Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
through
MGM Holdings
MGM Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, launched on February 11, 2005 by a creditor-oriented consortium as the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (from which ...
, founded on April 17, 1924 and based in
Beverly Hills, California.
MGM was formed by
Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870 - September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM).
Life and career
Loew was born in New York City, ...
by combining
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased f ...
,
Goldwyn Pictures
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...
, and
Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company.
It hired a number of well known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious film studio, producing popular
musical films and winning many
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of ''
Ben Hur''. After that, it divested itself of the Loews movie theater chain, and, in the 1960s, diversified into television production.
In 1969,
Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beve ...
bought 40% of MGM and dramatically changed the company. He hired new management, reduced the studio's output to about five films per year, and diversified its products, creating
MGM Resorts International and a
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
-based
hotel and casino company (which it later divested in the 1980s). In 1980, the studio acquired
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
. Kerkorian sold the entire company to
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he fo ...
in 1986, who kept the rights to the MGM library in
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
, sold the
studio lot in Culver City to
Lorimar
Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Televisi ...
, and sold the remnants of MGM back to Kerkorian that year. After Kerkorian sold and reacquired the company again in the 1990s, he expanded MGM by purchasing
Orion Pictures and
the Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1978.
Background
The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films fro ...
, including both of their film libraries. Finally, in 2004, Kerkorian sold the company to a
consortium that included
Sony Pictures.
In 2010, MGM filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and reorganization.
After reorganization, it emerged from bankruptcy later that year under its creditors' ownership. Two former executives at
Spyglass Entertainment
Spyglass Media Group, LLC, formerly Spyglass Entertainment, is an American film production company founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998.
History Spyglass Entertainment
On August 21, 1998, Gary Barber, former vice chairman and CO ...
,
Gary Barber
Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African-born American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment.
Biography
Barber was born to a Jewish family in Johannesburg, So ...
and
Roger Birnbaum
Roger Birnbaum (born November 14, 1950) is an American film producer who owns the company Spyglass Media Group, and was co-CEO and co-chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His two greatest box office hits as producer have been ''Rush Hour 2'' and '' T ...
, became co-chairmen and co-CEOs of
MGM's new holding company.
After Barber's departure in 2020, the studio sought to be acquired by another company to pay its creditors.
In May 2021,
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
acquired the studio for $8.45 billion;
the deal closed in March 2022.
As of 2022, MGM is still producing and distributing feature films and television series. Its major film productions include the
''Rocky'' and
''James Bond'' franchises, and among its recent television productions is the series ''
The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...
''.
Overview
MGM was the last studio to convert to sound pictures—nonetheless, from the end of the
silent film era through the late 1950s, it was the dominant motion picture studio in Hollywood. It was slow to respond to the changing legal, economic, and demographic nature of the motion picture industry during the 1950s and 1960s;
and although its films often did well at the box office, it lost significant amounts of money throughout the 1960s.
In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor
Edgar Bronfman Sr., whose son
Edgar Jr. would later buy
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
. Three years later, an increasingly unprofitable MGM was bought by
Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beve ...
, who slashed staff and production costs, forced the studio to produce low-quality, low-budget fare, and then ceased theatrical distribution in 1973.
The studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were distributed through other studios, usually
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
. Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and an expanded film library when he bought
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
in 1981.
MGM ramped up internal production, as well as keeping production going at UA, which included the lucrative
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film franchise. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production. The studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986,
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he fo ...
bought MGM, but a few months later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt, while keeping the library assets for himself. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt.
MGM was bought by
Pathé Communications (led by Italian publishing magnate
Giancarlo Parretti) in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio.
The French banking conglomerate
Crédit Lyonnais
The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th c ...
, the studio's major creditor, then took control of MGM.
Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer
Frank Mancuso
Frank Octavius Mancuso (May 23, 1918 – August 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and, served as a Houston City Council member for 30 years after his sports career had ended. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball ...
, and Australia's
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
in 1996.
The debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGM's ability to survive as a separate motion picture studio. After a bidding war which included
Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
(the current parent of Turner Broadcasting) and
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
(the owners of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television network at the time), MGM was acquired on September 23, 2004, by a partnership consisting of
Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation
SONAM, headquartered in New York City, manages the company's US-based businesses.
Sony's principal U.S. business ...
,
Comcast,
Texas Pacific Group
TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth ...
(now TPG Capital, L.P.),
Providence Equity Partners, and other investors.
After its bankruptcy in 2010, MGM reorganized, with its creditors' $4 billion debt transferred to ownership. MGM's creditors control MGM through MGM Holdings, a private company. New management of its film and television production divisions was installed. The creditors have since contracted Morgan Stanley and
LionTree Advisors
LionTree LLC is an American investment banking firm that has a focus on industries related to technology, media and telecommunications (TMT). Although the firm is based in the United States, it also has a significant presence in Europe. LionTre ...
to explore a sale.
History
Founding and early years
In 1924, movie theater magnate
Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870 - September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM).
Life and career
Loew was born in New York City, ...
had a problem: He had bought
Metro Pictures Corporation
Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased fa ...
in 1919 for $3 million, to provide a steady supply of films for his large
Loew's Theatres chain. However, he found that his new property only provided a lackluster assortment of films. Seeking to solve this problem, Loew purchased
Goldwyn Pictures
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...
in 1924 for $5 million to improve the quality of the theatres' products. However, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant
Nicholas Schenck
Nicholas M. Schenck (14 November 1880, Rybinsk, Russia – 4 March 1969, Florida) was a Russian-American film studio executive and businessman.
Biography Early life
One of seven children, Schenck was born to a Jewish household in Rybinsk, ...
was needed in New York headquarters to oversee the 150 theaters. Approached by
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
, Loew addressed the situation by buying Louis B. Mayer Pictures for $75,000. Loews Incorporated completed the merger of the Loews theater chain, Metro's distribution network, Goldwyn Pictures studio and Louis B. Mayer Productions on April 17, 1924, celebrated with a fete on April 26, 1924. Mayer became head of the renamed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with 24-year-old
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...
as head of production.
[ Final approval over budgets and contracts rested with New York City-based Loews Inc., while production decisions rested with the production headquarters in Culver City.
MGM produced more than 100 feature films in its first two years. In 1925, MGM released the extravagant and successful '' Ben-Hur'', taking a $4.7 million profit that year, its first full year.][ Also in 1925, MGM, Paramount Pictures and ]UFA
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...
formed a joint German distributor, Parufamet.
Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loew's passed to Nicholas Schenck. In 1929, William Fox of Fox Film Corporation
The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...
bought the Loew family's holdings with Schenck's assent. Mayer and Thalberg disagreed with the decision. Mayer was active in the California Republican Party
The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the U.S. state of California. The party is based in Sacramento and is led by chair Jessica Millan Patterson.
As of October 2020, Republicans repre ...
and used his political connections to persuade the Justice Department to delay final approval of the deal on antitrust grounds. During this time, in the summer of 1929, Fox was badly hurt in an automobile accident. By the time he recovered, the stock market crash
A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often foll ...
in the fall of 1929 had nearly wiped Fox out and ended any chance of the Loew's merger going through. Schenck and Mayer had never gotten along (Mayer reportedly referred to his boss as "Mr. Skunk"), and the abortive Fox merger increased the animosity between the two men.
1920s and 1930s
From the outset, MGM tapped into the audience's need for glamor and sophistication. Having inherited few big names from their predecessor companies, Mayer and Thalberg began at once to create and publicize a host of new stars, among them Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...
, John Gilbert, William Haines
Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer.
Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favo ...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
, and Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
(who followed Thalberg from Universal). Established names like Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
, William Powell
William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...
, Buster Keaton, and Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...
were hired from other studios. They also hired top directors such as King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
, Clarence Brown
Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.
Early life
Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...
, Erich von Stroheim, Tod Browning
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
, and Victor Seastrom
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
. The arrival of talking pictures in 1928–29 gave opportunities to other new stars, many of whom would carry MGM through the 1930s: Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
, Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
, Robert Montgomery, Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
, Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
, Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', '' Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow'' and '' On ...
, and Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
among them.
MGM was one of the first studios to experiment with filming in Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
. Using the two-color Technicolor process then available, MGM filmed portions of '' The Uninvited Guest'' (1924), ''The Big Parade
''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about ...
