The future of the storied MGM studio is uncertain and is keeping a pair of potential “Hobbit” movies uncertain as well. Variety re-reports this morning, with some new details, that the studio wants to push back a deadline for debt payments that expires on Friday. You must subscribe to get more than a tease but The Wall Street Journal reports the studio is seeking a reprieve until the end of June or perhaps even longer while it gets its…uh…stuff together. (Don’t reward them with a click though, they want to charge for the internet!)
Debtholders hoped to sell the historical studio which includes 4,000 catalog films (including this year’s “Hot Tub Time Machine,”) future James Bond films and half of “The Hobbit” films’ earnings among other assets. TORn friend Kristin Thompson explains on her own Frodo Frachise site that Time Warner (parent company of studio Warner Bros that swallowed up LOTR studio New Line and is the other 50% of “The Hobbit”) is flush with cash and as the last bidder standing on MGM, might just buy the thing “at the right price”. Meanwhile quiet pre-pre-production continues in New Zealand, waiting for the day when the two films get the greenlight. Yup, it is a mess but we will do our best to keep you posted.
