007 could get Bollywood-style makeover

[Mazer Rackham]

There was never supposed to be a "raw unfinished minimalistic animalistic Bond" in the first place.

Small update I did find out who the rights revert to. I am not sure what it means so I am looking for a little confirmation. By the way everyone is considering Bond 23 as on hold indefinitely. Until this mess is cleaned up. Craig was smart to look for a second job. Depending how long this takes he may not be coming back. Predictably MGM is trying to paint a happy face on it.

[Mazer Rackham]

Nothing to new to report on the MGM clusterfuck.

Only thing to add is the general feeling is the creditors would be unlikely to approve a fourth payment postponment unless a winning bidder is identified.The only other option would be some kind of restructuring in which lenders would morph into owners and present owners would see their stakes heavily diluted/ forced out their stakes in the company.

[Mazer Rackham]

Nothing new on the MGM front. Some speculation that if a buyer is found it will be announced before the 31st, coinciding with end of the current forbearance. Makes some sense but this is an especially nasty mess.

[Mazer Rackham]

Another week of nothing new to report.

Only new buzz is the individual investors, over 100 of them, are scrambling to secure their positions should the auction should fall though. 8 lenders in particular have moved to further secure their positions. Expectations are lower for this round. The deeper the potential buyers dig in the less appealing the MGM offerings are.

6 bidders are interested but a few are not studios and the names involved might surprise. The 6 bidders are the same as we talked about before, except Lionsgate and Summit are clearly not serious contenders.


Everything is about the same as it was, same people involved and same deadline, although I think the "oh s**t!" factor is starting to sink in.

[Kristatos]

6 bidders are interested but a few are not studios and the names involved might surprise.

Ooh, how long do you think it will be before you can reveal those names?

[Mazer Rackham]

This is from last night. Should be in today's NY Times. I'll highlight some of the areas we were talking about. MGM's financial distress has be on going now for over a year, it wasn't always on out in public. Just this last phase, which was unavoidable.

Time Warner is the best of the studios interested in MGM and it would make a lot of senses from them to buy MGM and their 4000+ film library as they would be best able to put it to use quickly. But no one is sure WB will step up to sweeten the pot enough to get the investors to come off it. We can eliminate 2 of the other studios interested but the interested bidders who are not studios are alarming to me. Could end up being a whole new mess.

MGM Said to Be Considering a Prepackaged Bankruptcy
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED
Published: March 9, 2010


With about 10 days to go before the next round of bids are due, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is still considering other options to help reorganize its almost $4 billion debt load. The options include a potential stand-alone bankruptcy plan, people with direct knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.

MGM put itself up for sale last fall as part of an effort to pay off the debt it took on in a $5 billion leveraged buyout in 2004. Its 4,000-title film library and rights to the James Bond series and “The Hobbit” have attracted the eye of rival studios and private equity firms. But potential buyers have signaled that they were willing to pay only about $1.5 billion or so.

That may lead to MGM considering filing for a prearranged bankruptcy that would involve its creditors taking over the studio in exchange for forgiving their debt, these people said.

MGM has been working on potential alternatives to a sale for some time, having hired advisers like the boutique investment bank Moelis & Company and the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In August, it hired the restructuring expert Stephen F. Cooper to help lead the company.

While a forbearance agreement MGM has struck with its lenders will expire on March 31, the company is likely to seek yet another extension of that agreement, one of these people said. But the studio must also contend with a $250 million revolving credit facility that matures early next month, this person added.

Any final decision is likely to come after March 31, this person said. An MGM spokeswoman, Susan Arons, declined to comment.

MGM has faced several complications in its efforts to reorganize its debt. Its lender group has about 140 members, led by JPMorgan Chase.

Questions have also arisen over the prospects of MGM’s business, given the poor performance of its sole release last year, a remake of “Fame.” It has several movies lined up for release this year, including the comedies “Hot Tub Time Machine” and “The Zookeeper.”
A version of this article appeared in print on March 10, 2010, on page B9 of the New York edition.