'' (1925), and ''Ben–Hur'' (1925), among others, in the process. MGM released '' The Viking'' (1928), the first complete Technicolor feature with a synchronized score and sound effects, but no spoken dialogue.
With the arrival of "talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
", MGM moved slowly and reluctantly into the sound era, releasing features like ''White Shadows in the South Seas
''White Shadows in the South Seas'' is a 1928 American silent film adventure romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions in association with MGM and distributed by MGM ...
'' (1928) with music and sound effects, and '' Alias Jimmy Valentine'' (1928) with limited dialogue sequences. Their first full-fledged talkie, the musical ''The Broadway Melody
''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor seque ...
'' (1929), however, was both a box-office success and won the Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
as Best Picture of the Year.
MGM, was the last major studio to convert to sound. Its first all-color, "all-talking" sound feature with dialogue was the musical ''The Rogue Song
''The Rogue Song'' is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic and musical film that tells the story of a Russian bandit who falls in love with a princess, but takes his revenge on her when her brother rapes and kills his sister. The Metro-Goldwyn-Maye ...
'' in 1930. MGM included a sequence made in Technicolor's superior new three-color process, a musical number in the otherwise black-and-white '' The Cat and the Fiddle'' (1934), starring Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro
José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...
. The studio then produced a number of three-color short subjects including the musical '' La Fiesta de Santa Barbara'' (1935); their first complete feature in the process was '' Sweethearts'' (1938) with MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, the earlier of the popular singing team's two films in color. From then on, MGM regularly produced several films a year in Technicolor with ''Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...
'' (1939) being one of the most notable.
In addition to a large short-subjects program of its own, MGM also distributed the shorts and features produced by Hal Roach Studios, including comedy shorts starring Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang and Charley Chase
Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...
. The studio's distribution deal with Roach lasted from 1927 to 1938, and MGM benefited in particular from the success of the popular Laurel and Hardy films. In 1938, MGM purchased the rights to the Our Gang series and moved production to MGM studios, continuing production of the successful series of children's comedies until 1944. From 1929 to 1931, MGM produced a series of comedy shorts called '' All Barkie Dogville Comedies'', in which trained dogs were dressed up to parody contemporary films and were voiced by actors. One of the shorts, ''The Dogway Melody
''The Dogway Melody'' is a 1930 comedy short film that recreates scenes from early musical films, particularly The Broadway Melody. The entire cast are trained dogs with human voiceovers. It was directed by Zion Myers and Jules White and it form ...
'' (1930), spoofed MGM's hit 1929 musical ''The Broadway Melody
''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor seque ...
''.
MGM entered the music industry by purchasing the "Big Three" starting with Miller Music Publishing Co. in 1934 then Robbins Music Corporation. In 1935, MGM acquired a controlling interest in the capital stock of Leo Feist, Inc., the last of the "Big Three".[ During the first musical craze of 1928–1930, a custom MGM label was created by Columbia using tunes from MGM productions that were recorded by Columbia. These records were sold only at Loew's theaters. (Columbia also created a label called Publix for Paramount music and sold only at Paramount Theaters.)
MGM produced approximately 50 pictures a year, though it never met its goal of releasing a new motion picture each and every week (it was only able to release one feature film every nine days). Loew's 153 theaters were mostly located in New York, the Northeast, and Deep South; '']Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind may also refer to:
Music
* ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' (1939) had its world premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre
Loew's Grand Theater, originally DeGive's Grand Opera House, was a movie theater at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It was most famous as the site of the 1939 premiere of ''Gone wit ...
in Atlanta, Georgia. A fine reputation was gained for lavish productions that were sophisticated and polished to cater to an urban audience. Still, as the Great Depression deepened, MGM began to economize by "recycling" existing sets, costumes, and furnishings from yesteryear projects. This recycling practice never let up once started. In addition, MGM saved money because it was the only one of the big five studios that did not own an off-site movie ranch
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...
. Until the mid-1950s, MGM could make a claim its rivals could not: the studio never lost money, although it did produce an occasional disaster such as '' Parnell'' (1937), Clark Gable's biggest flop. MGM was the only Hollywood studio that continued to pay dividends during the 1930s.
MGM stars dominated the box office during the 1930s, and the studio was credited for inventing the Hollywood stable of stars system, as well. MGM contracted with the American Musical Academy of Arts Association to handle all of their press and artist development. The AMAAA's main function was to develop the budding stars and to make them appealing to the public. Stars such as Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy and Jeanette MacDonald reigned as the top-paid figures at the studio. Another MGM actress of the era, Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
, who had previously appeared in the Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
film '' Hell's Angels'' (1930), now had a big break and became a Hollywood sex symbol and one of MGM's most admired stars, as well. Despite Harlow's gain, Garbo was arguably the biggest star for MGM. Shearer was still a money maker despite her screen appearances becoming scarce, and Crawford continued her box-office popularity until 1937. MGM also received a boost through the man who would become known as "King of Hollywood", Clark Gable. Gable's career took off to new heights after he won an Oscar for the Columbia film ''It Happened One Night
''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...
'' (1934).
Mayer and Irving Thalberg's association began warmly, but eventually relations between the two became strained; Thalberg preferred literary works and expensive costume pictures over the lower budget, family-oriented crowd-pleasers Mayer wanted. Thalberg, always physically frail, was removed as head of production in 1932. Mayer encouraged other staff producers, among them his son-in-law David O. Selznick, but no one seemed to have the sure touch of Thalberg. As Thalberg's health deteriorated in 1936, Mayer could now serve as his temporary replacement. Rumors had begun circulating for some time that Thalberg was leaving MGM to set up his own independent company; his premature death at age 37 in September 1936 cost MGM dearly.[
After Thalberg's untimely death, Mayer became head of production, as well as studio chief, becoming the first million-dollar executive in American history. The company remained profitable, and an increase in MGM's "series" pictures ('' Andy Hardy'' starring Mickey Rooney, '' Maisie'' starring ]Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...
, ''The Thin Man
''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...
'' starring William Powell
William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...
and Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
, and ''Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...
/ Dr. Gillespie'' with Lew Ayres
Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...
and Lionel Barrymore) is cited as evidence of Mayer's restored influence. Also playing a huge role was Ida Koverman, Mayer's secretary and ''right hand''.
In 1937, Mayer hired Mervyn LeRoy, a former Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
( producer/director as MGM's top producer and Thalberg's replacement. LeRoy convinced Mayer to acquire the film rights to the popular children's book ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...
''; MGM purchased the rights from Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...
for $75,000 in 1938.
MGM's hits in 1939 included '' The Wizard of Oz'', ''Ninotchka
''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...
'', starring Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...
, '' The Women'', starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
and Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
and ''Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind may also refer to:
Music
* ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'', starring Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara
Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the ...
and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler (Born in 1828) is a fictional character in the 1936 novel '' Gone with the Wind'' by Margaret Mitchell and in the 1939 film adaptation of the same name. It is one of Clark Gable's most recognizable and significant roles.
Role
Rh ...
. Although ''Gone With the Wind'' was produced by Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio created by David O. Selznick in 1935, and dissolved in 1943. In its short existence the independent studio produced two films that received the Academy Award for Best Picture— ...
, the film was distributed by MGM as part of a deal for producer David O. Selznick, Mayer's son-in-law, to obtain the services of Gable as well as financial assistance necessary for Selznick to complete the film.[ While ''The Wizard of Oz'' was a critical hit, the production costs for the film were so expensive, it took 20 years before it turned a profit.
]
1940s
Within one year, beginning in 1942, Mayer released his five highest-paid actresses from their studio contracts: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Myrna Loy and Jeanette MacDonald. After being labeled " box office poison", Crawford's MGM contract was terminated and she moved to Warner Brothers, where her career took a dramatic upturn. Garbo and Shearer never made another film after leaving the lot. Of the five stars, Loy and MacDonald were the only two whom Mayer later rehired, in 1947 and 1948 respectively; Crawford returned to MGM after Mayer's departure for the musical drama ''Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...
'' in 1953.
