Two months after filing for bankruptcy protection, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has announced that the company's restructuring has become effective, with exit financing of $500 million in place. The company's "pre-packaged" plan of reorganization was confirmed on December 2, 2010, by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The immediate plans for the studio involve the 23rd James Bond movie and The Hobbit. The studio has not revealed its new plans regarding home video, especially the James Bond films still unreleased on Blu-ray.
Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of MGM, said: "Beginning today, MGM is a stronger, more competitive company, with a solid financial foundation and a bright future. We look forward to working with MGM's dedicated employees to build upon this company's legacy."
Really good news. Cannot wait for the new Bond to come out . As for the remaining Bond films on Blu, would be great to see them soon, and released with the same effort as the previous releases .
Thankyou MGM for staying in there and managing to come out stronger than ever. Please don't overlook catalogue releases to Blu in your forward planning.
In spite of their catalog and legacy, MGM has been one of the worst companies in the DVD/BD home video market. Sorry for being blunt, but I have nothing but contempt for them.
As for The Hobbit, let's face it -- it's a dead cause.
TO MGM:
PLEASE AVOID THOSE FLIMSEY BOX SETS THAT FALL APART. A PROPER BOX SET SHOULD CONTAIN THE INDIVIDUAL TITLES IN THEIR OWN BLUE BLU-RAY BOX WITH THE INDIVIDUAL DISPLAY AND SPEC. SHEETS FOR EACH TITLE. PACKAGE THEM INEXPENSIVELY AS THE WRAPPING GETS THROWN AWAY ANYWAY. MANY OF YOUR FANS ORGANIZE THEIR DISCS ALPHABETICALLY, BY RELEASE DATE, BY BOND ACTOR OR OTHER SYSTEMS. THE BLUE BOXES ACCOMODATE EVERYONE AND ARE DURABLE. THEY ARE ALSO REPLACEABLE IF THEY ARE DAMAGED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
@Kaminari: The Hobbit is *NOT* a "dead cause"; Peter Jackson starts shooting in February. (The union dispute has been resolved; it *WILL* be made in New Zealand after all.)
The whole reason MGM has been so stingy on BD is its lack of cashflow due to massive debt; now that it's gone thru a prepackaged Chapter 11, it has cashflow again. It has already announced as many Best Picture winners for the first two months of 2011 (Dances With Wolves and Rain Man) as it has released from 2006 to now (Rocky and The Silence of the Lambs)--and it still has 10 more to go, plus nine more Bond films (*not* counting Bond 23) and countless more classics. To paraphrase Helen Reddy (and Michelle Pfeiffer): I am Leo, hear me roar...
(@Slave2Blu: Nothing is known yet about The Alamo, but with RAH having previously had to ask for donations for its restoration, it can only help.)
(Edit: That's nine OFFICIAL Bond films; MGM also owns both non-Eon versions of CR--the 1953 TV movie and the 1967 spoof. I doubt CR53 will ever be better than SD-quality, but hopefully MGM can make it an extra on the CR67 BD, as on its original DVD--and THIS time, get the COMPLETE ending of CR53.)
I keep my fingers crossed!. But I belive we must buy them all over again since I guess the new owners want to get so much $$$$$ as they can get. So a new design & new sets is my bet.
I know this may sound really strange to some, but I hope by the time the new Yellow Submarine movie comes out in 2012 that MGM will re-release the original film on Blu-ray, and have the correct aspect ratio. The DVD release has the picture cropped when it was in print.
I knew there was hope yet. Now I expect more Bond to hit blu-ray before 2011 is out. And that will help wait for Bond 23. I also hope they release The Great Escape with a strong transfer before too long. Nice!
Good news. I hope we'll soon see many more high quality BD releases of the treasure trove that is the United Artists library. Just saw Midnight Cowboy last night and wished it were on blu- - along with the Pink Panther series, a complete box set of James Bond titles, Lenny, West Side Story, 12 Angry Men, The (original) Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Pawnbroker, The Killing, Killer's Kiss, The Producers (1968), It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Judgment at Nuremberg, Inherit the Wind, the Billy Wilder box set and many others,
Great News!! I hope I will see The Postman Always Rings Twice, Brigadoon, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Guys and Dolls, Lust for Life, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Ben-Hur (1959), Village of the Damned (1960), Lolita, Ice Station Zebra, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Ryan's Daughter and Thelma & Louise.
Just how do they do it? I'd love to have their problems. Do they have a highly sellable back catalog? Yes. Do they make movies that loose them money? No. Do they make a lot of movies? No. How the hell do they manage to go bankrupt? Is it chronic fraud?
