Has MGM finally found a way to keep roaring? Have the business power players of Hollywood finally found a way to shine light again on the studio? Will we ever see the next Bond film, and The Hobbit films? Apparently, there’s a chance we might.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Spyglass Entertainment bosses Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are poised to take over as co-chairmen and co-CEOs of MGM now that they’ve signed a non-binding letter of intent. There are also plans in motion for a recapitalization of the studio where MGM’s $4 billion in debt would be converted to equity as part of a bankruptcy arrangement.
“Under Barber and Birnbaum, MGM would need a large cash infusion to fund production of new movies including a planned James Bond sequel and two films based on The Hobbit to be co-financed with Warner Bros.,” according to the Times.
As part of the deal, Spyglass would essentially gut MGM’s labor force and make a deal with another studio to distribute their films domestically. Warners, Sony and Fox have all been mentioned in the past as potential new distributors. Warners is, as mentioned above, co-financing The Hobbit, while Sony distributed the last two Bond films with Daniel Craig and Fox distributes the Bond films on home video.
This is good news. I wouldn’t have wanted to see such a historic studio like MGM just fade away this decade. There’s too much rich film history here. I’m glad they’ve found a way to keep MGM running. Let’s hope these moves will help them make The Hobbit and the future Bond movies. Everyone is waiting for them. They will make a lot of money. I’m 100% of that.
You like this move? You want MGM to keep existing? You want The Hobbit? You want Bond sequels? Which one do you want to see more?
