huge sellers
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lovecraftian movie imho.the scene with the zombie monsters in the pit,is still shivering.
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I haven't read past his post yet but a better question does not exist.
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MGM is raising money through new debt (bond) issues that don't mature for 8 years or longer to help them continue to finance the City Center project in Vegas. The real bankruptsy scare ended back in May, when those bonds were trading at 10 cents on the dollar...then they got new financing, and those bonds are almost back to full value. MGM will sell Bond or Hobbit rights long before they go in to bankruptsy so they can preserve the real revenue driver of the company which is casinos.
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Let 'em burn I say.
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GE (which owns Universal) has debt far exceeding their market cap:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=GE
and they have started pulling back on the development of some of their films from what i've been hearing -
You are absolutely right and I couldn't be happier that they do. Warners has taken very good care of the pre-code titles they own as well as many of their animated catalogue. I only wish they would release remasters of all of Tex Avery's short films.
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I know it is not cool to like Stargate around here, but the fact remains that the franchise is one of MGM's biggest money makers and they are in production of a new series for SyFy (shudder to even type that abbreviation) and straight to video movies.
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Yeah, they're done.
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Now I know why they're bankrupt
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He's making fun of me?
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As long as they keep and exploit Bond and they will be on Solid Ground when they get their Library back from Time Warner. But they need to differentiate themselves cuz they were churning out stuff like hackers in the 80's real crappy stuff although that was the only movie I thought Angelina Jolie was hot in.
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They just keep greenlighting stupid shit like that dumb-assed ping pong movie and retarded SNL films. Where oh where is the Universal that released so many fantastic Spielberg films? They occassionally come out with greatness like Children of Men, but that bombed too unfortunately. Focus Features has some great stuff like Eternal Sunshine and Sean of the Dead, but most everything that comes out of Universal for the last few years has been garbage.
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But the movie is liscenced, perhaps owned, by Lionsgate (previously Artisan Entertainment).
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Now they are in dire straits? Hola sheeeeeet!I guess they need to focus on remakes and superhero movies...cause we ALL know how well they work. ;p
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They haven't had a huge summer movie that raked in the cash like each of the other studios. And their Blu-ray output is fucking pathetic. They keep releasing comedies and recent crap on blu instead of the films that we REALLY want in HD like the films of Spielberg and Hitchcock.
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that Universal hasn't had a smash summer movie for 2009. Probably not next year, either.
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..Paramount may have been in the same situaation.
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Hollywood would start going into the red. Here comes the next "bailout" from the government. Screw healthcare, save Hollywood!!!!
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instead of faulting themselves for their own fuckups.I mean seriously, do we need another Bond film? Quantum of Solace was better than Die another day, but that really ain't saying much is it?
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..that's one Bad mothershutyomouf..!Bammy, write another check and this time make it to Metro Goldilocks Mayo.
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Sep 25, 2009 1:40:39 PM CDT
I was wondering why the next Bond movie title wasn't announced
by spyguy
Obviously, there isn't going to be one until this mess gets sorted out. FUCK.
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It'll probably need to be re(big)boot(ay)ed with a new cast, but the original was such a fun cult classic. Good-a luck a-topping John-a Lithgow as Dr. Emilio Lizardo, monkeyboys!
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The world will not be a poorer place with one less studio in Hollywood. I mean, people will lose their jobs and shit, and that's sad, but for the moviegoer I don't think this is a problem.
The good stuff will as, suggested in the TB, move on to other companies. The rest...well, hopefully it goes away. Of course, these words are redundant, as MGM will either never go away, or come back really soon if they do. There is money to be spent, as long as those who spend it earn even more. The Hobbit will provide. And Bond. Heads will roll, but never the heads we want to roll...hehehehe.. -
Sep 25, 2009 1:47:35 PM CDT
I expect better from you than to crib fron Nikki Finke ...
by unfaithfullyyours
Especially the way she continually talks down re: anything geek-related. Oh, and she makes no bones about not thinking 30 Rock is funny. Oh, and her absurd box office reporting makes her sound like a studio stooge. Come on, AICN ...
