Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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2008-07-16T21:51:03Z
Footballfan190
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/67.14.231.73|67.14.231.73]] ([[User talk:67.14.231.73|talk]]) to last version by Urbanrenewal
{{Infobox_Company |
company_name = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. |
company_logo = [[Image:MGM Logo.jpg|240px]] |
company_type = [[Private company|Private]] |
owner = [[Providence Equity Partners]] (29%)<br />[[TPG Capital, L.P.]] (21%)<br />[[Sony]] (20%)<br />[[Comcast]] (20%)<br />[[DLJ Merchant Banking Partners]] (7%)<br />Quadrangle Group (3%) [http://www.mgm.com/corp_main.php www.mgm.com] |
company_slogan = "Ars Gratia Artis" ([[Art for art's sake]])|
foundation = [[April 16]], [[1924]]|
location = [[Los Angeles, California]], [[United States|USA]]<br />(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.) |
key_people = Harry Sloan ([[Chairman]] and [[CEO]])|
num_employees = 1,440 (as of [[2004]]) [http://www.hoovers.com/MGM/--ID__47981--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml www.hoovers.com]|
industry = [[Motion picture]]s|
products = [[Motion picture]]s<br />[[Television program]]s|
revenue = |
homepage = http://www.mgm.com/,
}}
{{redirect|MGM}}
'''Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.''', or '''MGM''', is an [[United States|American]] [[Mass media|media]] company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of [[film]]s and [[television]] programs.
MGM was founded in [[1916]] as "'''Goldwyn Pictures'''". In [[1924]], it was renamed as '''Metro Goldwyn Mayer'''.
From the end of the [[silent film|silent film era]] through [[World War II]], Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the most prominent motion picture studio in [[Hollywood]], with the greatest output of all of the studios: at its height, it released an average of one feature film a week, along with many short subjects and serials. A victim of the massive restructuring of the motion picture industry during the [[1950s]] and [[1960s|60s]], it was ultimately unable to cope with the loss of its theater chain – due to the U.S. Supreme Court decision [[United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.]] (1948) – and the power shift from studio bosses to independent [[Film producer|producer]]s and [[agent (law)|agents]].
On [[April 8]], [[2005]], the company was acquired by a partnership led by [[Sony Corporation of America]] and [[Comcast]] in association with [[Texas Pacific Group]] (now [[TPG Capital, L.P.]]) and [[Providence Equity Partners]]. [[MGM Mirage]], a [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]]-based [[Megaresort|hotel and casino]] company listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] under the symbol "[http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=MGM MGM]", is not currently affiliated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
[[Sony Pictures]] currently distributes MGM/[[United Artists|UA]] and [[Columbia TriStar]] co-productions— including the recent ''[[Casino Royale (2006 film)|Casino Royale]]''—but outside of the co-productions MGM is now actively involved in acquiring worldwide film rights and distributing theatrical motion pictures in the United States. [[20th Century Fox]] is handling the international theatrical distribution and worldwide home video distribution of MGM titles, excepting those which Sony Pictures acts as majority partner.
Established in 1924, MGM is tied for the fifth-oldest movie studio in history with Columbia Pictures. The studio's [[motto]], "Ars Gratia Artis", is Latin meaning "[[Art for art's sake]]."
==History==
===Foundation===
In [[1924]], theater magnate [[Marcus Loew]] had bought [[Metro Pictures Corporation]] (founded in [[1916]]) and [[Goldwyn Pictures]] (founded in [[1917]]) to provide a steady supply of films for his large theater chain, [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loews, Inc.]] However, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant [[Nicholas Schenck]] was needed in [[New York City|New York]] to oversee the theaters.
Loew addressed the situation by buying Mayer Pictures on [[April 16]], [[1924]]. Because of his decade-long success as a producer, [[Louis B. Mayer]] was made a vice-president of Loews and head of studio operations in California, with [[Harry Rapf]] and the twenty-five year old "boy wonder" [[Irving Thalberg]] as heads of production. For decades MGM was listed on movie title cards as "Controlled by Loews, Inc."
Originally, the new studio's films were presented in the following manner: "Louis B. Mayer presents a Metro-Goldwyn picture", but Mayer soon added his name to the studio. Though Loew's Metro was the dominant partner, the new studio inherited Goldwyn's studios in [[Culver City, California]], the former Goldwyn mascot [[Leo the Lion (MGM)|Leo the Lion]] (which replaced Metro's parrot symbol), and the corporate motto ''Ars Gratia Artis'' ("[[Art for Art's Sake]]").