Increasingly, before and during World War II, Mayer came to rely on his "College of Cardinals"—senior producers who controlled the studio's output. This management-by-committee resulted in MGM losing its momentum, developing few new stars, and relying on the safety of sequels and bland material. (Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
memorably referred to the studio as "Metro-Goldwyn-Merde".) Production values remained high, and even "B" pictures carried a polish and gloss that made them expensive to mount. After 1940, production was cut from 50 pictures a year to a more manageable 25 features per year. During this period, MGM released several very successful musicals with stars such as Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
, Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra.
1950s
Audiences began drifting to television in the late 1940s, and MGM and the other studios were finding it increasingly difficult to attract them to theaters. With its high overhead expenses, MGM's profit margins continued to decrease. Word came from Nicholas Schenck
Nicholas M. Schenck (14 November 1880, Rybinsk, Russia – 4 March 1969, Florida) was a Russian-American film studio executive and businessman.
Biography Early life
One of seven children, Schenck was born to a Jewish household in Rybinsk, ...
in New York to find "a new Thalberg" who could improve quality while paring costs. Mayer thought he had found this savior in Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bio ...
, a writer and producer who had found success at running RKO Pictures. Lavish musicals were Schary's focus, with hits like '' Easter Parade'' (1948) and the popular films of Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
(most famously, ''The Great Caruso
''The Great Caruso'' is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza as Enrico Caruso. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenpla ...
'' (1951)) helped keep MGM profitable.[
In August 1951, Mayer was fired by MGM's East Coast executives and he was replaced by Schary. Gradually cutting loose expensive contract players (including $6,000-a-week Judy Garland in 1950 and "King of Hollywood" Clark Gable in 1954), saving money by recycling existing movie sets instead of building costly new scenery, and reworking expensive old costumes, Schary managed to keep the studio running much as it had through the early 1940s though his sensibilities for hard-edged, message movies would never bear much fruit. One bright spot was MGM musical pictures, under the aegis of producer ]Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for '' An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...
, who was operating what amounted to an independent unit within the studio. MGM produced some well-regarded and profitable musicals that would later be acknowledged as classics, among them ''An American in Paris
''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...
'' (1951), '' Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), and ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...
'' (1954). However, ''Brigadoon
''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, ...
'' (1954), '' Deep in My Heart'' (1954), ''It's Always Fair Weather
''It's Always Fair Weather'' is a 1955 MGM musical satire scripted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also wrote the show's lyrics, with music by André Previn and starring Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Dolores Gray, and dancer/chore ...
'' (1955), '' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956) and '' Les Girls'' (1957) were extravagant song and dance flops, and even the now-classic ''The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...
'' (1953) and '' Silk Stockings'' (1957) lost money upon their initial release.
In 1952, as a settlement of the government's restraint-of-trade action, ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.
''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'', 334 U.S. 131 (1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount Case, or the Paramount Decision), was a landmark United States Supreme Court antitrust case that decided the f ...
'' 334 US 131 (1948), Loews, Inc. gave up control of MGM.[ It would take another five years before the interlocking arrangements were completely undone, by which time both Loews and MGM were losing money. In 1956, Schary was ousted from MGM in another power struggle against the New York-based executives. Cost overruns and the failure of the big-budget epic '' Raintree County'' (1957) prompted the studio to terminate Schary's contract.
Schary's reign at MGM had been marked with few legitimate hits, but his departure (along with the retirement of Schenck in 1955) left a power vacuum that would prove difficult to fill. Initially ]Joseph Vogel
Joseph Vogel is an American author, scholar, and popular culture critic. He is the author of several books, including '' Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson'' and ''This Thing Called Life: Prince, Race, Sex, Religion, ...
became president and Sol Siegel head of production. In 1957 (by coincidence, the year Mayer died), the studio lost money for the first time in its 34-year history.[ By 1960, MGM had released the last of its contract players, with many either retiring or moving on to television.
In 1958, MGM released what is generally considered its last great musical, Arthur Freed's Cinemascope color production of '' Gigi'', starring ]Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (; born 1 July 1931) is a French-American actress and dancer. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. She is one ...
, Maurice Chevalier, and Louis Jourdan
Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), '' Lett ...
. It was adapted from the novel by Colette
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...
, and written by the team of Lerner and Loewe
Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...
, who also wrote ''My Fair Lady'' and ''Camelot''. ''Gigi'' was a box-office and critical success which won nine Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s, including Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
. From it came several hit songs, including "Thank Heaven For Little Girls", "I Remember It Well", the "Waltz at Maxim's", and the Oscar-winning title song. The film was the last MGM musical to win a Best Picture Oscar, an honor that had previously gone to ''The Broadway Melody
''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor seque ...
'' (1929), ''The Great Ziegfeld
''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and ...
'' (1936), and ''An American in Paris
''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...
'' (1951). The last musical film produced by the " Freed Unit" was an adaptation of the Broadway musical '' Bells Are Ringing'' (1960) with Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday (born Judith Tuvim, June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965) was an American actress, comedian and singer.Obituary '' Variety'', June 9, 1965, p. 71.
She began her career as part of a nightclub act before working in Broadway plays and mus ...
and Dean Martin. However, MGM did release later musical films, including an adaptation of Meredith Willson
Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 19 ...
's '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' (1964) with Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell
George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States.
His career re ...
.
MGM enters television
MGM's first television program, '' The MGM Parade'', was produced by MGM's trailer department as one of the compilation and promotional shows that imitated Disney's series ''Disneyland
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
'' which was also on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. ''Parade'' was canceled by ABC in the 2nd quarter of 1956. MGM took bids for its movie library in 1956 from Lou Chesler and others, but decided on entering the TV market itself. Chesler had offered $50 million for the film library.[ ]MGM Television
MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...
was started with the hiring of Bud Barry to head up the operation in June 1956. MGM Television
MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...
was to distribute its films to TV (starting with the networks), TV production and purchasing TV stations. TV production was expected to start with the 1957–58 season and was to include half-hour remakes of, or series based on, its pictures. Initial feature film sales focused on selling to the networks.[
The year 1957 also marked the end of MGM's animation department, as the studio determined it could generate the same amount of revenue by reissuing older cartoons as it could by producing and releasing new ones. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, by then the heads of the MGM cartoon studio, took most of their unit and made their own company, ]Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
, a successful producer of television animation.
In 1956, MGM sold the television rights for ''The Wizard of Oz'' to CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, which scheduled it to be shown in November of that year. In a landmark event, the film became the first American theatrical fiction film to be shown complete in one evening on prime time television over a major American commercial network. ( Olivier's version of ''Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' was shown on prime time network TV a month later, but split in half over two weeks, and the 1950 film, '' The Titan: Story of Michelangelo'' was telecast by ABC in 1952, but that was a documentary.) Beginning in 1959, and lasting until 1991, telecasts of ''The Wizard of Oz'' became an annual tradition, drawing huge audiences in homes all over the U.S. and earning additional profits for MGM. The studio was all too happy to see ''Oz'' become, through television, one of the two or three most famous films MGM has ever made, and one of the few films that nearly everybody in the U.S. has seen at least once. Today ''The Wizard of Oz'' is regularly shown on the Turner
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for turni ...
-owned channels, no longer just once a year.
MGM cartoons
In animation, MGM purchased the rights in 1930 to distribute a series of cartoons that starred a character named Flip the Frog
Flip the Frog is an animated cartoon character created by American animator Ub Iwerks. He starred in a series of cartoons produced by Celebrity Pictures and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1930 to 1933. The series had many recurring char ...
, produced by Ub Iwerks
Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentiou ...
. The first cartoon in this series (entitled ''Fiddlesticks'') was the first sound cartoon to be produced in two-color Technicolor. In 1933, Ub Iwerks canceled the unsuccessful Flip the Frog series and MGM began to distribute its second series of cartoons, starring a character named Willie Whopper Willie Whopper is an animated cartoon character created by American animator Ub Iwerks. The Whopper series was the second from the Iwerks Studio to be produced by Pat Powers and distributed through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 14 shorts were produced in ...
, that was also produced by Ub Iwerks.