I expect more from you. -
english language by the way. I'm Norwegian, and I am presently drinking rum. And beer. And for some reason writing in a TB while I'm doing so. Now where did I put that bottle of ricin...
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Sep 25, 2009 2:09:45 PM CDT
ROBOCOP 2011 with Darren Aronofsky is able to destroy the (Batma
by organicstudios
It's a pity that MGM Studios doesn't realize that Aronosky Hard R-Rated ROBOCOP is able of destroying The whole boxoffice in a postive way, If MGM Gives him full controle over the whole project there's no doubt about it.
So Warner Brothers watch out for MGM Studios if they release Robocop in 2011.
Organic Studios. -
I found out on Variety a couple days ago. That was weird cause they have CSI, CSI: NY, and that Gary Unmarried show, and and a couple other programs going well. So If CBS starts sinking, then it'll only be a matter of time before MGM, which is one of my favorite studios ever, falls into the Pit of Despair.
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And don't they have The Big Bang? And How I Met Your Mother? WTF?
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Please, they will sort this all out.
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Aren't almost all of the studios "on the verge of bankruptcy" normally due to the accounting methods they use to screw over actors and such?
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There is no way that a remake could touch the deranged beauty of the orignal. It will end up being some sort of weak actiom movie starring the flavor of the week.The orginal BB worked because of the strength of the actors cast and it was most definantly a movie of its time.
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It took them a long time to get Bond rights back so they can do Pierce Brosnan, and now it's the same thing all over again. Doesn't Sony own some of Bond now?
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The Sturios do not adhear to GAP, in fact they are so far into the Grey in their accounting practices they'd rather just pay off lawsuits than be audited by the courts...thats what happened with New Line and Jackson.There isn't a movie in Hollywood that ever turns a dime in profit..unless it is SUCH a HUGE hit that the studios don't have enough jusified expendiatures in their subsidiaries to hide it all.Want to see the REAL creative geniuses in Hollywood...talk to the accountants.
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Somebody like Weller or Goldblum ought to just buy them up. I don't imagine the property is in enough demand to be expensive.
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There is no Hollywood
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She's probably got more money than Goldblum and Peter Weller combined.
But seriously, no one should buy the rights because Buckaroo Banzai is one of the most irritating movies of all time except for certain John Lithgow lines and the ending sequence. -
Sep 25, 2009 4:41:00 PM CDT
Fuck all you guys Buckaroo is awesome
by guy who got a headache and accidentally
Hobbit loving faggots
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I'll buy the rights - how much?
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How hard would it be to pull over 20 Million from the 109,000+ tourists that are in their Casinos EVERY DAY? Minimum. At $40-200 per night, per room, that should be easy money.
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baby dont leave me!!!!!!!!!!
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Sep 25, 2009 5:21:15 PM CDT
STARGATE is their SECOND most important franchise!!
by dioxholsterreturns
after Gone with the Wind Saga!!
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dont die just yet. Stargate Command to the rescue!
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90% of what MGM produces is boring. Maybe giving Bond to Sony would make it more interesting as they could through in some cool plot twists instead of the same old same old with Bond.
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...and Warner's Turner subsidiary should be MGM.
The current MGM has absolutely nothing to do with Gone With the Wind or any other piece of Louis B. Meyer's legacy. It should be a crime that you can buy and sell a trademark like that. -
Not only is my beloved Showcase Cinemas closing down soon in the UK, but Sumner's daughter Shari is the fucking genius (sarcasm font please) who decided to fill up MTV with repeats of THE HILLS. If MGM are even peripherally owned by Viacom, they're fucked.