* In Hollywood, Grappling With Studios' Lost Clout (January 18, 2010)
* Burdened by Billions in Debt, MGM Puts Itself Up for Sale (November 14, 2009)
* MGM: A Lion or a Lamb? (June 8, 2008)
* COMPANY NEWS; SONY PURCHASE OF MGM IS APPROVED IN EUROPE (March 31, 2005)

[Mazer Rackham]

It is down to this:

WB, the Russians, or the creditors take over. Where it's been for the last 2 months.
Sony desires more than anything to continue distributing the Bond movies, I bet, they made more money doing that than being a partner. If Sony continues as distributor they'll have to compete with the other studios meaning better terms for the Bond Partners. If TW (AKA WB) gets it Sony will be laughed off the stage.

I find the creditors and the Ukrainians problematic. WB is a big studio who could easily kick Bond into production handling with ease worldwide distribution.

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. and hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. have decided not to bid for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. movie studio, according to people with knowledge of the bidding.

MGM’s value fell below a price Liberty executives believed would be acceptable to the Los Angeles-based studio’s creditors, said two people with knowledge of the Englewood, Colorado-based media company’s plans. New York-based Elliott, working with producer Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media, also pulled out, said two people, who sought anonymity because talks are private.

The thinning field of potential buyers lessens the chance of a bidding war for the studio, which stopped making payments on $3.7 billion in debt and put itself up for sale last year. Others exploring a second-round bid included billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, Time Warner Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., people close to the process said on Feb. 3.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has set a March 19 deadline for formal offers.

Courtnee Ulrich, a spokeswoman for Liberty, declined to comment. Scott Tagliarino, a spokesman for Elliott, declined to comment. Mara Buxbaum, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Relativity, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mailed query.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s $3.7 billion term loan was priced at 54 cents on the dollar today, down from about 55.5 cents early yesterday, according to two people familiar with the market who declined to be identified because the trading is private.

Recovery Value

The trades imply a recovery value of $2 billion, down from $2.41 billion on Jan. 4, when the loan traded at 65.25 cents.

In 2003, Malone withdrew from bidding for Vivendi Universal’s Los Angeles-based operations, including the film studio and theme park. Liberty, owner of the Starz Entertainment pay television service, is evaluating options for its three-year old movie-production unit, Overture Films.

Liberty’s Starz tracking stock dropped 28 cents to $51.81 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained 12 percent this year. Liberty Capital rose 60 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $34.85 and is up 46 percent this year.

TheWrap.com reported the departure of Elliott and Relativity earlier.

In addition to the bidders, News Corp., parent of Twentieth Century Fox, and Qualia Capital LLC, led by Amir Malin and Ken Schapiro, have each proposed restructuring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s debt and injecting cash to recapitalize the company, people with knowledge of the process said in January.

New York-based Qualia’s proposal would involve a $500 million cash infusion to fund operations, and the conversion of some debt to equity, one person said then.

Library, ‘Bond’

MGM, created in 1924, owns a film library with 4,100 titles, and controls rights to the “James Bond” franchise. It released one picture in 2009 and has a co-production deal with Warner Bros. on the planned film “The Hobbit,” based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel. “Hot Tub Time Machine” is set for release on March 26.

Sony Corp., which co-produced and distributed the two most recent Bond films, is interested in distributing future ones or becoming a production partner to MGM or its new owners once a sale is completed, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Lynton said this week.

[oscartheman]

Mazer Lions Gate is still bidding aren't they?

[Mazer Rackham]

Lions Gate Entertainment is in fight of their own, Carl Icahn a 19% shareholder is trying for a hostel takeover. They made a mistake by snubbing him when he was trying to buy up a total of 30%.

LG can't afford MGM really. The can afford Miramax and have gone to the bank to get their ducks in order. We are only talking in the neighborhood of $600 to 700m for Miramax.

If WB were get Bond or MGM it we be for the best of all concerned. Anything else is going to take longer to straighten out, there is a possibility of much more infighting and long delays before another Bond movies could start pre-production.

[Kristatos]

If WB were get Bond or MGM it we be for the best of all concerned. Anything else is going to take longer to straighten out, there is a possibility of much more infighting and long delays before another Bond movies could start pre-production.