In 1934, after Iwerks' distribution contract expired, MGM contracted with animation producers/directors Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising to produce a new series of color cartoons. Harman and Ising came to MGM after breaking ties with Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. and brought with them their popular '' Looney Tunes'' character, Bosko. These were known as ''Happy Harmonies
''Happy Harmonies'' is the name of a series of thirty-seven animated cartoons distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising between 1934 and 1938.
Produced in Technicolor, these cartoons were very similar to Wal ...
'', and in many ways resembled the ''Looney Tunes'' sister series, '' Merrie Melodies''. The ''Happy Harmonies'' regularly ran over budget, and MGM dismissed Harman-Ising in 1937 to start its own animation studio
An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...
.
After initial struggles with a poorly received series of '' The Captain and the Kids'' cartoons, the studio rehired Harman and Ising in 1939, and Ising created the studio's first successful animated character, Barney Bear
''Barney Bear'' is an American series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing but ...
. However, MGM's biggest cartoon stars would come in the form of the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
, created by William Hanna
William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...
and Joseph Barbera in 1940. The ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons won seven Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s between 1943 and 1953. In 1941, Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...
, another Schlesinger alumnus, joined the animation department. Avery gave the unit its image, with successes like ''Red Hot Riding Hood
''Red Hot Riding Hood'' is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie '' Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case'' on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoo ...
'', '' Swing Shift Cinderella'', and the ''Droopy
Droopy is an animated character from the golden age of American animation. He is an anthropomorphic white Basset Hound with a droopy face; hence his name. He was created in 1943 by Tex Avery for theatrical cartoon shorts produced by the Metro- ...
'' series.
Avery left the studio in 1953, leaving Hanna and Barbera to focus on the popular ''Tom and Jerry'' and ''Droopy'' series. After 1955, all cartoons were filmed in CinemaScope until MGM closed its cartoon division in 1957.
In 1961, MGM resumed the release of new ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts, and production moved to Rembrandt Films in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
(now the Czech Republic) under the supervision of Gene Deitch, who had been hired away from Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...
. Although Deitch's ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons were considered to be vastly inferior to the earlier Hanna and Barbera shorts, they did receive positive reviews in some quarters. In 1963, the production of ''Tom and Jerry'' returned to Hollywood under Chuck Jones and his Sib Tower 12 Productions studio (later absorbed by MGM and renamed MGM Animation/Visual Arts
MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and animator Ken Harris as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of ''Tom ...
). Jones' group also produced its own works, winning an Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
for ''The Dot and the Line'' (1965), as well as producing the classic television version of Dr. Seuss's ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' (1966) featuring the voice of Boris Karloff. ''Tom and Jerry'' folded in 1967, and the animation department continued with television specials and one feature film, ''The Phantom Tollbooth (film), The Phantom Tollbooth''. A revived Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation was in existence from 1993 to 1999.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
MGM in the 1960s
In 1959, MGM enjoyed what is quite probably its greatest financial success of later years, with the release of its nearly four-hour Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
epic ''Ben-Hur (1959 film), Ben–Hur'', a remake of its 1925 silent film hit, loosely based on the novel by Lew Wallace, General Lew Wallace. Starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the film was critically acclaimed, and won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a record that held until ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'' matched it in 1997 and ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' also did in 2003.
During this period, MGM fell into a practice that eventually nearly doomed the studio: an entire year's production schedule relied on the success of one big-budget epic film each year. This policy began in 1959, when ''Ben–Hur'' was profitable enough to carry the studio through 1960. However, four succeeding big-budget epics—like ''Ben–Hur'', each a remake—failed: ''Cimarron (1960 film), Cimarron'' (1960), ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kings'' (1961), ''Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film), Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1961), and, most notoriously, ''Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film), Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962). The Cinerama film ''The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm'' (also 1962), the first film in Cinerama to actually tell a story, was also a financial failure. But one other big-budget epic that was a success, however, was the MGM-Cinerama co-production ''How the West Was Won (film), How the West Was Won'' (1962), with a huge all-star cast. ''King of Kings'', while a commercial and critical bomb at the time, has since come to be regarded as a film classic. The losses caused by these films led to the resignations of Sol Siegel and Joseph Vogel who were replaced by Robert M. Weitman (head of production) and Robert O'Brien (executive), Robert O'Brien (president).
The combination of O'Brien and Weitman seemed to temporarily revive the studio. MGM released David Lean's immensely popular ''Doctor Zhivago (film), Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), later followed by such hits as ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1967) and ''2001: A Space Odyssey (film), 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968). However the company's time was taken up proxy fight, fighting off proxy attacks by corporate raiders, and then MGM backed another series of box office failures, including the musical remake of ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film), Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1969) and ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970). Weitman moved over to Columbia in 1967 and O'Brien was forced to resign a few years later.
In the mid-1960s, MGM began to diversify by investing in real estate.[ Edgar Bronfman Sr. purchased a controlling interest in MGM in 1966 (and was briefly chairman of the board in 1969), and in 1967 Time Inc. became the company's second-largest shareholder.
]
Kirk Kerkorian investment
In 1969, Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beve ...
purchased 40 percent of MGM stock. What appealed to Kerkorian was MGM's asset value, which included subsidiary businesses, real estate, and the value of 45 years' worth of glamour associated with the name, which he attached to a Las Vegas hotel and casino. As for film-making, that part of the company was bleeding money and was quickly and severely Layoff, downsized under the supervision of James T. Aubrey Jr. With changes in its business model including fewer pictures per year, more location shooting and more distribution of independent productions, MGM's operations were reduced. Aubrey sold off MGM's accumulation of props, furnishings and historical memorabilia, including a pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers from ''The Wizard of Oz''. Lot 3, of back-lot property, was sold off for real-estate development. In 1971, it was announced that MGM was in talks with 20th Century-Fox about a possible merger, a plan which never came into fruition. Under Aubrey, MGM also sold off MGM Records and its overseas theater holdings.[
Through the 1970s, studio output slowed considerably as Aubrey preferred four or five medium-budget pictures each year along with a smattering of low-budget fare.][ In October 1973 and in decline in output, MGM closed its distribution offices then outsourced distribution for its library for a ten-year period along with selling its music publishing arm, Robbins, Feist & Miller plus half of Quality Records of Canada, to ]United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
.[
Kerkorian now distanced himself from the operations of the studio, focusing on Bally's Las Vegas, MGM Grand Hotel by investing $120 million.][ Another portion of the backlot was sold in 1974. The last shooting done on the backlot was the introductory material for ''That's Entertainment!'' (1974), a retrospective documentary that became a surprise hit for the studio.
''That's Entertainment!'' was authorized by Dan Melnick, who was appointed head of production in 1972. Under Melnick's regime, MGM released a number of successful films in the 1970s, including ''Westworld (film), Westworld'' (1973), ''Soylent Green'' (1973), ''The Sunshine Boys (1975 film), The Sunshine Boys'' (1975), and ''Network (1976 film), Network'' (1976), which the studio co-produced with United Artists. Despute these successes, MGM never reclaimed its former status.
The Cherokee Studios, MGM Recording Studios were sold in 1975. In 1979, Kerkorian declared that MGM was now primarily a hotel company. The company hit a symbolic low point in 1980 when David Begelman, earlier let go by Columbia following the discovery of his acts of forgery and embezzlement, was installed as MGM's president and CEO.
In 1980, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. split its production and casino units into separate companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Co. and MGM Grand Hotels, Inc.] The rise of ancillary markets was enough to allow MGM to increase production to 10-15 films a year compared to three to six in the previous decade, but first it needed to restore its distribution unit.
MGM/UA Entertainment
MGM proceeded to return to theatrical distribution in 1981 with its purchase of United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
, as UA's parent company Transamerica Corporation decided to jettison the studio following the huge financial debacle of ''Heaven's Gate (film), Heaven's Gate'' (1980). after this acquisition, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Co. was renamed "MGM/UA Entertainment Company".[ MGM/UA sold its music publishing division to CBS Songs in 1983 with a five-year co-publishing agreement. In 1981, Fred Silverman and George Reeves via InterMedia Entertainment struck a deal with the studio to produce films and TV shows. In 1982, the company entered into a relationship with mini-major studio and film distributor The Cannon Group, Inc. whereas Cannon became part of the MGM/UA sub-distribution network, but in 1983, MGM/UA and Cannon entered a deal that MGM/UA had to distribute all future Cannon films in the North American region.