Also inherited from Goldwyn was a runaway production, ''[[Ben-Hur (1925 film)|Ben-Hur]]'', which had been filming in Rome for months without producing much usable film. Mayer took charge of the situation by scrapping most of what had been shot and bringing production back to Culver City. Though ''Ben-Hur'' was the most costly film made up to its time, it became MGM's first great public-relations triumph, establishing an image for the company that persisted for years. Also in [[1925]], with the success of both ''[[The Big Parade]]'' and ''[[Ben-Hur (1925 film)|Ben-Hur]]'', MGM passed [[Universal Studios]] as the largest studio in Hollywood—a lead it kept for most of the next quarter-century.
Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loews passed to his longtime associate, [[Nicholas Schenck]]. Rival mogul [[William Fox (producer)|William Fox]] of [[Fox Film Corporation]] saw an opportunity to expand his empire, and in 1929, with Schenck's assent, bought the Loew family's holdings. However, Mayer and Thalberg were outraged -- despite their high posts in the company, they were not shareholders. Mayer in particular used his political connections to persuade the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] to sue Fox for violating federal [[antitrust]] law. During this time, in the summer of 1929, Fox was badly hurt in an automobile accident. By the time he recovered, the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|stock market crash]] in the fall of 1929 had virtually wiped out Fox's financial holdings, ending any chance of the Loews merger going through even if the Justice Department had given its blessing. Schenck and Mayer had never gotten along - in fact, Mayer reportedly called his boss "Mr. Skunk" in private. The abortive Fox merger only increased the animosity between them. Schenck blamed Mayer rather than the stock market crash for costing him an instant fortune. The animosity between the two men led to a heated rivalry between the New York and Hollywood sides of the company that lasted over 20 years, until Mayer's dismissal by Schenck in 1951.
===MGM's golden age===
From the outset, MGM tapped into the audience's need for glamour and sophistication. Having inherited few big names from their predecessor companies, Mayer and Thalberg began at once to create and publicize a host of new stars, among them [[Greta Garbo]], [[John Gilbert (actor)|John Gilbert]], [[William Haines]], [[Norma Shearer]], and [[Joan Crawford]]. Established names like [[Lon Chaney, Sr.|Lon Chaney]], [[William Powell]], [[Buster Keaton]], and [[Wallace Beery]] were hired from other studios. They also hired top talent directors such as [[King Vidor]], [[Clarence Brown]], [[Eric von Stroheim]], [[Tod Browning]], and [[Victor Seastrom]]. The arrival of talking pictures in 1928–29 gave opportunities to other new stars, many of whom would carry MGM through the 1930s: [[Clark Gable]], [[Jean Harlow]], [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]], [[Myrna Loy]], [[Jeanette MacDonald]], and [[Nelson Eddy]] among them.
MGM was one of the first studios to experiment with filming in [[Technicolor]]. Using the two-color Technicolor process then available, MGM filmed portions of ''The Uninvited Guest'' (1923), ''[[The Big Parade]]'' (1925), and ''[[Ben-Hur (1925 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1926), among others, in the process. In 1927 MGM released ''[[The Viking (1928 film)|The Viking]]'', the first complete Technicolor feature with sound (including a synchronized score and sound effects but no spoken dialogue). MGM's first all-color, "all-talking" sound feature with dialogue was the 1930 musical ''[[The Rogue Song]]''. In 1934 MGM introduced the first live-action film made in Technicolor's superior new three-color process, a musical number in the otherwise black and white ''[[The Cat and the Fiddle]]''. The studio then produced a number of three-color short subjects including 1935's musical ''La Fiesta de Santa Barbara'', however MGM waited until 1938 to film a complete feature in the process, ''[[Sweethearts]]'' with Jeanette MacDonald. From then on, MGM regularly produced several films a year in Technicolor, ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' and the greatly successful film ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' being just two of the most notable. (Although ''Gone With the Wind'' was not actually filmed by MGM but by [[Selznick International Pictures]], it had to be released by Metro if producer [[David O. Selznick]] was to get Clark Gable for the role of Rhett Butler.)
In animation, MGM purchased the rights in 1930 to distribute a series of cartoons that starred a character named ''[[Flip the Frog]]'', produced by [[Ub Iwerks]]. The first cartoon in this series (entitled ''Fiddlesticks'') was the first sound cartoon to be produced in two-color Technicolor.
Like its rivals, MGM produced fifty pictures a year. Loew's theaters were mostly located in New York and the [[Northeastern United States]], so MGM made films that were sophisticated and polished to cater to an urban audience. As the [[Great Depression]] deepened, MGM could make a claim its rivals could not: it never lost money. It was the only Hollywood studio that continued to pay dividends during the 1930s.
