The sale of MGM to Amazon marked the end of Hollywood’s classic film economy.
Did you ever have to worry about James Bond? If there has been anything in the cinema for the past five decades, it is the indestructible 007. In the end, however, it almost seemed that way. The theatrical release of Daniel Craig’s farewell appearance in the title role has been postponed again and again since November 2019. A sale to a streaming service was also up for debate in the meantime, but failed because of the asking price. On Wednesday it was confirmed what had already been indicated last week: the new employer of the screen hero is the internet giant Amazon. For the stately sum of 8.45 billion dollars (6.91 billion euros), the entire MGM studio was acquired, with everything that goes with it.
On Thursday, the producers of the film series, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, hurried to dispel fans’ concerns about the current launch date, October 8th. They further explained to the industry journal “Variety”: “We are determined to continue making James Bond films for a worldwide cinema audience.” The company Eon Productions, which belongs to the Broccoli family, was already for the screen debut of the Ian Fleming figure “Dr. No ”from 1962. Nevertheless, the concerns are of course justified. Will cinemas just be showcases for Internet media groups in the future?
Streaming channel Amazon Prime has recently grown slowly and is in close competition with Netflix, Disney Plus and the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, Inc., which was announced on May 17th. The stock exchange shrugged its shoulders on the expected news hardly moved. There is also a message in this: It is the end of an era, but only a footnote in the world economy.
MGM was the last of the major film studios that had not yet been sold to a media or internet giant. “No Time to Die”, the title of the new “Bond”, reads like a defiant prayer of the film industry. Of course, MGM was no longer the glamorous domicile of “more stars than in the sky”, as film mogul Louis B. Mayer could claim at the end of the 1930s. On the contrary, the decline of the studio with the lion was symbolic in its own right.
In 1970 the businessman Kirk Kerkorian bought the studio. In the same year, the entire contents of seven studios, including more than 350,000 costumes and the script archive for $ 1.5 million, were sold to an auctioneer – some props such as Judy Garland’s red shoes from “The Wizard of Oz” would be today Worth the money alone, not to mention the historical loss. MGM has not had the rights to the classics for a long time.
In 1986 the entrepreneur Ted Turner bought MGM / United Artists. He saw the value of the film library, exploited it on his television channels, and soon sold the rest of the company back to Kerkorian. The group’s next roller coaster ride would be material for an Amazon series. In 2006, for example, film star Tom Cruise rose to the management level, and in 2009 MGM filed for bankruptcy after accumulating 3.7 billion in debt. The renovation succeeded at the end of 2010 and subsequently a rental deal with the competitor Sony Pictures.
The lion will keep roaring
Today, MGM’s catalog includes 4,000 theatrical and 17,000 television productions, mainly works made after 1986. No less interesting for Amazon are the opportunities to use world-famous fabrics such as the “pink panther” or “Rocky” for franchises. First and foremost, of course, James Bond, whose income is shared with the broccoli family.
The best-known titles that will soon be found on Amazon Prime include movies such as “Basic Instinct” and “The Silence of the Lambs”, series hits such as “Fargo” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”. The famous leader lion will continue to roar – albeit for multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos and the controversial global corporation.