''WarGames'' (1983) and ''Octopussy'' (1983) were both hits for MGM/UA, but did not push MGM into the profit range that Kerkorian wanted. MGM/UA formed a trio of subsidiaries, the MGM Home Entertainment, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group, MGM/UA Classics, and the MGM Television, MGM/UA Television Group in 1982. Kerkorian offered to purchase the remaining outstanding MGM shares he did not own to take the company private but was met with resistance.][
After the purchase of UA, David Begelman's duties were transferred to that unit. Under Begelman, MGM/UA produced a number of unsuccessful films, and he was fired in July 1982. Out of the 11 films he put into production, only one film, ''Poltergeist (1982 film), Poltergeist'' (1982), proved to be a clear hit during his tenure with the studio. Not even MGM's greatest asset – its library – was enough to keep the studio afloat.] After 1982, the studio relied more on distribution, picking up independent productions, rather than financing its own projects. In 1984, the company had signed an eight-picture agreement with Dino De Laurentiis, with a production value of $150 million, and MGM/UA had domestic distribution for eight of the future Dino De Laurentiis film productions. In 1985, MGM/UA Entertainment Co. had signed an agreement to distribute all specialized pictures produced by PSM Entertainment, with the first release going for 1986.
MGM Entertainment
On August 7, 1985, Turner Broadcasting System offered to buy MGM/UA. As film licensing to television became more complicated, Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he fo ...
saw the value of acquiring MGM's film library for his Superstation TBS (TV network), WTBS. Ahead of the merger, MGM/UA Distribution Co. become the newly minted joint venture UA/MGM Distribution Co., which would handle sales and operations of MGM and United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
feature films. On March 25 of the following year, the deal was finalized in a cash-stock deal for $1.5 billion, and the company was renamed "MGM Entertainment Co.". Turner immediately sold MGM's United Artists subsidiary back to Kerkorian for roughly $480 million. But since Turner was unable to find financing for the rest of the deal because of concerns in the financial community over the debt-load of his companies, on August 26, 1986, Turner was forced to sell MGM's production and distribution assets to United Artists for $300 million. The Sony Pictures Studios, MGM studio lot and lab facilities were sold to Lorimar-Telepictures. Lorimar-Telepictures would later sell the Metrocolor facilities, Metrocolor Film Laboratory (aka MGM Laboratory) to Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
for $60 million. Turner retained the pre-May 1986 library of MGM films, along with the RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures and pre-1950 Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
films which United Artists had previously purchased.
How much of MGM's back catalog Turner actually obtained was a point of conflict for a time; eventually, it was determined that Turner owned all of the pre-May 1986 MGM library, as well as the pre-1950 Warner Bros. catalog,[WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely distributed, and all short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948, in addition to all cartoons released on or after August 1, 1948.] the ''Popeye'' cartoons released by Paramount (both the pre-1950 WB library and Popeye cartoons were sold to Associated Artists Productions, which was later bought by United Artists), and the US/Canadian rights to the RKO library, in addition to MGM's television series. Turner used the acquired films to launch the new cable channel TNT (U.S. TV network), Turner Network Television.
MGM/UA Communications
After Kerkorian reclaimed MGM in August 1986, the MGM/UA name continued to be used, but the company changed its name, this time to MGM/UA Communications Co., which was renamed from United Artists Corporation, now using MGM and UA as separate brands. The change became official on September 10, 1986, and at that time, the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol was changed from UA, yet again to MGM. In 1987, both MGM/UA Communications Co., Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures teamed up in order to market feature film and television product to China, and the consumer reach is measured in terms of the 25-billion admission tickets that were clocked in China in 1986, and Worldwide Media Sales, a division of the New York-based Worldwide Media Group had been placed in charge of the undertaking. Later that year, in October 1987, MGM/UA had two separate financing deals with Star Partners Ltd., which is planning on to raise $65 million in debt to co-finance the upcoming pictures made by MGM/UA, and a second financing agreement was obtained by First Artist Media Entertainment Ltd., which is planning on to raise $15 million to co-finance, produce and distribute several low-budget pictures that were planning on to be produced by MGM/UA.
In July 1988, Kerkorian announced plans to split MGM and UA into separate studios. Under this deal, Kerkorian, who owned 82% of MGM/UA Communications, would have sold 25% of MGM to Barris Industries (controlled by producers Burt Sugarman, Jon Peters, and Peter Guber). The proposition to spin off MGM was called off a few weeks later. In 1989, Australian-based Qintex attempted to buy MGM from Kerkorian, but the deal collapsed. On November 29, 1989, Turner (owners of the pre-May 1986 MGM library) attempted to buy Tracinda's entertainment assets such as MGM/UA Communications Co. but every time the deal had failed.
MGM-Pathé Communications
In 1990, Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti announced he was about to buy MGM/UA. Although the French government had scuttled Parretti's bid to buy Pathé due to concerns about his character, background, and past dealings, Parretti gained backing from Crédit Lyonnais
The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th c ...
and bought MGM/UA from Kirk Kerkorian. To finance the purchase, Parretti licensed the MGM/UA library to Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
for home video and Turner for domestic television rights until 2003. He then merged it with his Pathé Communications Corporation (formerly The Cannon Group, Inc., Cannon Group, a distributor that Parretti had renamed before his aborted bid for Pathé) to form MGM–Pathe Communications Co. The well-respected executive, Alan Ladd Jr., a former president of MGM/UA, was brought on board as CEO of MGM in 1991. However, a year later, Parretti's ownership of MGM–Pathé dissolved in a flurry of lawsuits and a default by Crédit Lyonnais, and Parretti faced security (finance), securities-fraud charges in the United States and Europe.
On the verge of bankruptcy and failure, Crédit Lyonnais took full control of MGM–Pathé via loan default in mid-1992 and converted its name back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The bank fired Ladd and replaced him with former Paramount executive Frank Mancuso Sr. Mancuso then hired Michael Marcus as chairman, MGM Pictures and former Warner Bros. executive John Calley as United Artists head. A television production division was started up. As part of his exit package, Ladd took some of the top properties, including ''Braveheart''.
On December 21, 1992, MGM's 15% investment ($30 million in cash) in Carolco Pictures plus a $30 million convertible note was approved by Carolco's board. MGM also started distributing Carolco's films in January 1994 after its deal with TriStar Pictures ended. While MGM had to convince parent Credit Lyonnais to allow the deal, Lyonnais was Carolco's main lender thus allowing the bank to collect outstanding debts and extend a new line of credit.
MGM Holdings, Inc. was formed to take on about $1 billion in MGM's liabilities off MGM's balance sheet in the third quarter of 1993. Credit Lyonnais extended a $400 million line of credit allowing a Chemical Bank lead bank group to extend a $350 million line of credit in 1994. In 1994, MGM had a hit in ''Stargate (film), Stargate''.[
In May 1995, MGM agreed to distribute four of Rysher Entertainment's films in 1996 and 1997 and co-produce and co-finance two or three in that same period.]
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Because of the way it had acquired control of the company, Crédit Lyonnais soon put the studio up for sale, with the highest bidder being Kirk Kerkorian. Now the owner of MGM for the third time, Kerkorian's deal with Mancuso quickly angered John Calley, who quit United Artists and was named head of Sony Pictures Entertainment. By selling a portion of the studio to Australia's Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
, Kerkorian was able to convince Wall Street that a revived MGM was worthy of a place on the stock market, where it languished until he sold the company to a group of hedge funds tied to Sony, which wanted to control the studio library to promote the Blu-ray Disc format.
On April 11, 1997, MGM bought Metromedia's film subsidiaries ( Orion Pictures, The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and the Motion Picture Corporation of America) for US$573 million, substantially enlarging its library of films and television series and acquiring additional production capacity. The deal closed in July of that year. This catalog, along with the James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
franchise, was considered to be MGM's primary asset. In the same year, MGM's long-running cable television series, ''Stargate SG-1'', first aired. Kerkorian bought out Seven Network the following year. That year, MGM and Danjaq, Danjaq, LLC received a lawsuit from Sony Pictures in order to do a rival Bond franchise backed by Kevin McClory. MGM had acquired the rights to the unofficial Bond production ''Never Say Never Again'' from Jack Schwartzman's estate in the December of that year.
