Framke Janssen | Principles & Practices

by [Jeffrey Rich ]

MGM Logo Courtesy of Google Images

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is a media company, most often involved in the distribution of films, television productions, and home video.

Contact Information

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Address: 245 N. Beverly Drive,
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310-449-3000
E-mail Address: comments@mgm.com

Brief History

Its trademark roaring lion has become the beacon of MGM. Marcus Lowe, who organized the merger of Metro Pictures Corp. with Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions, established Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer (MGM) in April 1924.

It was under the prolific leadership of Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, a visionary of production, that MGM became a leading company of film making. It is said that the studio attracted “more stars than are in the heavens.”

From 1924-1954, known as the golden three decades in Hollywood, MGM managed to produce a Best Picture Nominee for twenty years in a row. One particularly spectacular year, in 1939, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both MGM films, were nominated for Best Picture. Together the two films took home ten Oscars that year.

MGM Building, Beverly Hills, CA. Picture Courtesy of mgm.com

Today MGM possesses more than 175 Academy Awards, including 15 for Best Picture, in their vast vault. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is a leading entertainment company and is focused whole-heartedly on the distribution of films and television programing across the globe. With one of the largest libraries of films and television content, MGM invests in television channels and film distribution both domestically and internationally. [1]

Key Figures

Gary Barber- Appointed Chairman and CEO in October 2012. Prior to this her served as a Co-Chairman and and CEO since December 2010.

Ken Shapiro- Chief Operating Officer, as of February 2011. Before joining MGM Shapiro co-founded a private investment management company.

John Glickman- President of Motion Picture Group. Previously Glickman was president of Spyglass Entertainment.

Roma Khanna- President of MGM’s Television Group and Digital. She joined MGM having recently worked for NBCUniveral, as President of Universal Networks International and Digital Initiatives.

Top Competitors

Fox Filmed Entertainment

The Walt Disney Studios

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Finances

In November of 2010 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer declared bankruptcy. A federal court had decided to reject the takeover bid by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and therefore MGM instead declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. About 80% of MGM’s creditors supported a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan to eliminate $4 billion in debt. [2]

This third quarter has shown a loss for MGM operating income. A loss of $4.3 million from $32.8 million the same quarter the year before. However, Gary Barber, CEO, is not at all worried. MGM had recorded a net profit of $23.4 million compared to last year’ $15.2 million in the same quarter. This is mainly because MGM sold many of its satellite TV channels.

The worldwide success of the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, and the excitement surrounding the anticipated release of the first, of the three, Hobbit, movies has Barber predicting a very successful fourth quarter. [3]

Movies Today

Skyfall Movie Poster, Courtesy of Google Images

Currently MGM has the film Skyfall, the twenty-third James Bond movie, out in wide release. The movie was released on the weekend of November 9^th-11^th, and it grossed $88 million in that first weekend. Currently it has domestically grossed almost $250 million in only four weeks. Internationally it has taken in over $870 million. [4]

In the United Kingdom, Bond’s homeland, Skyfall, has become the largest grossing movie of all time, surpassing James Cameron’s, Avatar. The movie has taken in £94.27 million (or $151.8 million) in 40 days, surpassing Avatar’s £94 million (or $151.3 million) which is astonishing, considering that it took Avatar 11 months to reach that total. [5]

Not only has Skyfall become the largest grossing movie in the UK, but also it has claimed the title of greatest Bond ever, in terms of money, taking in the largest gross from any other Bond thus far. However, even though Skyfall is the largest grossing movie in the UK, it is still not the most attending. That title still belongs to another, far older, MGM classic from 1939, Gone With the Wind. [6]

Hobbit Movie Poster, Courtesy of Google Images

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first installment to the three-part prequel of the critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy. Peter Jackson returns as director in this new trilogy, which plans to be released in the United States on December 14, 2012. However, unlike the high remarks her won for his adaptation of the Ring’s trilogy, he is garnering some criticism for his new rendition of this J.R.R. Tolkien’s book.

One Variety critics calls the film an “artificial quality in which the phoniness of the sets and costumes becomes obvious, while well-lit areas bleed into their surroundings, like watching a high-end home movie.” [7]

The reason for these unlikely reviews is that Jackson decided to shoot the entire Hobbit movie using 48 FPS (Frames Per Second) filming. Usually films are shot in 24 FPS, the switch, as some like James Cameron agree, is that 48 FPS eliminate the “strobing” seen in standard films. Some people, however, argue that the effects look almost soap opera-ish. However, audiences will have to weigh in on their opinions about the new FPS shooting when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, hits theaters later this month. [8]

One more film in the works for MGM coming up soon is Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters. This new dark twist on the classic fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel makes the sibling duo a team of witch hunters who find and kill witches all around the world. [9]

Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters Movie Poster, Courtesy of Google Images

The film has had its problems in production. It was originally set to be released in March of 2012, but was pushed back to January of 2013. The fact that it’s now an R-rated film might have something to do with that problem in the production schedule. There is much skepticism now about the success of the film. After similar fairy tale spin offs have flopped, such as Snow White and the Huntsman and Red Ridding Hood, critics are not very optimistic about this latest revived concept. However, the film has some nice stars, including Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, and Famke Janssen. [10]