And since NSNA is a Warner film, maybe the EONised fan edit with the gunbarrel, Barry score etc. could get released as an official DVD?

[Mazer Rackham]

And since NSNA is a Warner film, maybe the EONised fan edit with the gunbarrel, Barry score etc. could get released as an official DVD?

MGM has the rights to NSNA. They bought complete ownership of NSNA in 1997 from Taliafilm Inc. for $15 million (Taliafilm was owned by the widow of the movie's producer, Jack Schwartzman.) So they could have done it already if someone there was interested in doing it.
The movie was originally produced by Taliafilm Enterprises and WB. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, WarnerHomeVideo released it on VHS and Laserdisc. The first DVD was probably released by WB as distributor for MGM.

There was something about the music I am trying to remember. If it comes during course of the day to me I'll post it.

[Kristatos]

There was something about the music I am trying to remember. If it comes during course of the day to me I'll post it.

I know John Barry was asked to do the score, but declined out of loyalty to EON (a loyalty that sadly was not reciprocated when it came to making Goldeneye).

[Mazer Rackham]

There was something about the music I am trying to remember. If it comes during course of the day to me I'll post it.

I know John Barry was asked to do the score, but declined out of loyalty to EON (a loyalty that sadly was not reciprocated when it came to making Goldeneye).

That's right. Jack Schwartzman was never satisfied with the Michelle LeGrand music scores he liked the idea of fixing the sound track someday. John Barry was his first choice, his second choice was Jerry Goldsmith. They got stuck with LeGrand because Sean Connery's wife recommended LeGrand. Schwartzman believed LeGrand pulled out a jazz score he had written beforehand and scored NSNA with it.

Jack Schwartzman (1991) - "I don't like the music in Never Say Never Again and I hope there will be some way in the future it can be fixed. It is not pretty music. It is not exciting. It is not James Bond. The only thing memorable about the music is that it is so awful. But we have contracts, and those contracts will not allow (for now) anything to be changed. "
Jack died 1994, Talia sold NSNA to MGM in 1997

BTW Connery picked Irwin Kershner

[Kristatos]

BTW Connery picked Irvin Kershner

He also picked Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais to rewrite the screenplay, which is rather embarrassing for those who insist that he represents the more serious Bond that Daniel Craig is taking us back to.

Wonder if Barry could be lured back to re-score NSNA now that EON have dumped him.

[carl stromberg]

Jerry Goldsmith would have been great for NSNA.

I do enjoy NSNA for what it is and perhaps an Eonised version would lose it's charm as a rebel Bond film.

[FormerBondFan]

Imagine if John Williams composed a score for FYEO.

[Kristatos]

Imagine if John Williams composed a score for FYEO.

If Spielberg had directed, he probably would have. I'm not sure that would be a good thing, though. I like Williams, but I think his sound is wrong for Bond.

[Blowfeld]

The Times
March 24, 2010
Time Warner leads pack in race for MGM
Alexandra Frean, US Business Correspondent

Time Warner emerged yesterday as the front-runner in the race to buy the struggling Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio — but, in the best tradition of James Bond, one of MGM’s best-known assets, the plot was not quite as simple as it seemed.

Lions Gate Entertainment, itself the subject of an unwanted takeover bid from the activist investor Carl Ichan, and Access Industries, backed by the Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik, were also said to have put in second-round bids for MGM. The offers are understood to be in the region of $1.5 billion (£1 billion), far less than the $2 billion that MGM’s 140 creditors have been hoping for.

MGM said that it had received “a number of bids as part of its ongoing process of exploring strategic alternatives, which include continuing to operate as a standalone entity and evaluating a potential sale of the company”. It will now review bids and terms. Time Warner is at the front of the pack, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The studio is burdened with $3.7 billion of debt from a $5 billion 2005 buyout by a consortium of private equity and media groups and has a $250 million revolving credit facility maturing in April. MGM said that it aimed to extend the current forbearance period on its bank debt, which ends on March 31.
Related Links

“The company expects to seek a forbearance agreement for its revolving line of credit, for which a payment is due April 8,” MGM said. One option said to be under consideration is a pre-packaged bankruptcy, with or without a sale.