In December 1997, MGM attempted to purchase 1,000 films (referred to as the Trans World Entertainment (film company), Epic film library) held by Consortium de Réalisation, but was outbid by PolyGram. However, they ultimately succeeded when they acquired the 2/3 of pre-1996 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment library from Seagram in 1999 for $250 million, increasing their library holdings to 4000. Prior to that, MGM had held a home video license for 100 of the films since spring 1997. The PolyGram libraries were purchased by its Orion Pictures subsidiary so as to avoid its 1990 video distribution agreement with Warner.[ The studio also obtained the broadcast rights to more than 800 of its films previously licensed to Turner Broadcasting.
By 1998, MGM had started a specialty film unit using The Samuel Goldwyn Company under the Goldwyn Films name. Samuel Goldwyn Jr. sued Metromedia over salary and damages when he worked at Goldwyn Company under Metromedia and sued MGM over the use of the Goldwyn name claiming trademark infringement and unfair competition. MGM and Metromedia settled on January 10, 1999, with MGM's Goldwyn Films changing its name to G2 Films.] In the middle of that year, MGM and Sony settled in an out-of-court lawsuit that saw MGM trading its ''Spider-Man in film, Spider-Man'' film rights to Sony in exchange for having the rights to ''Casino Royale (novel), Casino Royale''.
In 2000, MGM changed its overseas distribution arrangement. Since 1981, MGM had distributed its films internationally through United International Pictures (UIP), a joint venture of MGM, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. UIP was accused by the European Union of being an illegal cartel, and effective November 2000 MGM severed its ties with UIP and distributed films internationally through 20th Century Fox.
MGM purchased 20 percent of AMC Networks, Rainbow Media Group from Cablevision, Cablevision Systems for $825 million in 2001. MGM attempted to take over Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
in 2003, but failed, and was forced to sell several of its cable channel investments (taking a $75-million loss on the deal).
In January 2002, MGM formed the MGM Entertainment Business Group with lawyer Darcie Denkert as president. This placed her in charge of MGM on Stage, the company's theatrical arm. Her friend Dean Stolber joined her as co-president of the theatrical unit.
MGM Holdings
Bidding war and corporate reorganization
In 2002, Kerkorian put MGM up for sale again, with a suggested sale price of $7 billion. In 2004, many of MGM's competitors started to make bids to purchase the studio, beginning with Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
. It was not unexpected that Time Warner would bid, since the largest shareholder in the company was Ted Turner. His Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
Group had risen to success in part through its ownership of the pre-May 1986 MGM library. After a short period of negotiation with MGM, Time Warner was unsuccessful. The leading bidder proved to be Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation
SONAM, headquartered in New York City, manages the company's US-based businesses.
Sony's principal U.S. business ...
, backed by Comcast and private equity firms Texas Pacific Group (now TPG Capital, L.P.), DLJ and Providence Equity Partners. Sony's primary goal was to ensure Blu-ray Disc support at MGM; cost synergies with Sony Pictures Entertainment were secondary. Time Warner made a counter-bid (which Ted Turner reportedly tried to block), but on September 13, 2004, Sony increased its bid of US$11.25 per share (roughly $4.7 billion) to $12 per share ($5 billion), and Time Warner subsequently withdrew its bid of $11 per share ($4.5 billion). MGM and Sony agreed on a purchase price of nearly $5 billion, of which about $2 billion was to pay off MGM's debt. From 2005 to 2006, the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group domestically distributed films by MGM and UA.
In 2006, MGM announced it would return as a theatrical distribution company. MGM struck deals with The Weinstein Company, Lakeshore Entertainment, Bauer Martinez, and many other independent studios, and then announced its plans to release 14 feature films for 2006 and early 2007. MGM also hoped to increase the amount to over 20 by 2007. ''Lucky Number Slevin'', released April 7, was the first film released under the new MGM era. The Weinstein distribution agreement covered three years and got Weinstein films, but was ended three months early.
On May 31, 2006, MGM announced it would transfer the majority of MGM Home Entertainment, its home video output from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
MGM also announced plans to restructure its worldwide television distribution operation. In addition, MGM signed a deal with New Line Television in which MGM would handle New Line's U.S. film and series television syndication packages. MGM served as New Line's barter sales representative in the television arena until 2008.
A Memorandum of understanding, tentative agreement was signed in Seoul on March 15, 2006, between MGM, South Korea-based entertainment agency Glovit and Busan city officials for a theme park scheduled to open in 2011. MGM Studio City was projected to cost $1.02 billion build on 245 acres owned by the city in a planned tourist district and contain 27 attractions, a film academy with movie sets, hotels, restaurants and shopping facilities. Glovit was expected to find funding and oversee management of the park, while MGM received a licensing agreement making them handle content and overall planning and the option to buy a 5%–10% share.
On November 2, 2006, producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, signed an agreement with MGM to run United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
. Wagner served as United Artists' chief executive.
MGM in the digital age
Over the next several years, MGM launched a number of initiatives in distribution and the use of new technology and media, as well as joint ventures to promote and sell its products. In April 2007, it was announced that MGM movies would be able to be downloaded through Apple's iTunes service, with MGM bringing an estimated 100 of its existing movies to iTunes service, the California-based computer company revealed. The list of movies included the likes of modern features such as ''Rocky'', ''Ronin (film), Ronin'', ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and ''Dances with Wolves'', along with more golden-era classics such as ''Lilies of the Field (1963 film), Lilies of the Field'' and ''The First Great Train Robbery, The Great Train Robbery''. In October, the company launched MGM HD on DirecTV, offering a library of movies formatted in Hi Def. Also in 2006, MGM licensed its home video distribution rights for countries outside of the United States to 20th Century Fox. MGM teamed up with Weigel Broadcasting to launch a new channel titled This TV on November 1, 2008. On August 12, 2008, MGM teamed up with Comcast to launch a new video-on-demand network titled Impact. On November 10, 2008, MGM announced that it will release full-length films on YouTube.
On April 14, 2008, a South Korea government agency announced that MGM and Incheon International Airport Corporation agreed to build MGM Studio Theme Park. The selected site was a 1.5 million square meter Yeongjongdo island property near the Incheon International Airport. However, the park was designed but never built.
MGM files for bankruptcy
As of mid-2009, MGM had US$3.7 billion in debt, and interest payments alone totaled $250 million a year. MGM was earning approximately $500 million a year on income from its extensive film and television library, but the Late-2000s recession, economic recession is reported to have reduced this income substantially.
Whether MGM could avoid voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy had been a topic of much discussion in the film industry. MGM had to repay a $250-million line of credit in April 2010, a $1-billion loan in June 2011, and its remaining US$2.7 billion in loans in 2012. In May 2009, MGM's auditor gave the company a clean bill of health, concluding it was still on track to meet its debt obligations. At that time, the company was negotiating with its creditors to either extend the debt repayment deadlines or engage in a debt-for-equity swap. Industry observers, however, questioned whether MGM could avoid a Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter-11 bankruptcy filing under any circumstances, and concluded that any failure to conclude the negotiations must trigger a filing. MGM and its United Artists subsidiary were now producing very few films each year, and it was widely believed that MGM's solvency would depend on the box-office performance of these films (especially ''Skyfall''). There was some indication that Relativity Media and its financial backer, Elliott Associates (a hedge fund based in New York), had been acquiring MGM debt in an attempt to force the company into Bankruptcy in the United States#Voluntary versus involuntary bankruptcy, involuntary bankruptcy.
On August 17, 2009, chief executive officer Harry E. Sloan stepped down and MGM hired Stephen F. Cooper as its new CEO, a corporate executive who guided Enron through its post-2001 bankruptcy and oversaw the restructuring and growth of Krispy Kreme in 2005. Expectations were that Cooper was hired to act quickly on MGM's debt problems. On October 1, 2009, the studio's new leadership negotiated a forbearance agreement with its creditors under which interest payments due from September to November 2009 did not have to be paid until December 15, 2009.