Anybody know more about what's going on here?? -
...the rescue. Those guys can afford to buy interest in the studio, as well, all three men are close to Oprah...who could be the face of the studio should they ask her to invest. It would be a smart deal!!! Forget the banks, and shadowy investors...this is the way to go!!!
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but you don't see them sinking like this. Not that I'm saying they are always making wonderful movies or anything but they seem to hit gold more often than the rest of these morons.
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THE RETURN OF STARGATE ATLANTIS!!!! OH PLEASE GOD YES!!!
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Some people need to hit the bricks. There titles suck. They need somebody who knows what to greenlight. I'm guessing that a few idiots are running the company into the ground.
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Let The Hobbit NEAR FOX STUDIOS! I love that book and want a good movie and Fox has a trend of making SHIT movies lately...... >:(
Oh and vezner2007, Fox only makes money off thier crappy SuperHero movie's. People go expecting that the movie will be good(there are alot of nerds out there) then we throw our money at it and they make a bunch of money. + you have the retards with no brains that like shit like
Wolverine Orgins! OR they make bunches of money off a deal with Satan
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watch the doc with Patrick Stewart. How poor management can ruin a great brand. The Lion used to me the mark of quality for decades. They had the biggest stars, the largest studios, and the best library of films(now owned by Turner, they had to sell it off in the eighties to pay off debts they had back then), now all they have is debt.
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this is karma for dropping him.
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so that statement doesn't make much sense does it?
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What happened to all that fucking New Line legal mess? Hobbit was never under MGM. Where do you people get your facts?
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that's for sure.
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You must be, but I'm confused because it's not very funny. The New Line/MGM/Peter Jackson three-way tangle got loads of coverage on this site after all.
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...got them out of a similar situation in the 50's. The need a massive epic, stat!
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number of times we've all shouted and pleaded with these Hollywood studios to stop playing the fucking game by the numbers and churning out crapfest after crapfest
now I'm not singling out MGM here by any stretch but they should ALL take notice because they ARE on notice!
Google's mission statement is Don't Be Evil - yours should be Don't Be Shit -
Wow, life imitates SNL sketches. "The pretzels are no longer complimentary, Mr. Bond," heh heh heh
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coz Sony is in the shit too - they overplayed the PS3 and the whole Blu-Ray/HD-DVD thing waaaaaaayy overextended them and I think they still haven't quite managed to claw back a prophet, or maybe they managed to make a small profit last quarter, could be..
but they are in no shape to help a brutha out - esp. with the Chinese licensing the HD-DVD from Toshiba for a million times cheaper than the licenses to make Blu-Ray and threatening them with yet another format war
Universal aren't doing well either and I believe Time-Warner-AOL are also in the Red, tho I can't for the life of me remember why so maybe I'm wrong about that?
'bout fucking time these dinosaurs learnt the evolutionary lessons of the ACTUAL dinosaurs - a fucking huge body and a tiny little brain are not a good combination... -
Because bankruptcy's just around the corner.
If only they'd been able to release The Hobbit a little earlier, they might have been able to keep themselves afloat with the [huge] profit. -
Glad you mentioned it.This is shocking news, indeed.
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Or is AICN pulling my dick again? There's nothing about it at the Banzai Institute website. I saw this movie in the theaters when I was 12 and absolutely fell in love. I also love the fact that when I got older and started reading pulp novels from the 30's, I realized that Buckaroo Banzai was also an homage to Doc Savage as well. Also, I love that the novelization, the DVD and the website all maintain that the movie is a docu-drama, and that Buckaroo Banzai and his adventures are all real. I don't know why, but I think that's pretty cool.
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Do we really need a studio that's owned lock stock and barrel by $cientology? I mean, most of the studios have agents of that cult somewhere in the upper echelons of power, but to be so blatant as to own the whole studio? We're going to have nothing but film adaptations of Hubbard's books for the next 50 years. Because, you know, we really need to see a film based on The Buckskin Brigades.
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HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!
