MGM officially bankrupt. Spyglass Entertainment to run a slimmed down version of MGM

[Overmind One]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/31/mgm-bankruptcy-spyglass

In its glory years, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was a Hollywood hit factory that churned out golden classics such as Mutiny on the Bounty and The Wizard of Oz. But the US entertainment empire is to declare itself bankrupt this week under a pre-arranged deal with creditors to shed a crippling debt burden of more than $4bn (£2.5bn).


After a year of wrangling over the troubled studio's future, lenders to MGM are set to seize as much as 95% of the company, under a financial restructuring to be put before a bankruptcy judge in Los Angeles for approval.


Once in control, creditors intend to install the founders of a far smaller production company, Spyglass Entertainment, to run a slimmed-down version of MGM in the hope of reviving its fortunes. Spyglass bosses Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are responsible for hits such as The Sixth Sense and the recent Russell Brand comedy Get Him to the Greek.


Insolvency amounts to a humiliating comedown for a studio with a back catalogue of 4,000 titles holding 205 Oscars between them. Financial paralysis has seen movie production grind to a halt: MGM's only significant release this year was a raunchy comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine, that bombed at the box office.

Okay, NOW is the time to start writing drafts to be sent to MGM's new owners. After the courts have settled this, the new owners need to be told what is working and what isnt, and especially WHY. We dont want to throw them a fish, we want to teach them to fish. Tell them to look to V and Firefly and Sanctuary and Warehouse 13 for science fiction ideas. Tell them that Stargate is still loved and cherished by its fans, but that Stargate Universe was a soap opera and thats why it failed. Tell them to get rid of the writers and allow new ones to create a show to replace Stargate Atlantis/SG-1, and that Stargate Universe was never a Stargate show.

Im gonna do that. If I was the new owner of a buiding with tenants in it already, I would find any insights offered on those tenants valuable. Who is always on time with the rent? Who is always late? Who is trustworthy and who are the slobs? Mallozzi, Wright and the whole lot need to be sent packing.

 

[johnsheppard]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/31/mgm-bankruptcy-spyglass



Okay, NOW is the time to start writing drafts to be sent to MGM's new owners. After the courts have settled this, the new owners need to be told what is working and what isnt, and especially WHY. We dont want to throw them a fish, we want to teach them to fish. Tell them to look to V and Firefly and Sanctuary and Warehouse 13 for science fiction ideas. Tell them that Stargate is still loved and cherished by its fans, but that Stargate Universe was a soap opera and thats why it failed. Tell them to get rid of the writers and allow new ones to create a show to replace Stargate Atlantis/SG-1, and that Stargate Universe was never a Stargate show.

Im gonna do that. If I was the new owner of a buiding with tenants in it already, I would find any insights offered on those tenants valuable. Who is always on time with the rent? Who is always late? Who is trustworthy and who are the slobs? Mallozzi, Wright and the whole lot need to be sent packing.

Agreed.Save SG franchise, axe sgu, find new writers for new breath, hire new producers who will like the franchise and will recpect the fan base and tell them there is an audience for SG and sci-fi series out there and there is people who like and are loyal to the franchise and sgu is neither a sci-fi show nor a stargate show.

 

[Overmind One]

Interesting excerpt...

Agreed.Save SG franchise, axe sgu, find new writers foe new breath, hire new producers who will like the franchise and will recpect the fan base and tell them there is an audience for SG and sci-fi series out there and there is people who like and are loyal to the franchise and sgu is neither a sci-fi show nor a stargate show.

An excerpt from the article in the link:

Famous for its roaring lion logo, MGM has changed hands frequently in recent decades. Its owners have included drinks magnate Edgar Bronfman, the Las Vegas casino billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and CNN's founder Ted Turner. Critics say it has been milked as a cash cow and starved of long-term strategic thinking.

Sound like somebody we know? :jm:

 

[SG-Rocks]

Yeah Overmind - could you see something like, "New owners order Stargate producers to throw out unsuccessful show and return to old formula fans demand". That would as they say, "Make my day".

 

[Overmind One]

Well...

Yeah Overmind - could you see something like, "New owners order Stargate producers to throw out unsuccessful show and return to old formula fans demand". That would as they say, "Make my day".

LOL! I would rather see something like "New owners of MGM fire incumbent writers and producers of unsuccessful ventures within the MGM family. Producers Brad Wright, Joseph Mallozzi and most senior writing staff of the Stargate franchise were terminated, effective immediately. Spyglass management seeks to revive Stargate franchise with new action/adventure series to replace the recently canceled Stargate Universe show. Fans say that this is a positive direction for the future of the franchise"

 

[sgufail]

Okay, NOW is the time to start writing drafts to be sent to MGM's new owners. After the courts have settled this, the new owners need to be told what is working and what isnt, and especially WHY.

I don't think viewer opinion will sway this much, they'll go to an accountant to find out whats working i.e generating profit.

 

[Robbie_Rocket_Pants]

I don't think viewer opinion will sway this much, they'll go to an accountant to find out whats working i.e generating profit.

The underlying, fundamental fact is that SGU sucks, I don't see that an accountant is qualified to make that assessment unless he is a SG fan or actually watches SGPOO.

 

[SG-Rocks]

LOL! I would rather see something like "New owners of MGM fire incumbent writers and producers of unsuccessful ventures within the MGM family. Producers Brad Wright, Joseph Mallozzi and most senior writing staff of the Stargate franchise were terminated, effective immediately. Spyglass management seeks to revive Stargate franchise with new action/adventure series to replace the recently canceled Stargate Universe show. Fans say that this is a positive direction for the future of the franchise"

You forgot the part:

Former writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi seen dumpster diving behind fine restaurants with pal Carl Binder. Former producer Rob Cooper laughs it up on 60' yacht in Antigua."