MGM stars dominated the box office in the '30s, and the studio was credited for inventing the Hollywood star system as well[http://mgm.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=40&cat=6]. MGM contracted with The American Musical Academy of Arts Association, now the International Academy of Music Arts and Sciences, to handle all of their press and artist developement. The AMAAA's main function was to develope the budding stars and to make them appealing to the masses.<ref name="url">{{cite web |url=http://iamascorp.com/history.php |title=IAMAS Corporation |publisher= IAMAS Corp|format= |work= |accessdate=2008-05-05}}International Academy of Music Arts and Sciences</ref> Stars like [[Norma Shearer]], [[Joan Crawford]], and [[Greta Garbo]] all reigned as not only the top three figures at the studio, but in [[Hollywood]] itself. Garbo started losing her American audience after ''[[Queen Christina (film)|Queen Christina]]'' (1933), as a contract dispute kept her out of Hollywood for two years[http://mercurie.blogspot.com/2005/09/greta-garbos-100th-birthday.html], and other MGM sex symbol actress Jean Harlow now had a big break and became one of MGM's most admired stars as well[http://mgm.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=40&cat=6]; despite Jean Harlow's gain, Garbo still was a big star for MGM after she returned from her absence[http://mercurie.blogspot.com/2005/09/greta-garbos-100th-birthday.html]. Shearer was still a top money maker despite screen appearances becoming scarce, and Joan Crawford continued her box office power up until 1937. MGM would also receive a boost through the man who would become the "king of Hollywood" Clark Gable[http://mgm.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=40&cat=6]; Gable's career took off to new heights after he won an Oscar for the 1934 Columbia film ''It Happened One Night''.<ref>Gable's Oscar recently drew a top bid of $607,500 from [[Steven Spielberg]], who promptly donated the statuette to the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]. (Colbert's Oscar for the same film was offered for auction by [[Christie's]] on June 9, 1997, but no bids were made for it.)</ref> By 1943, all three had left the studio. [[Joan Crawford]] moved to [[Warner Brothers]] where her career took a dramatic upturn for the better, Shearer and Garbo never made another film after leaving MGM.
Mayer and Irving Thalberg's relationship was lukewarm at best; Thalberg preferred literary works to the crowd-pleasers Mayer wanted. Thalberg, always physically frail, was removed as head of production in 1932. Mayer encouraged other staff producers, among them his son-in-law [[David O. Selznick]], but no one seemed to have the sure touch of Thalberg. As Thalberg fell increasingly ill in 1936, Louis Mayer could now serve as his temporary replacement. Rumors flew that Thalberg was leaving to set up his own independent company; his early death in [[1936]], at age thirty-seven, cost MGM dearly.
As a result of Thalberg's death, Mayer became head of production as well as studio chief, becoming the first million-dollar executive in American history. The company remained profitable, although a change toward "series" pictures (''Andy Hardy'', ''Maisie'', the ''[[The Thin Man (film)|Thin Man]]'' pictures, et al.) is seen by some as evidence of Mayer's restored influence. Also playing a huge role was Ida Koverman, Mayer's "right hand woman".
In 1933, Ub Iwerks cancelled the unsuccessful Flip the Frog series and MGM began to distribute its second series of cartoons, starring a character named ''[[Willie Whopper]]'', that was also produced by Ub Iwerks. In 1934, after Iwerks' distribution contract expired, MGM hired animation producers/directors [[Harman and Ising|Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising]] to produce a new series of color cartoons. Harman and Ising came to MGM after breaking ties with [[Leon Schlesinger]] and [[Warner Bros.]], and brought with them their popular ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' character, Bosko. These were known as ''[[Happy Harmonies]]'' and in many ways resembled the ''Looney Tunes''' sister series, ''[[Merrie Melodies]]''. The ''Happy Harmonies'' regularly ran over budget, and MGM dismissed Harman-Ising in 1937 to start its own [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio|animation studio]]. After the resulting struggles with a poorly-received series of ''Captain and the Kids]]'' cartoons, the studio re-hired Harman and Ising in 1939, and Ising created the studio's first successful animated character, Barney Bear. However, MGM's biggest cartoon stars would come in the form of the cat-and-mouse duo [[Tom and Jerry (MGM)|Tom and Jerry]], created by [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]] in 1940. The ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons won seven [[Academy Awards]] between 1943 and 1953. In 1941, [[Tex Avery]], another Schlesinger alumnus, joined the animation department. It was Avery who gave the unit its image, with successes like ''[[Red Hot Riding Hood]]'', ''[[Swing Shift Cinderella]]'', and the ''[[Droopy Dog|Droopy]]'' series.
