Film forum off topic/random chat thread

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Media reports today that MGM up for sale for $5B

Bond and Rocky I guess would be the main draws however it also has UA, Orion Pictures, The Cannon Group, The Samuel Goldwyn Company and a number of other film libraries.

So which Streaming company will buy it to bulk up there content.

After months and weeks of speculation, Amazon and MGM are merging in a deal that has the e-commerce giant acquiring the storied studio for $8.45 billion.

It’s the first groundbreaking deal in a long anticipated marriage of the era’s big tech players and Hollywood, sparked by a digital revolution in content and the explosion of streaming.

The announcement this morning noted MGM’s nearly century-long history of filmmaking and said it complements the work of Amazon Studios, which has mostly focused on television production. “Amazon will help preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films, and provide customers with greater access to these existing works. Through this acquisition, Amazon would empower MGM to continue to do what they do best: great storytelling,” the Jeff Bezos-founded company said.

“MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films—12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair, and many other icons—as well as 17,000 TV shows—including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vikings—that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys,” said Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team.”

“It has been an honor to have been a part of the incredible transformation of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. To get here took immensely talented people with a true belief in one vision. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the MGM team who have helped us arrive at this historic day,” said Kevin Ulrich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MGM. “I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination.”

Th deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

Agent Coulson wrote: »

AT&T and Discovery are in talking about merging there entertainment assists which would be Warner Media and Discovery Networks around the world.

Discovery today announced the new name of the proposed standalone global entertainment company that will emerge from the combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery assets: “Warner Bros. Discovery.”

“The Warner Bros. Discovery name will honor, celebrate and elevate the world’s most-storied creative studio in the world with the high quality, global nonfiction storytelling heritage of Discovery,” the company said.

David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery and future chief executive of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery combined company, unveiled the new name to WarnerMedia employees from the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank.

Mr Crispy wrote: »

I read a few of the articles on the Amblin/Netflix deal discussed in the Netflix recommendations thread. One off-topic titbit that Deadline revealed is that Spielberg has continually shot down any proposed Jaws remakes/reboots, no matter how much money has been waved at him. Thanks Steven!

Mr Crispy wrote: »

What? He turned down all the sequels and had no involvement in them.

Nicolas Cage will soon star in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a film about how weird it is to be Nicolas Cage. Remember those photos of Cage in the hot-pink leather jacket? This is what that fit was for! The Hollywood Reporter says the film will debut April 22, 2022. Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself, cash-strapped and bored with acting. He takes a $1 million appearance fee to go see a “dangerous superfan,” which somehow morphs into him becoming a CIA operative and using all his “nouveau shamanic” acting skills to save the world. The film also stars Pedro Pascal, Catastrophe’s Sharon Horgan, Neil Patrick Harris (no stranger to filmic self-mythologizing), and Tiffany Haddish. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is directed by Ghosted creator Tom Gormican off a script he co-wrote with Kevin Etten.

Tony EH wrote: »

^
I can't say that I ever counted Bruce Willis as anything to write home about no matter what he was in. His latest turns are no different to me than his other "appearances".

As for Cage and his recent roles (by which I mean the last decade or more) I'd really wonder what interest some of the projects he joined had. I've seen things like 'Left Behind' and 'Inconceivable' and I know that if is it wasn't for the fact that he pissed all his shillings away and the IRS was knocking on his door he absolutely would not be doing trash like that.

But unlike Willis, Cage could bring something to a role. He had a...whatever...that made him watchable. In fact even when he does his madman act, he's still watchable in a car crash way. Bruce Willis was just always a bug fat meh to me, even in something like 'Die Hard'. He's acted off the screen by Alan Rickman and, as far as I know, Rickman was just sort of taking the piss on that film. He didn't want to even do it in the first place.