MGM stated in February 2010 that the studio would likely be sold in the next four months, and that its latest film, ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', might be one of the last four films to bear the MGM name. However, some stated that the company might continue as a label for new James Bond productions, as well as other movie properties culled from the MGM library.
MGM Holdings, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and 160 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 3, 2010, with a prepackaged plan for exiting bankruptcy which led to MGM's creditors taking over the company. On December 20, 2010, MGM executives announced that the studio had emerged from bankruptcy. Spyglass Entertainment
Spyglass Media Group, LLC, formerly Spyglass Entertainment, is an American film production company founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998.
History Spyglass Entertainment
On August 21, 1998, Gary Barber, former vice chairman and CO ...
executives Gary Barber
Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African-born American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment.
Biography
Barber was born to a Jewish family in Johannesburg, So ...
and Roger Birnbaum
Roger Birnbaum (born November 14, 1950) is an American film producer who owns the company Spyglass Media Group, and was co-CEO and co-chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His two greatest box office hits as producer have been ''Rush Hour 2'' and '' T ...
became co-Chairs and co-CEOs of the studio.
Post-bankruptcy era
On January 4, 2011, MGM and Weigel Broadcasting announced plans to distribute MeTV nationwide. On February 2, 2011, MGM named Jonathan Glickman to be the film president of MGM. Six days later, MGM was finalizing a distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to handle distribution of its 4,000 films and DVDs worldwide and on digital platforms, including the two upcoming Bond films: ''Skyfall'' and ''Spectre (2015 film), Spectre''. There were four studios who were bidding on the Bond distribution rights: Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures. Paramount was the first studio who dropped out of the Bond bidding. The deal was finalized on April 13, 2011. Post-bankruptcy, MGM also co-financed SPE's ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''. 20th Century Fox's deal with MGM handling its library distribution worldwide was set to expire in September 2011. However, the deal was renewed and extended on April 14, 2011 and, after five years, was renewed and extended again on June 27, 2016. It was expired in June 2020.
MGM moved forward with several upcoming projects, including remakes of ''RoboCop (1987 film), RoboCop'' and ''Poltergeist (1982 film), Poltergeist'', and released their first post-bankruptcy film ''Zookeeper (film), Zookeeper'', which was co-distributed by Columbia Pictures on July 8, 2011. The new MGM, under Barber and Birnbaum's control, focuses on co-investing on films made by another party, which handle all distribution and marketing for the projects. MGM handles international television distribution rights for the new films as well as its library of existing titles and also retains its in-house production service. In separate 2011 deals, the rights to MGM's completed films ''Red Dawn (2012 film), Red Dawn'' and ''The Cabin in the Woods'' were dealt to FilmDistrict as well as Lionsgate Films, respectively.
On October 3, 2012, Birnbaum announced his intention to exit his role as an MGM executive and return to "hands-on" producing. He will remain with the studio to produce films on "an exclusive basis". In December 2012, Denkert retired as co-president of MGM on Stage after producing five Broadway and West End plays. In May 2014, MGM introduced The Works (TV network), The Works, a channel available in 31 percent of the country, including stations owned by Titan Broadcast Management.
In 2013, the Orion brand was revived as a television production label for a syndicated court show. The Orion Pictures name was extended in fourth quarter 2014 for smaller domestic and international video on demand and limited theatrical releases.
In March 2017, MGM announced a multi-year distribution deal with Annapurna Pictures for some international markets and including home entertainment, theatrical and television rights. Later on October 31, 2017, the two companies formed a US distribution joint venture called Mirror Releasing. However, this partnership will not be exclusive to all MGM films, as several of them will continue to be released through existing studio partners, such as Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and Paramount Pictures, Paramount. It also does not include newly relaunched Orion Pictures. On February 5, 2019, Annapurna and MGM rebranded and expanded their US distribution joint venture as United Artists Releasing, marking another revival of the United Artists brand, with the Orion Pictures distribution team and films joining the venture. The decision was made to coincide with the United Artists brand's 100th anniversary. MGM's films on DVD and Blu-ray would continue to be released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment until June 2020.
Following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations in October 2017, MGM was listed as one of 22 potential buyers interested in acquiring The Weinstein Company. In October 2017, MGM's board renewed Gary Barber's contract as chairman and CEO until December 2022. In February 2018, Chris Brearton, the former media M&A attorney of Latham and Watkins, was appointed as chief operating officer. On March 19, 2018, MGM Holdings announced that Barber had been fired by the studio's board of directors. MGM gave no reason for his firing. For the interim, the company would be led by the newly formed "Office of the CEO".
In April 2019, MGM signed a two-year, first-look deal for films with Smokehouse Pictures, owned by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. The deal's first film is an unnamed John DeLorean film based on journalist Alex Pappademas’ Epic magazine article "Saint John", written by Keith Bunin and Clooney as director with a possibility of starring.
In April 2019, MGM made a multi-film non-exclusive creative partnership with AGBO Films to co-develop, co-produce and co-finance a slate from the MGM library. The deal includes a new film projects joint development fund with the first film under the deal to be a remake of ''The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film), The Thomas Crown Affair''.
MGM agreed to a $100 million co-financing slate deal with Bron Studios, Bron Creative in June 2019. The slate consisted of at least nine films including three Orion Pictures films.
MGM was the first studio to delay the film ''No Time to Die'' due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by an April 2020 layoff of 7% of employees.
A shuffle of top executives occurred in the first four months. Glickman left in January 2020 and replaced by Michael De Luca as chairman of the motion picture group. A motion picture group president, veteran executive and producer Pamela Abdy, was named in early April. Co-presidents of production Cassidy Lange, Adam Rosenberg left by May 1, 2020.
In May 2020, MGM made an investment, facilitated by its television group, in Audio Up podcast production studio, platform and network. Audio Up would also produce 5 podcasts per year for MGM and agreed to an exclusive first look for its works. Later that month, MGM agreed to a two-year film and television first-look development deal with Killer Films.
In 2013 and 2015, Starz Inc., Starz Entertainment signed exclusive film licensing agreements with MGM for 585 movies and 176 television series. In August 2019, Starz found a film in the agreement on a streaming service which MGM agreed was under the agreement and had it pulled. Starz pressed them and MGM admitted in November that 244 films and television series were being shown on other platforms including Epix. MGM indicated that month that the license tracking system was fixed. Finding films on other platforms a month later, Starz found an additional 100 films on other platforms. With this seeming to diminish their channel's value to cable operators, Starz sued on May 4, 2020, to uncover all contract violations.
Sale to Amazon (2021–present)
In December 2020, MGM began to explore a potential sale of the studio, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the domination of streaming platforms due to the closure of movie theaters as contributing factors. The company hired Morgan Stanley and LionTree Advisors to handle the process on behalf of the studio. On May 17, 2021, online retail and technology company Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
entered negotiations to acquire the studio. The negotiations were made directly with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich whose Anchorage Capital Group is a major shareholder. On May 26, 2021, it was officially announced that MGM will be acquired by Amazon for $8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approvals and other routine closing conditions; with the studio continuing to operate as a label under Amazon's existing content arm, complementing Amazon Studios and Amazon Prime Video. On March 15, 2022, Amazon secured an unconditional European Union antitrust approval for its proposed acquisition of MGM.
On February 8, 2022, Paul Thomas Anderson's ''Licorice Pizza'' became the studio's first fully produced, marketed and distributed film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 33 years, after 1988's ''Rain Man''. On March 17, Amazon finalized the merger. Later that day, Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins revealed that Amazon will continue to partner with United Artists Releasing, which will remain in operation to release all future MGM titles theatrically on a "case-by-case basis," while "all MGM employees will join my organization." It was also revealed that Amazon had no plans to make changes to the studio's production slate and release schedules nor make all MGM content exclusive to Prime Video, providing some hope that the studio would operate autonomously from Amazon Studios. These plans are expected to not impact the future of the James Bond franchise and its creative team. Two Town hall meeting, town halls further detailing MGM's future post-merger took place on March 18, which included one for MGM employees and one for Amazon Studios/Prime Video employees. Both revealed the new interim reporting structure as part of Amazon's "phased integration plan", which would involve De Luca, Mark Burnett (Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television) and Chief operating officer, COO Chris Brearton reporting to Hopkins on behalf of the studio. On March 22, the studio made its first post-merger acquisition with Luca Guadagnino's ''Bones and All'', for which the studio purchased the global distribution rights. On April 27, 2022, it was announced that De Luca and Abdy would leave the studio for Warner Bros. A few months later, in August, it was announced MGM and Warner Bros. had signed a multi-year pact to distribute MGM's titles internationally outside North America, both theatrically in international territories and on home video worldwide, beginning with ''Bones and All'' and ''Creed III''. The deal however excludes the films ''Till (film), Till'', ''Women Talking (film), Women Talking'', and the 26th James Bond film, which would be distributed by Universal Pictures, with whom MGM had an international distribution deal earlier. On November 30, 2022, it was announced that Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, will be given full control of MGM's film and television divisions, with Brearton stepping down as COO to become the Vice President of PVS Corporate Strategy for MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television.