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that guy was the only reason bond mattered. now look at this stinky franchise.
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is the best thing on TV, please don't let this go away!
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Watch Sony fully takeover MGM
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not even Brosnan had to say this type of shit.
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Or more to the fact, Carolco got Carolco. Who the fuck thinks it's a good idea to put $90 plus million into a move starring Geena Davis and Matthew Modine as pirates?? Cutthroat Island lost something like $80 million for Carolco effectively cutting their throats.
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its my guess, someone in the mvie business had to give it a shot - try for a bailout. Why not? Everyone else does it. I would almost bet MGM changes their mind once the winds blow their papers into order
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"He has an edifice complex" and "I've got the THRUST of things".
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Than the future of 007 "films" Everyone involved in that god damn fiasco still thinks they are making relevant, nay, REVOLUTIONARY action films that defy convention. Only the opposite is true, they are consistently derivative relying on the past to fuel the future of MGM. But what kind of a hopeless idiot would I be if I thought studios would ever consider an original idea for anything other than Oscar bait. MGM, back AWAY from the Hobbit and nobody gets hurt!
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Sep 27, 2009 2:43:10 AM CDT
Corny one liners are better than Lifetime channel gunk
by takingscorpioscalls
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In the case of MGM they're not just owned by Sony (Corp America not Pictures or the worldwide corp) but are also owned by Comcast and other investors. And it's true they're most recent library of films have been garbage. Maybe 2000's are not the best time for thoughtful blockbusters.
As for CBS they are still owned by Redstone but just under the National Amusements group. Essentially making Viacom owner of the channels and CBS owner of all the ad related stuff...and Showtime.
Warners can't go up because they have the AOL albatross. If only they could have gotten rid of the anti-synergy folk they could have been in great profit instead they sold off they're music group, they're half of Comedy Central (ever wondered about the name Comedy Partners? Warners and Viacom), all of Turner's sports teams and I still think Liberty Media owns parts of the company.
Fox... makes money from... shit I don't know. From the once great studio you get bollocks like X-Men Origins. I now can't see Jackman as Wolverine ever again because of that movie. Fucking Fox fuckers. -
Yes, it IS the best thing on TV. MGMHD's been excellent about digging pretty deep into the vast MGM library, running titles like THE WHITE BUS that never even saw VHS release. It would be a genuine loss if something were to happen to the channel that'll run a Bronson triple feature and follow it up with a Kurosawa or Truffaut film or something else similarly classy. October 6 they're unleashing TROLL 2 in HD. MGMHD dominates my DVR mercilessly.
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It may be the best thing on TV (Doubtful) but the fact is the future of TV Watching is an online based model that is a paid subscription, and studios like MGM and WB just DONT GET IT! Just as with the music industry in the 90's the Movie industry is doing almost exactly the same thing and keeping all of the good stuff locked away in their vaults (probably not being preserved properly BTW) and refusing to remaster and release them in time to save their asses. If MGM goes under they have only their shortsightedness and greed blame. Put all of your stuff online MGM in 720p, charge $5 per month and you'll have to buy new banks to keep your money in, oh and how about releasing the Bond flicks on Blu-Ray at a rate of more than 3 at a time and mixing in the crap ones with the good ones. As bender says "YOUR BEST IS AN IDIOT!"
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What about that Warner Archive thing? Sure you're getting a physical copy of the movie w/ no frills but it going through the ridiculously large Library. As for MGMHD maybe that was the point of Comcast being an owner, to create a channel based on MGM's vast library.
Also found this out after my post apparently Warner's thinking of spinning off both Time and AOL. If they did that would they just be Warner? -
The ROBOCOP movie with Darren aronofsky can save MGM studios from bankruptcy.
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Really funny that mgm thinks that they can stay a alive only with James Bond on their plate.
If they let Aronofsky direct 3 robocop new movies it will completly destroy the whole boxoffice in a postive way.
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