Increasingly, before and during [[World War II]], Mayer came to rely on his "[[College of Cardinals]]"—senior producers who controlled the studio's output. This management-by-committee may explain why MGM seemed to lose its momentum, developing few new stars and relying on the safety of [[sequel]]s and bland material. Production values remained high, and even [[B-movie|"B" pictures]] carried a polish and gloss that made them expensive to mount, and artificial in tone. After 1940, production was cut from fifty pictures a year to a more manageable twenty-five features per year. It was during this time that MGM released very successful [[musical film|musicals]] with players such as [[Judy Garland]], [[Fred Astaire]], [[Gene Kelly]], and [[Frank Sinatra]], to name just a few.
As audiences drifted away after the war, MGM found it difficult to attract audiences. While other studios backed away from the popular musicals of the war years, MGM increased its output to as many as five or six each year, roughly one-quarter of its annual output. Such pictures were expensive to produce, requiring a full staff of songwriters, arrangers, musicians, dancers, and technical support, and releasing so many each year affected the company’s finances. By the late forties, as MGM's profit margins decreased, word came from Schenck in New York: find "a new Thalberg" who could improve quality while paring costs. Mayer thought he had found this savior in [[Dore Schary]], a writer and producer who had had a couple of successful years running [[RKO Pictures|RKO]].
Mayer's taste for wholesomeness and "beautiful" movies conflicted with Schary's preference for gritty [[message picture]]s. In August 1951, after a period of friendly antagonism with Schary, Mayer was fired. One report says that Mayer called Schenck and New York with an ultimatum—"It's him or me". Mayer tried to stage a [[boardroom coup]] to oust his old nemesis, but failed.
Gradually cutting loose expensive contract actors (perhaps most famously, Judy Garland in 1950), Schary managed to keep the studio running much as it had through the early [[1950s]]. Under Schary, MGM produced some well-regarded musicals, among them ''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'', ''[[Singin' in the Rain (film)|Singin' in the Rain]]'' and ''[[The Band Wagon]]''. However, it was a losing fight, as the mass audience preferred to stay home and watch television. ''An American in Paris'' and ''Singin' in the Rain'', as well as the 1951 Technicolor ''[[Show Boat (1951 film)|Show Boat]]'' (begun while Mayer was still in power), were box office smashes; ''The Band Wagon'' was a modest success. But the 1954 film version of ''[[Brigadoon]]'', and 1955's ''[[Kismet (1955 film)|Kismet]]'', both filmed in [[cinemascope]], were flops. On the other hand, ''[[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (film)|Seven Brides for Seven Brothers]]'' , also made in Cinemascope, and released in 1954, became not only a huge critical success but a box office hit that is shown on television often to this day.
In 1954, as a settlement of the government's restraint-of-trade action, ''[[U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al.]]'', Loews, Inc. gave up control of MGM. It would take another five years before the interlocking arrangements were completely undone, by which time both Loews and MGM were sinking.
===The lion loses its roar===
As the studio system faded in the late [[1950s]] and [[1960s]], MGM's prestige faded with it. In [[1957]] (by coincidence, the year L.B. Mayer died) the studio lost money for the first time in its 34-year history. Cost overruns and the failure of the 1957 big-budget epic ''[[Raintree County]]'' prompted the studio to release Schary from his contract. Schary's reign at MGM had been marked with few bona-fide hits, but his departure (along with the retirement of Schenck in [[1955]]) left a power vacuum that would prove difficult to fill. By [[1960]], MGM had released all of its contract players, with many either retiring or moving on to television.
Television, thought to be a passing fad, increasingly dominated entertainment, and at the urging of [[Leonard Goldenson]], longtime head of Paramount's theater chain who now ran [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], MGM made a few feeble moves into the new medium. Like those of the other studios, MGM's first attempts at programming were either glorified trailers (''[[MGM Parade|The M-G-M Parade]]''), or based on past movie successes like ''The Thin Man''. Several years later though, they would produce highly successful TV series, like ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'' and the sitcom version of ''[[The Courtship of Eddie's Father]]''.
The year 1957 also marked the end of MGM's animation department, as the studio determined it could generate the same amount of revenue by reissuing older cartoons as it could by producing and releasing new ones.<ref>Barbera, J: ''How Bill & Joe met Tom & Jerry'', interviews with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Warner Home Video, 2005</ref> William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, by then the heads of the MGM cartoon studio, took most of their unit and made their own company, [[Hanna-Barbera Productions]], a successful producer of television animation.