Headquarters
Since August 22, 2011, MGM's headquarters have been in Beverly Hills, California, where it rents space in a six-story office building. The facility was originally built for the venerable William Morris Agency, William Morris talent agency, but had remained all but unoccupied because of the agency's merger with Endeavor Talent Agency in April 2009. MGM planned to house a private theater and a private outdoor patio in the building.
Prior to 2003, MGM's headquarters were in the Colorado Center in Santa Monica, California, occupying at least . In 2000, it announced it was moving its headquarters to a new building in Century City, Los Angeles, Century City that was to be the first high-rise in Los Angeles to be completed in the 21st century. When the company agreed to be its lead tenant halfway through the building's design process, it became identified as MGM Tower, planned for a 2003 opening. When MGM moved into the lavishly appointed spaces devised by Alex Yemenidjian, former MGM chairperson and chief executive, Roger Vincent and Claudia Eller observed in the ''Los Angeles Times'' that "Yemenidjian spared no expense in building out the studio's space with such Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
-style flourishes as towering marble pillars and a grand spiral staircase lined with a wall of awards."
Architect Scott Johnson designed the bottom third of the tower with extra-large floors so MGM executives could have outdoor decks. No expense seemed to be spared—from imported Italian marble for MGM's offices, to the company's exclusive use of a private garage, security checkpoint, and elevator bank, all to enable visiting celebrities discreet entry and exit. One of the tower's three screening rooms was a 100-seat theater on the ground floor (later taken over by International Creative Management in December 2010). The 14th-floor lobby housed the executive suites and a wall of Oscar statuettes for Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning films. The street leading to the building's garage was renamed MGM Drive and a large MGM logo, illuminated at night, crowned the building. As of December 2010, MGM was renting in MGM Tower at a cost of almost $5 per square foot per month.
Emerging from bankruptcy protection in 2010, MGM announced that it planned to move its headquarters to Beverly Hills as part of an effort to resolve almost $5 billion in debt, since the lease in Century City was not scheduled to expire until 2018. Vincent and Eller said that MGM's per-square-foot monthly rent would be far lower in the Beverly Hills building than in MGM Tower. Larry Kozmont, a real estate consultant not involved in the process, said, "It's a prudent move for them. Downsizing and relocating to a space that is still prominent but not overly ostentatious and burdened by expenses is fundamental for their survival." MGM vacated its namesake tower on August 19, 2011.
Leo logo and mottos
The studio's official motto, "''Ars Gratia Artis''", is a Latin phrase meaning "Art for art's sake". It was chosen by Howard Dietz, the studio's chief publicist. The studio's logo is a roaring lion surrounded by a ring of film inscribed with the studio's motto. The logo, which features Leo the Lion (MGM), Leo the Lion, was created by Dietz in 1916 for Goldwyn Pictures and updated in 1924 for MGM's use. Dietz based the logo on his alma mater's mascot, the Columbia University lion. Originally silent, the sound of Leo the Lion's roar was added to films for the first time in August 1928.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the studio billed itself as having "more stars than there are in heaven", a reference to the large number of A-list movie stars under its contract. This second motto was also coined by Dietz and was first used in 1932.
On March 8, 2021, the studio unveiled a rebrand, centered on the "Ars Gratia Artis" motto, across its social media and marketing platforms, including a photorealistic CGI version of its Leo the Lion emblem and logo.
Film library
Turner Entertainment Co.
Following his brief ownership of the company in 1986, Ted Turner formed Turner Entertainment, Turner Entertainment Co. as a holding company for the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library and pre-1950 Warner Bros. film library which he retained. For several years after the sale, MGM continued to distribute home video releases of those films under license from Turner, though in 1990 it sold all of its home video distribution rights to Warner Bros.[ After Turner's holdings were purchased by Time Warner in 1996, the rights for the Turner-owned films were reassigned to Warner Home Video in 1999 when MGM ended their distribution deal with Warner Bros,] though Turner Entertainment, as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, remains the credited copyright holder.
Film series
Highest-grossing films
Distribution
Domestically, MGM's films are currently distributed by United Artists Releasing, the former Mirror Releasing; and internationally, MGM's films are currently distributed by Universal Pictures mostly through United International Pictures, of which MGM is a former member (see below).
From 1924 to 1973 (worldwide) and 1981 to 2010 (domestically), MGM has theatrically distributed most of its movies entirely in-house, as well as those of United Artists after July 1981 and Orion Pictures after April 1997. In October 2017, seven years after shutting down their major distribution operations, MGM re-entered US theatrical distribution by launching an American joint venture with Annapurna Pictures that will share distribution financing between the two companies and release certain MGM and Annapurna films, beginning with Death Wish (2018 film), the 2018 remake of ''Death Wish (1974 film), Death Wish''.
There were also periods when they outsourced distribution to other companies. From 1973 to 1981, United Artists released its films in North America while Cinema International Corporation released them overseas. In 1981, United Artists' international arm was combined by CIC to form United International Pictures. MGM's arrangement with that company lasted until 2000, when it made an arrangement with 20th Century Fox for international distribution. From 2005 to 2016, the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group (later Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group) has distributed certain films. From 2006 to 2010, Alliance Films handled Canadian distribution of some of its products. Since 2019, Universal Pictures International distributed MGM films overseas.
They also distributed films from Carolco Pictures (1994–1995, in North America), Rysher Entertainment (1996–1997), and The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films (2006–2008, in the United States),[ as well as currently handling select international distribution of Annapurna Pictures' releases.
From 2006 to September 2008, MGM distributed films produced or acquired by The Weinstein Company (TWC). Weinstein preferred the deal brought carriage on Showtime (TV network), Showtime. Prints and marketing were paid for by TWC, while MGM was paid for booking theaters. With TWC agreeing to a direct deal with Showtime and MGM not intending to renew the distribution deal, TWC and MGM agreed to end the distribution deal three months early in September 2008.][
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Other international arrangements
In 2012, MGM signed a deal with Cinema City International, Forum Film to release its films in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Israel; Forum Film has also been known to release some of MGM's films in Czech Republic/Slovakia. That same year, in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, MGM arranged to get its films distributed through AB Svensk Filmindustri, which was renamed to SF Studios in 2016. Also in 2012, it arranged to have its films distributed by SF Film Finland, FS Film (now SF Film Finland) to release its films in Finland and with NOS Audiovisuais, ZON Lusomundo (now NOS Audiovisuais) to release its films in Portugal.
In 2018, for select films, MGM made international distribution deals with Entertainment One (for the Canadian market), Vertigo Releasing (for the UK market), Rialto Distribution (for the Australian market), Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (for the Swiss market), BF Distribution (for the Argentinean market), Dutch FilmWorks (for the Dutch market), Kinepolis Film Distribution (for the Belgian film market), Odeon (for the Greek market), OctoArts Films (for the Filipino market), Universum Film (for the German market), Filmax, Filmax International (for the Spanish market), Hollywood International Film Exchange/Big Screen Entertainment Group (for the Chinese market), Shaw Organisation (for the Singaporean market), and Showgate (for the Japanese market). Paramount Pictures distributed the 2018 remake of ''Death Wish (2018 film), Death Wish'' for the French market.
See also
* List of libraries owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
* List of MGM Television programs
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
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* , held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
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