 

[Tanith]

They will most likely be putting most of their efforts into the next Bond film before other assets such as Stargate.

 

[sgufail]

The underlying, fundamental fact is that SGU sucks, I don't see that an accountant is qualified to make that assessment unless he is a SG fan or actually watches SGPOO.

Why would they care if it sucks as long as its making them money?

 

[Rac80]

Why would they care if it sucks as long as its making them money?

the point is it's NOT making anyone any money except the morons who were (note I said WERE) making the show! with the filming wrapped up for season 2...they are now prepping resumes.

 

[Spacejunkminer]

The syfy brand may be sold off in the restructuring. The channel may go bankrupt. Our fight to get stargate back may have just begun.

 

[Spacejunkminer]

bad news and more bad news.

 

[Tanith]

The syfy brand may be sold off in the restructuring. The channel may go bankrupt. Our fight to get stargate back may have just begun.

Syfy are owned by NBC Universal not MGM.

 

[geijin]

bad news and more bad news.

Actually, this is really good news. What I read is that about $3billion of the debt will be erased when the creditors take 95% of the studio, Spyglass will be folded into MGM to cover the last $1billion. That puts MGM in the clear, and able to produce new movies and shows. In the short term, that has opened up the possibility of another Bond movie and allowed the Hobbit to be green-lit. Both of these are good movie makers, and Bond isn't a hugely expensive production, which will allow them to start focusing on new projects, and puts the studio in control of its destiny. It should also allow them to shop out new ideas and reboots, which opens the possibility for a new stargate, and being in a position to tell certain parties to shove their shit back up the craphole it came from.

In the long term, we should see a return of the decent stuff MGM was known for, like the Wizard of Oz, rather than Hot Tub Time Machine. That, in my book, is a major step forward.

 

[Overmind One]

Um...you have misunderstood.

Actually, this is really good news. What I read is that about $3billion of the debt will be erased when the creditors take 95% of the studio, Spyglass will be folded into MGM to cover the last $1billion. That puts MGM in the clear, and able to produce new movies and shows. In the short term, that has opened up the possibility of another Bond movie and allowed the Hobbit to be green-lit. Both of these are good movie makers, and Bond isn't a hugely expensive production, which will allow them to start focusing on new projects, and puts the studio in control of its destiny. It should also allow them to shop out new ideas and reboots, which opens the possibility for a new stargate, and being in a position to tell certain parties to shove their shit back up the craphole it came from.

Its MGM that is being folded into Spyglass Entertainment, not the other way around. But Spyglass may keep the name. MGM technically no longer exists. MGM is not in the clear, its gone. Spyglass is going to be running MGM so whatever was in the pipelines will be controlled by its new Spyglass CEOs, not the MGM execs. The Bond movie and the Hobbit movies are going to be done, because their predecessors have been done and its like money in the bank. Stargate used to be a valuable TV asset, but SGU ruined that...but they didnt ruin Stargate itself. A new action/adventure Stargate show would do quite well, and perhaps the new bosses know that. But they would have to fire all TPTB currently involved in the franchise.

In the long term, we should see a return of the decent stuff MGM was known for, like the Wizard of Oz, rather than Hot Tub Time Machine. That, in my book, is a major step forward.

Hot Tub Time Machine...

 

[sgufail]

the point is it's NOT making anyone any money except the morons who were (note I said WERE) making the show! with the filming wrapped up for season 2...they are now prepping resumes.

You have no way of knowing that, bear in mind we are talking about MGM not Syfy - not that you have any better of an idea if we were talking about Syfy.

 

[heisenberg]

Its MGM that is being folded into Spyglass Entertainment, not the other way around. But Spyglass may keep the name. MGM technically no longer exists. MGM is not in the clear, its gone. Spyglass is going to be running MGM so whatever was in the pipelines will be controlled by its new Spyglass CEOs, not the MGM execs. The Bond movie and the Hobbit movies are going to be done, because their predecessors have been done and its like money in the bank. Stargate used to be a valuable TV asset, but SGU ruined that...but they didnt ruin Stargate itself. A new action/adventure Stargate show would do quite well, and perhaps the new bosses know that. But they would have to fire all TPTB currently involved in the franchise.



Hot Tub Time Machine...

Whilst I completely agree with you but this is all speculation. For all we know, we might just see 2 stargate movies and then that's it and spyglass focusing on other new fresh low budget shows and might interpret SGU's bad ratings the wrong way and just pulling the plug on the stargate franchise entirely. In other words the stargate franchise isn't profitable anymore in the small screen(that's how they will assess it, whether to kickstart a new series or not).

Syfy could afford to have a new franchise for BSG because BSG made big bucks for them.

Spyglass are out for quick bucks to repay the 1 billion dollars in debt as soon as possible, so either they *might* sell the stargate frachise to some other buyer OR, it maybe sometime until we see a new stargate franchise. Anything is possible but I think starting a brand new franchise from a new developed merged company is reallly risky, that's my assessment of the situation.

 

[Bluce Ree]

Yeah Overmind - could you see something like, "New owners order Stargate producers to throw out unsuccessful show and return to old formula fans demand". That would as they say, "Make my day".

Mallozzi: "Actually, you mean the formula you and your friends want?"

 

[geijin]

Whether its Spyglass or MGM, it doesn't really matter. The assets will be there, and the fact that they are going to come out of bankruptcy opens up the possibility that something good might come out of it. The very least, they will be run by people that actually know something about managing studios and making entertainment, as opposed to Turner and who ever else screwed the pooch with MGM. Overall, it puts us in a better position to get SGPoo yanked, the ****wits that made it fired, and a chance to see something that actually resembles StarGate.