MGM’s 4,000-title film library generated $450 million in 2008. The library’s most valuable recurring asset is the James Bond franchise.

In a separate move, Lions Gate has rejected Mr Icahn’s latest offer as “financially inadequate”.

Thanks to Mazer for the updates and links

[Mazer Rackham]

Too bad, WB would have been a fine choice. A very long way to go now. A Very long way.

from the WSJ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... tion_Deals

MGM Debt Holders Object to Fire-Sale Bids

By MIKE SPECTOR And LAUREN A. E. SCHUKER

Delays are in store in the auction for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., as hedge funds controlling big chunks of the studio's bank debt signaled Wednesday an unwillingness to sell for a lowball price.

Weighed down by a nearly $4 billion debt load, MGM asked its lenders to grant leniency on debt payments until mid-May as it continues to work on backup restructuring plans that would hand control to creditors, said people familiar with the matter. A forbearance on the studio's debt is set to run out at the end of the month.

The move – the fourth time in the past few months that MGM has asked for an extension on debt obligations– represents heightened brinksmanship among the studio's creditors and suitors. Signaling their willingness to take control of MGM could be a move by creditors to inject more competition into the bidding process and fetch higher prices for the studio with the roaring lion logo.

The lenders have become increasingly frustrated with MGM's restructuring process, which has dragged on since November and yielded disappointing bids, according to people familiar with the matter. During a conference call Wednesday, some creditors had hoped to be given a choice between bids for the company or a separate plan that would give them control. Instead, they were told MGM continued to work on the separate plan with other creditors and that the film studio needed yet more time to get a deal done.

MGM has received only three bids, all at roughly $1.5 billion or less, according to people familiar with the matter. Those making offers for the studio include Time Warner Inc., Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Len Blavatnik's Access Industries. Creditors had been hoping for a figure of around $2 billion.

MGM declined to comment.

MGM has crafted a standalone plan in which creditors would convert debt to equity and likely seek a cash infusion from another investor to fund new film production, these people said. Any plan would likely be done through a streamlined bankruptcy process that received approval from many creditors in advance.

MGM's best asset is its film library, which boasts more than 4,000 titles and includes the James Bond and Pink Panther franchises. But the library's cash flow has suffered amid a lack of new releases.

Some creditors are hopeful that MGM's latest release, "Hot Tub Time Machine," could reinvigorate the library amid early positive buzz. The studio projects the film could take in more than its initial budgeted projections, a person familiar with the matter said. In addition, MGM has partnered with New Line Cinema for two separate "Hobbit" films, possible blockbuster pre-quels to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Recent developments in the trading of MGM's bank debt are driving the deal's current dynamics. Over the past few months, several hedge funds have bought into the studio's bank debt at around 60 cents on the dollar. Those investments imply the studio is worth about $2.4 billion, well above what current suitors are bidding.

At least $1 billion of MGM's bank debt is now held by a small group of hedge funds, said people familiar with the matter. Among the largest holders are Anchorage Advisors and Highland Capital Management, these people said. Apollo Global Management holds a small piece of MGM's debt.

Overall, about eight to 10 private investment firms now hold between $300 million and $400 million chunks of the studio's debt, these people said.

Many of these hedge funds sit on a steering committee that is negotiating with MGM and its advisers. The two camps met Tuesday to discuss MGM's most recent bids and are set to convene again next week to continue discussing a standalone plan.

"We are evaluating joining the steering committee," said Patrick H. Daugherty, a partner and head of private equity at Highland, in a statement. "And we are certainly willing and able to consider a standalone plan that would provide a full recovery for our investors."

News Corp., the parent of 20th Century Fox and owner of The Wall Street Journal, offered to inject cash into MGM in exchange for an equity stake back in January but didn't hear back, people familiar with the matter have said.

MGM took on its large debt load in a 2005 buyout that handed the studio to private-equity firms Providence Equity Partners and TPG, as well as media companies Sony Corp. and Comcast Corp.

[Omega]

Lionsgate said they are out. Can they restructure quickly and get enough money to get back on their feet?