Excellent news. Welcome back MGM. I expect my Red Dawn BD about the same time as the remake is released as well as my Goldeneye around the time of Bond 23. Gracias.
In addition to the remaining Bond films and some of the other great films mentioned above, "No Way Out" needs a substantial upgrade to Blu. It looks terrible in the current STD DVD version on Hi-def TV's. I'm hoping that happens sooner than later.
Besides Midnight Cowboy I'd love to see the Vincent Price/Roger Corman films based on the Poe stories to be released. I see them on Turner Classic Movies every so often and they would look brilliant on blu.
Great news! Can't wait for the rest of the 007 Blu's. I like collecting the Blu-ray case versions...not the collections. Each film deserves it's own case and artwork.
Also, please, MGM, restore 'Carrie' from 1976 and re-release it on Blu-ray in a proper transfer. The one we have is terrible. And while you are at it, release 'The Rage: Carrie 2' and the TV Remake.
There are quite a few MGM titles I'd be interested in --
THE TERMINATOR (NOW PLEASE)
Dressed To Kill - Brian De Palma
Blow Out - Brian De Palma
Carrie (Re-release) - Brian De Palma
The Rage: Carrie 2
Poltergeist II: The Other Side
Poltergeist III
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Part II
The Fog
The Last House on the Left
Charly
Bowling For Columbine
Ghost World
Legally Blonde
Little Monsters
I Shot Andy Warhol
Disturbing Behavior: Director's Cut
Mermaids
Midnight Cowboy
Longtime Companion
Overboard
Pieces of April
Pumpkinhead
Saved!
Silkwood
Once they release The Hobbit, they'll be safe and sound again. That is one movie that will sell ALOT on the name and the reputation of the Trilogy. Great to see MGM back on their feet. Hopefully this means Bond 23 will come out faster, I love Craig as Bond (He's on the brink of overtaking Timothy Dalton personally for me).
Lots of great Blus awaiting as well. This is good news.
The Hobbitt is not a lost cause now that Peter Jackson is directing the movie in New Zealand! I just hope MGM can stay afloat until the prospective huge moneymaker The Hobbitt opens!
Now that MGM is emerging from its financial problems, I hope they plan on the release of the remaining Bond movies quickly. I'd also would like to see Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis of blu. Wouldn't mind seeing more SG-1 or Atlantis movies depending on if they can get the cast together.
Yahoooooo MGM is back in the biz. Great news for home video and blu-ray in particular.
In addition to wanting to see the remaining Bond films hit blu-ray (hopefully in SteelBook and standard blu-ray casing), I'd love to have many of the classics that MGM owns. Some that come immediately to mind are "Ben-Hur," "The Great Escape," "It's a Mad, Mad World," "Meet Me in St. Louis," "West Side Story," "Judgment at Nuremberg," "Victor/Victoria," "Children of the Damned" (1964), "Village of the Damned" (1960), "The Haunting" (1963) and many others.
Everybody wants the next Bond, because the last one had basically NO trademark Bond scenes. Just fast editing and a few kills. And he only TALKED of destroying the hidden water reservoir pump station. Imagine just TALKING about going underwater in a car or jumping over crocodiles...
All older Bonds day one for me for instant cashflow for MGM :-)
Good to hear that the lion will be roaring yet again. As soon as MGM get the remaining Bond's out onto blu-ray, then thier 500 million restructuring finance will be deemed as nothing more than "A Drop in the Ocean".
Come on MGM. Please hurry up and release the remaining Bonds so that we can complete our collections. I'm becoming sooooooo impatient! And please make sure that the packaging etc is in the same format as those which have already been released.
Come on MGM. It's almost a month since you announced your $500, 000,000 restructuring from bankruptcy rescue plan; - and still no news on your intentions for the unreleased James Bond blu-rays. Since these movies have already been revamped by Loewry, then surely the quickest way to put a few extra coppers into your coffers would be to get them out into the market place ASAP?
But, please remember to keep the packaging in line with those that have already been released.
Two months after filing for bankruptcy protection, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has announced that the company's restructuring has become effective, with exit financing of $500 million in place. The company's "pre-packaged" plan of reorganization was confirmed on December 2, 2010, by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The immediate plans for the studio involve the 23rd James Bond movie and The Hobbit. The studio has not revealed its new plans regarding home video, especially the James Bond films still unreleased on Blu-ray.
. As for the remaining Bond films on Blu, would be great to see them soon, and released with the same effort as the previous releases 
. 
Platoon please 