However, there were several major exceptions to this downslide and loss of prestige. In 1956, MGM sold the television rights for ''The Wizard of Oz'' to [[CBS]], which scheduled it to be shown in November of that year. In a landmark event, ''Oz'' became the first theatrical film to be shown complete in one evening on [[prime time]] television over a major American commercial network. ([[Laurence Olivier|Olivier's]] version of ''[[Hamlet (1948 film)|Hamlet]]'' was shown on prime time network TV a month later, but split in half over two weeks). With its second showing on CBS in [[1959]], ''The Wizard of Oz'' became an annual [[tradition]], drawing huge audiences in homes all over the U.S. and earning additional profits for the studio. The studio was all too happy to see ''Oz'' become, through television, one of the two or three most famous films MGM has ever made, and one of the few films that nearly everybody in the U.S. has seen at least once.
In [[1958]], MGM released what is generally considered their last great musical, [[Arthur Freed]]'s wide-screen color production of ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'', starring [[Leslie Caron]], [[Maurice Chevalier]], and [[Louis Jourdan]]. It was adapted from the novel by [[Colette]], and written by the team of [[Lerner and Loewe]], who also wrote ''My Fair Lady'' and ''Camelot''. ''Gigi'' was a box-office and critical smash that won nine [[Academy Awards]], including [[Best Picture]], and from it came several hit songs, including ''Thank Heaven For Little Girls'', ''I Remember It Well'', the ''Waltz at [[Maxim's]]'', and the Oscar-winning title song. The film was the last MGM musical to win a Best Picture Oscar, an honor that had previously gone to ''[[The Broadway Melody]]'' (1929), ''[[The Great Ziegfeld]]'' (1936), and ''[[An American in Paris]]'' (1951).
In [[1959]], MGM enjoyed one of its most spectacular successes of later years, with the release of its nearly four-hour [[Technicolor]] [[remake]] of ''[[Ben-Hur]]''. Starring [[Charlton Heston]] in the title role, the film would go on to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a record that held until ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' matched it in 1997 (and ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King]]'' again in 2003). ''Ben-Hur'' was an immense success both critically and at the box office.
In [[1961]], MGM resumed the release of new Tom and Jerry shorts, and production moved to Rembrandt Films in [[Czechoslovakia]], under the supervision of [[Gene Deitch]]. Deitch's ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons are noteworthy as being very distant from the original Hanna and Barbera style of animation. In [[1963]], the production of ''Tom and Jerry'' returned to Hollywood under [[Chuck Jones]] and his [[Sib Tower 12 Productions]] studio (later absorbed by MGM and renamed [[MGM Animation/Visual Arts]]). Jones' group also produced its own works, winning an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for ''[[The Dot and the Line]]'', as well as producing the classic television version of ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas!]]'' (with [[Dr. Seuss|Theodor Geisel]]). ''Tom and Jerry'' folded in 1967, and the animation department continued with [[television special]]s and one feature film, ''[[The Phantom Tollbooth (film)|The Phantom Tollbooth]]''.
MGM fell into a habit in this period that would eventually sink the studio: an entire year's production schedule relied on the success of one big-budget epic each year. This policy began in [[1959]], when ''Ben-Hur'' was profitable enough to carry the studio through 1960. However, later attempts at big-budget epics failed, among them four films which, in addition to ''Ben-Hur'', were also remakes - ''[[Cimarron (1960 film)|Cimarron]]'' (1960), ''[[King of Kings (1961 film)|King of Kings]]'' (1961), ''[[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'' (1961), and most notoriously, the 1962 ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]''. One other epic that was a success, however, was the MGM-[[Cinerama]] co-production ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]'', with a huge all-star cast. ''King of Kings'', while a commercial and critical flop at the time, has since come to be regarded as a film classic. In 1965 though, MGM produced the immensely popular ''[[Doctor Zhivago]]'', [http://www.scoopy.com/doctorzhivago.htm] only to back the same [[David Lean|director's]] ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' which flopped badly in 1970.
As MGM sank (along with the other mainline studios), a series of studio heads came and went, along with a succession of corporate managers, all hoping to bring back the studio's glory days.
