Save the Shire! Spyglass Entertainment in talks to buy MGM
MGM's official moto "Ars Gratia Artis" is Latin for "Art for Art's Sake." Now, it's "Art for Art's Sake as long as it keeps bringin' in the cash" ("Ars Gratia Monetas"?). Spyglass Entertainment is thinking about bailing out the studio (MGM is almost $4 billion in debt), and if they do, Spyglass (mostly known for joint ventures with other studios) will officially become a part of movie history. Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures combined like a Hollywood version of Voltron to form the legendary studio MGM way back in 1924.
But, mostly due to sagging DVD sales (MGM's back catalog used to rake in hundreds of millions each year), the studio's history is in serious jeopardy of coming to an end.
Sadly, the MGM's woes have sidelined a number of films, including THE HOBBIT and the next James Bond film. If Spyglass Entertainment swoops in, the deal would include Spyglass taking a 4% stake in MGM, which doesn't sound like much, but it would allow MGM to get some of these films off the ground.
Especially for LORD OF THE RINGS fans, this is potentially exciting news , as it would almost ensure that the troubled project would finally take flight like one of those giant eagles at the RETURN OF THE KING. But will it happen?
Source Variety
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