MGM unveils revamped film business

09-Mar-2006 • Bond News

Nearly a year after a Sony Corp.-led investor group acquired it, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. on Wednesday unveiled a revitalized film business it hopes can return it to the league of Hollywood's major film studios - reports Reuters.

MGM's new chairman and chief executive officer, Harry Sloan, said the company would focus initially on releasing high-quality films made by independent producers with an eventual goal of cranking out some 15 to 20 films per year.

MGM, home of the James Bond and Pink Panther movies, would market and distribute the films to theaters domestically and manage worldwide rights. The independent producers would gain access to MGM's large number of film output deals in the United States and around the world.

"We've remodeled the company creating a unique hybrid that combines the bold creative freedom and tremendous energy of the (independent) filmmaking community with the efficiency and expertise of a major studio," Sloan said.

MGM showed off several films that it will begin releasing as soon as April 7, including "Lucky Number Slevin," which is backed by Bob and Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Co.

Other films include titles such as "Harsh Times," a crime thriller starring Christian Bale, and "I Could Never Be Your Woman," a romantic comedy with Michelle Pfeiffer.

In April last year, an investor group led by Sony Corp. of America, a division of Japan's Sony Corp. acquired MGM for around $3 billion in cash, plus debt assumption.

The other investors were cable TV operator Comcast Corp. and private equity firms Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group.