===Kerkorian takes over===
In 1967, MGM was sold to the Canadian investor [[Edgar Bronfman, Sr.]], whose son [[Edgar Bronfman, Jr.|Edgar, Jr.]] would later buy [[Universal Studios]]. Two years later, an increasingly unprofitable MGM was bought by [[Nevada]] millionaire [[Kirk Kerkorian]]. What appealed to Kerkorian was MGM's Culver City real estate, and the value of 45 years' worth of glamour associated with the name, which he attached to a [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] [[hotel]] and [[casino]]. As for film-making, that part of the company was quickly and severely [[downsizing|downsized]] under the supervision of [[James T. Aubrey, Jr.]] Aubrey, known from his days as head of programming at CBS as "the smiling cobra," sold off the MGM's accumulation of props, furnishings and historical memorabilia, including Dorothy's red slippers from ''The Wizard of Oz''. Put up for sale was venerable Lot 3, 40 acres (160,000 m²) of back-lot property, which became an up-scale real-estate project. Under this new leadership, MGM would also create another successful film, ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.<ref>[http://www.palantir.net/2001/meanings/essay01.htm "Meanings: The Search for Meaning in 2001"l]</ref>
Through the 1970s studio output slowed considerably—Aubrey preferred four or five medium-budget pictures each year, along with a smattering of low-budget fare. With output cut back so severely, Kerkorian closed MGM's sales and distribution offices in 1973, handing that duty to [[United Artists]]. Kerkorian now distanced himself from the operations of the studio, focusing on his casino properties. Another chunk of the back lot was sold in 1974. The last shooting done on the backlot was the introductory material for ''[[That's Entertainment!]]'' a retrospective [[Documentary film|documentary]] that became a surprise hit for the studio. The shoddy look of the famous MGM exteriors and back lots shown in ''That's Entertainment!'', including the 'New York' street, was startling. The studio which previously had so much glamor and expertise in making big-budget films looked as if it had been reduced to nothing more than an average low-budget studio. In addition to MGM's fast declining image, the [[Cherokee Studios|MGM Recording Studios]] were sold in 1975.
In 1979, Kerkorian declared that MGM was now primarily a hotel company, but he did commit to increased production and an expanded film library when he bought the sinking [[United Artists]] in [[1981]].
===MGM/UA, Turner and Pathé===
The "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" lettering on the [[Leo the Lion (MGM)|studio's logo]] was changed to reflect their acquisition of UA, now reading "MGM/UA Entertainment Co."—the new name for the company. UA, which was essentially bankrupt following the disaster of ''[[Heaven's Gate (film)|Heaven's Gate]]'', cut its production schedule sharply.
Following a failed attempt to take over CBS in 1985, the ambitious [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]-based media entrepreneur [[Ted Turner]] bought MGM/UA. But his bankers, concerned about the already heavy debt-load his companies carried, refused to back him, and exactly seventy-four days later ([[October 17]], [[1986]]), Turner announced he was re-selling most of MGM/UA to Kirk Kerkorian for approximately $780 million USD ($480 million for United Artists and $300 million for the MGM logo).
Turner retained the one MGM asset he really craved, the MGM film library, as well as the United Artists Television package (excepting most shows produced by UA itself and its predecessor [[Ziv Television Programs]], with ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' going to Turner). Kerkorian got United Artists and the rights to the MGM name and [[trademark]]. The venerable Culver City lot, home to MGM and its predecessor since 1918, was sold to [[Lorimar-Telepictures]], a television production company.
How much of MGM's back catalog Turner actually obtained was a point of conflict for a time; eventually it was determined that Turner owned all of the MGM library, dating back to pre-merger days, as well as the pre-1948 Warner Bros. catalog, the entire RKO library, and a good share of United Artists's own backlist.
Turner began broadcasting MGM films through his [[Turner Network Television]], and caused a controversy when he began "[[Film colorization|colorizing]]" many black and white classics. In [[1987]], the MGM/UA name continued to be utilized, but it changed its name to MGM/UA Communications Co., now using MGM and UA as separate brands, and the company especially created a new '''MGM/UA''' logo for use on co-productions between MGM and UA. Productions made by MGM carried a new version of the original studio logo, which had the byline "An MGM/UA Communications Company" until 1993.
In [[1990]], the now disgraced Italian financier, [[Giancarlo Parretti]], announced that he had taken control of France's [[Pathé|Pathé Frères]], and was about to buy MGM/UA. Despite a cloudy past Parretti got backing from [[Crédit Lyonnais]] and took control of MGM/UA through a leveraged buyout, and renamed as MGM-Pathe Communications Co. The well-respected executive, [[Alan Ladd, Jr.]], a former President of MGM/UA, was brought on board by Parretti to Chair Pathe, then ultimately as CEO of MGM in 1991. However the same year Parretti's ownership dissolved in a flurry of lawsuits and a default by Crédit Lyonnais, and Parretti faced [[security (finance)|securities]] [[fraud]] charges in the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. On the verge of bankruptcy and failure, Credit Lyonnais took full control of MGM-Pathé and converted its name back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Pathe was purchased by [[Chargeurs]] in 1992.
