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MGM sets sights on more television series in the coming years

JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
edited December 2011 in News Posts: 1,380
MGM is repositioning itself with a focus on developing properties aimed at television, according to a new interview with co-chief executives Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20111226-702990.html"; target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>.

As part of the restructuring phase after the financial debacle last year, MGM has cut its staff from 450 to 300 and laid off 17 of its 20 lawyers.

"The culture was, from our point of view, way off-base," Mr. Birnbaum said. "In every area of this company, we're going to run things differently now."

The new television division, headed by Roma Khanna, is aiming to develop "two to three new series a year". MGM is developing original concepts and mining for source material amid the company's vast library of more than 4,000 film titles and 10,500 television episodes.

According to the WSJ, currently in development are "series based on 'The Silence of the Lambs' character Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee played on film by Jodie Foster, and on the Coen brothers' black comedy 'Fargo.'"

Its films are now being produced through co-financing deals that hand off to other studios the labor-intensive work of theatrical distribution. A five-year agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment requires Sony to offer MGM the opportunity to cofinance several of its films a year (MGM declined to specify how many), and gives Sony the right of first refusal on films for which MGM is seeking a cofinancing partner.

Sony and MGM sealed the deal last year for Bond 23 ("Skyfall") and Bond 24.

Comments

  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    I wonder if this may be the fire under the burner for a Bond TV series of some kind.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    Agent007391 wrote:
    I wonder if this may be the fire under the burner for a Bond TV series of some kind.

    please no... he's not ready to be delegated down to television sitcom yet.

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,530
    There's a lot of TV material that supersedes the quality of theatrical films these days. A James Bond series, if well done, can easily be the treat we've been waiting for since the golden sixties.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited December 2011 Posts: 4,399
    i dont disagree @DarthDimi that a lot of TV material does produce superior quality than of theatrical films.... but at this point in time, I just can't see Bond being one of those.. some of those TV programs are better produced, because of the people writing them, and because it's a little less political than a studio controlling production of a film..... good films can still be made, you just have to have the right combination of people making it.

    But Bond's place has always been the cinema, and thats where he should stay.... if his adventures were produced in a more episodic way, then maybe i could see you're point.. but even still, i don't personally wish for Bond go anywhere but the big screen

    the golden sixties are gone forever, and never returning - thats just your nostalgia talking ;) ...... but that line still perplexes me - you would and haved wished that Bond never were on the big screen? - but rather turned into a TV serial?
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    I point to The Walking Dead as an example of a TV series that can do so much more than a movie can. If MGM and EON are willing to take a Bond series as seriously as AMC is The Walking Dead, we'll be in for great show.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,530
    HASEROT wrote:
    i dont disagree @DarthDimi that a lot of TV material does produce superior quality than of theatrical films.... but at this point in time, I just can't see Bond being one of those.. some of those TV programs are better produced, because of the people writing them, and because it's a little less political than a studio controlling production of a film..... good films can still be made, you just have to have the right combination of people making it.

    But Bond's place has always been the cinema, and thats where he should stay.... if his adventures were produced in a more episodic way, then maybe i could see you're point.. but even still, i don't personally wish for Bond go anywhere but the big screen

    the golden sixties are gone forever, and never returning - thats just your nostalgia talking ;) ...... but that line still perplexes me - you would and haved wished that Bond never were on the big screen? - but rather turned into a TV serial?

    Well, of course I wouldn't pull Bond out of the cinematic realm. ;-) I do however dream about a TV series that comprises faithful adaptations of Fleming's books, set in their original time periods, with one book every two episodes or something like that. Films can plan out new stuff but I'm afraid that if we're ever to see a true rendition of MR or DAF or whatnot, such a TV series is the only way to go. Of course I'm aware of certain practical difficulties to overcome, such as: who's going to play Bond? ;-)
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    That would be great. Maybe, though, stretch that to one book every 3 episodes. I'm not sure they could cover one book in just 2 episodes.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    Maybe have 2 bonds at once, one for TV and one in movies???
  • KennonKennon
    Posts: 297
    Meh, doesn't sound really original, does it? A Starling series on top of how many crime/FBI/profiler series with a female lead. The Fargo thing could have been interesting 10 years ago. Not sure there's a need to squeeze that film for TV potential. If they want to go produce TV stuff they ought to either be original or leave it altogether. MGM is now pretty much Bond and little else. They should concentrate on getting that two year schedule done, that's already hard enough.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Hey, I don't care how many CSI/NCIS/Criminal Minds/Other there is, I just want reality shows to go away and stay away.
  • VirageVirage
    Posts: 1,856
    I Hope this dosn't mean a JB Jr. Reboot, PLEASE

    anyway we're more likely to see silverfin,blood fever ect. as a james bond TV show.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    Along as Bond films keep coming every other year, bring it on MGM.
  • X3MSonicXX3MSonicX https://www.behance.net/gallery/86760163/Fa-Posteres-de-007-No-Time-To-Die
    Posts: 2,635
    After what @Virage just said, i ask u guys...

    Would a James Bond TV Show be good?
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,506
    OMG! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not want to see this happen to the greatest cinema hero ever! I for one will have to agree to disagree on this one.

    Would devalue a priceless franchise which i love dearly. And you can bet the scripts will not carefully worked on. Although i know some film scripts could have been better. Atleast they took their time on them.

    TV scripts they want churned out like yesterday and if they did and it was a flop? People would laugh at it and jeapordise the movie version!
  • KennonKennon
    Posts: 297
    Thought about this a bit, still not a fan of the idea. But if it's done I would like them to go completely original, no 'Goldfinger Part II', no faithful YOLT or period pieces. An entirely original story told over just five, six hour-long episodes, no filler or whathaveyou. And no cliff-hanger either. Just a single season and be done with the thing. If that is a success they can order another one. Keep only Bond and M, or just Bond. And don't try to capture the movie feeling from Eon's big brother, do your own thing, try to make it work in the tv mould and don't leer at the big screen.
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