Despite a few commercial successes, such as ''[[Thelma and Louise]]'', Crédit Lyonnais was unable to stem the tide of red ink during the mid-[[1990s]]; putting the studio up for sale, it found only one willing bidder: Kirk Kerkorian. Now the owner of MGM for the third time, Kerkorian at last conceded that a solid business plan was the studio's only hope. Crédit Lyonnais then ordered Kerkorian and the Board of Directors of MGM to fire [[Alan Ladd, Jr.]] as CEO of the company and replace him with former Paramount executive, [[Frank Mancuso Sr.]] By committing to more and better pictures, selling a portion of the studio to [[Australia]]'s [[Seven Network]], and installing a professional management team, Kerkorian was able to convince Wall Street that a revived MGM was worthy of a place on the stock market.
However, despite a few successful pictures and a rebuilt film library, it was clear that MGM could not compete in a business that required hundreds of millions in capital for even the most ordinary picture.
===1997–2001===
In [[1997]], MGM bought [[John Kluge]]'s collection of film properties ([[Orion Pictures]], [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]] - or Goldwyn Entertainment Company - and the [[Motion Picture Corporation of America]]), substantially enlarging its catalog. This catalog, along with the [[James Bond]] franchise, was considered to be MGM's primary asset. In the same year, the series, ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', was released, being owned by MGM.
Up until 2001, MGM distributed its films internationally through UIP ([[United International Pictures]]) a joint venture between MGM, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures. In January [[2001]], MGM severed its ties with UIP and began distributing films internationally through [[20th Century Fox]].
===2004===
Many of MGM's competitors started to make bids to purchase the studio, beginning with [[Time Warner]]. It was not unexpected that Time Warner would bid, since the largest shareholder in the company was Ted Turner. His [[Turner Entertainment]] group had risen to success in part through its ownership of the pre-1986 MGM library. After a short period of negotiation with MGM, Time Warner was unsuccessful.
The leading bidder, though, proved to be [[Sony Corporation of America]], backed by Comcast and [[venture capital]] bankers [[Texas Pacific Group]] (now TPG Capital, L.P.) and [[Providence Equity Partners]]. Sony's primary goal was to ensure [[Blu-Ray Disc]] support at MGM; cost synergies with [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]] were secondary. Time Warner made a counter-bid (which Ted Turner reportedly tried to block), but on [[September 13]], [[2004]], Sony increased its bid of [[US dollar|$]]11.25/share (roughly $4.7 billion) to $12/share ($5 billion), and Time Warner subsequently withdrew its bid of $11/share ($4.5 billion).
MGM and Sony agreed on a purchase price of nearly $5 billion, of which about $2 billion was to pay off MGM debt [http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/13/news/fortune500/twx_mgm/?cnn=yes] [http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=582625§ion=finance]. Since 2005, the [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] [[TriStar Pictures|TriStar]] Motion Picture Group has domestically distributed films by MGM and UA
===2006===
MGM announced that it would return as a theatrical distribution company. MGM negotiated and struck deals with [[The Weinstein Company]], [[Lakeshore Entertainment]], Bauer Martinez, and many other independent studios, and then announced its plans to release 14 feature films for 2006 and early [[2007]]. MGM also hoped to increase the amount to over 20 by [[2007]].
''[[Lucky Number Slevin]]'', released [[April 7]], was the first film released under the ''new MGM era''. Other recent films under the MGM/Weinstein deal include ''[[Clerks II]]'' and ''[[Bobby (2006 film)|Bobby]]''. Upon the MGM/Weinstein films' release on home video, however, full distribution rights revert to Weinstein (under [[Genius Products]]).
On [[May 31]], MGM announced that it would transfer home video output ([[MGM Home Entertainment]]) from [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]] to [[20th Century Fox Home Entertainment]] (excepting those MGM or UA and Columbia or TriStar co-productions, such as the [[Casino Royale (2006 film)|2006 remake of ''Casino Royale'']], where Columbia is a majority partner).<ref name="home video shift">Thomas K. Arnold and Gregg Kilday, "[http://hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002577675&imw=Y MGM forwards vid deal to Fox]", hollywoodreporter.com, [[31 May]] [[2006]]</ref><ref name="The Lion Bites Back">{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_47/b4010065.htm |title=Why Sony Is Now A Bit Player At MGM|publisher= [[BusinessWeek]] |date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] |accessdate=2007-11-22}}</ref>
MGM also announced plans to restructure its worldwide television distribution operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mgm.com/corp_news_releases.do?id=491|title=MGM Expands Worldwide Television Distribution Group|accessdate=2006-10-24}}</ref> In addition MGM signed a deal with [[New Line Television]] in which MGM would handle New Line's U.S. film and series television syndication packages. MGM will also serve as New Line's barter sales rep in the television arena for the next two years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mgm.com/corp_news_releases.do?id=500|title=MGM To Handle U.S. Syndication Sales For New Line Television|accessdate=2006-12-16}}</ref>
On [[November 2]], producer/actor [[Tom Cruise]] and his production partner, [[Paula Wagner]], signed an agreement with MGM to run United Artists. Wagner will serve as United Artists' chief executive. Cruise will produce and star in films for UA and MGM will distribute the movies.
===2007===
In April, it was announced that MGM movies would be able to be downloaded through Apple's [[iTunes]] service, with MGM bringing an estimated 100 of its existing movies to iTunes service, the California-based computer company revealed. The list of movies included the likes of modern features such as ''[[Rocky]]'', ''[[Ronin]]'', ''[[Mad Max]]'' and ''[[Dances with Wolves]]'', along with more golden-era classics such as ''[[Lilies of the Field]]'' and ''[[The Great Train Robbery]]''.<ref>[http://tech.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1290495.php/MGM_brings_classic_movies_to_iTunes MGM brings classic movies to iTunes]. Google news, [[April 12]], [[2007]].</ref>
In October, the company launched [[MGM HD]] on [[DirecTV]], offering a library of movies formatted in Hi Def.
===MGM's library today===
As of the present day, the Turner Entertainment Co. unit of Time Warner owns the rights to the pre-1986 MGM film library with [[Warner Bros.]] handling distribution.
However, there are a few number of MGM films that were not able to renew rights, thus entering the public domain or inherited by small companies like [[Republic Pictures]], [[RHI Entertainment]] (for the Hal Roach productions), etc.
====Material owned by MGM====
* Nearly all of its own post-1986 library;
* Most of the post-1952 [[United Artists]] catalog (although it also includes a tiny fraction of pre-1952 UA material);
* The post-1981 [[Orion Pictures]] film and television library (which includes material from predecessors [[American International Pictures]], [[Heatter-Quigley Productions]], and [[Filmways]]);
* The pre-1997 [[Samuel Goldwyn]] library;
* The pre-1996 [[Motion Picture Corporation of America]] library;
* The theatrical rights to most of the [[Granada Productions|Granada International]] catalog, including their inherited [[ITC Entertainment]] (''[[The Return of the Pink Panther]]'', ''[[Capricorn One]]'', ''[[On Golden Pond (film)|On Golden Pond]]'', etc.) library;
* The [[Cannon Films]] library (''[[King Solomon's Mines (1985 film)|King Solomon's Mines]]'', ''[[That Championship Season]]'', etc., with few exceptions, including certain films distributed by [[Warner Bros.]], the television rights to ''[[Lifeforce (film)|Lifeforce]]''--those stand with MGM cousin company [[Sony Pictures Television]], and most territorial rights to ''[[Surrender (film)|Surrender]]'' and ''[[Superman IV: The Quest for Peace]]'');
*The Epic Productions library.
** Most of the pre-1996 [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]] library;
** Selected Nelson Entertainment properties (including the pre-Turner-merger [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] library with the exception of co-productions with [[Columbia Pictures]]) and [[Embassy Pictures]] properties (with the exception of two films co-produced and co-distributed by Columbia);
** Those of other smaller defunct studios, including [[Atlantic Releasing Corporation]], [[Scotti Bros. Records|Scotti Bros. Pictures]] and [[Hemdale Film Corporation]] - itself incorporated into the Orion library.
==See also==
* [[List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
* [[Leo the Lion (MGM)|Leo the Lion]], the MGM mascot
* [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio]]
* [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation]]
* [[MGM Mirage]], the [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]-based hotel development company.
* [[MGM Television]]
* [[MGM Worldwide Television]]
* [[MGM HD]]
* [[Six Flags]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.mgm.com/ Official site]
*{{bcdb2|path=cartoons/MGM/|title=MGM Animation}}
*[http://www.iamascorp.com/ International Academy of Music Arts and Sciences]
*[http://www.blastfromyourpast.com/mgm8/index.html MGM's Super 8 Home Movie catalog from 1978]
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