Criterion and MGM

[Tribe]

The Long Goodbye?

It's still in print in the USA, isn't it?

[fdm]

The Long Goodbye?

It's still in print in the USA, isn't it?

Nope.

[Arthur House]

Night before last on This Tv, they ran one of Tarantino's all time faves, the Paul Schrader scripted Rolling Thunder. MGM hasn't yet relegated it to the "On demand" file, although many other unissued films played on This Tv have (The Offence, The Landlord, Man of Iron), so I guess the forecast isn't that good for the 'wacky c" treatment, but I figure it might do well for them on standard and blu if they can get it.

[MyNameCriterionForum]

"I'll get my gear." >shudder<.

[Matt]

For anyone interested in MGM's recent business history, this recent Financial Times article is a good primer.

[HarryLong]

But the most striking feature is in the walls. There, dozens and dozens of Oscar statuettes stand behind glass: Best Picture accolades for films such as The Apartment, Ben Hur and West Side Story. The statuettes for Grand Hotel, Gone with the Wind and the 1935 epic Mutiny on the Bounty are a reminder of MGM’s golden age

Hmmm....
THE APRTMENT and WEST SIDE STORY were UA... GONE WITH THE WIND was Selznick (though MGM distributed it)...

But the Oscars kept rolling in: Dr Zhivago, Midnight Cowboy, In the Heat of the Night and Annie Hall all showed that MGM was capable of adapting its output to changing times.

Not certain about ZHIVAGO, but all the others were UA...

I'm not arguing that MGM doesn't currently own these titles, but they are not, striuctly speaking, part of its history.

[Roger Ryan]

Yes, the article completely ignores two of the biggest events in MGM's history: the selling off of the huge backlot in the 70s and the purchase of United Artists in '81. In fact, the article makes a big deal about MGM being the home of James Bond when UA actually held that distinction for the franchise's first twenty years. As Harry pointed out, a number of the other films mentioned were originally produced through UA as well.

Perhaps it was because I wasn't following the deal that closely, but the article clearly explains why del Toro left THE HOBBIT project which now appears to be on the verge of collapsing.

[HarryLong]

Yes, the article completely ignores two of the biggest events in MGM's history: the selling off of the huge backlot in the 70s...

I don't know if it's really worth pointing out, but as I read further into the article, I was struck by the parallels of the downslide of Hammer Films which also sold off it studio & lot (& which, for years, had given it the ability to produce films economically & within a few years was sitting on a stack of properties & no way to fund them.
They were also in a position where they were unable to take advantage of their library of titles...

[Matt]

Fellini's Satyricon will be streaming in the near future. Perhaps this will act as further soothsaying to a Criterion release. Also Manhattan, which will be streaming soon.

Additional MGM titles streaming soon that raise an eyebrow: Ginger and Fred, Thieves Like Us, Burn! and Last Tango in Paris. It might not mean much if they were among a large batch of MGM titles, but these are about the only MGM titles listed as streaming soon.

[Flike]

Very interesting considering Burn! has been all but confirmed.

[ianungstad]

Fellini's Satyricon will be streaming in the near future. Perhaps this will act as further soothsaying to a Criterion release. Also Manhattan, which will be streaming soon.

Additional MGM titles streaming soon that raise an eyebrow: Ginger and Fred, Thieves Like Us, Burn! and Last Tango in Paris. It might not mean much if they were among a large batch of MGM titles, but these are about the only MGM titles listed as streaming soon.

It doesn't mean anything. Netflix recently inked a deal with Paramount/MGM/Lionsgate to license up to $1 billion in streaming rights to catalog titles over the next five years. There will be a ton of MGM material showing up for instant streaming soon-ish.

In other MGM news, it looks likely that the company will remain independent and is near a deal with Spyglass Entertainment to manage MGM and provide the equity to get the franchise films back into production. Good news, IMO.

[Cinephrenic]

Damn, that is a lot of money.

[captveg]

In other MGM news, it looks likely that the company will remain independent and is near a deal with Spyglass Entertainment to manage MGM and provide the equity to get the franchise films back into production. Good news, IMO.

About time someone stepped up. I need my James Bond, damn it!

[ianungstad]

Apparently Terry Zwigoff has been telling people at his recent signings for Louie Blouie/ Crumb that Criterion will be handling the special edition of his film Ghost World:

Ghost World. According to our reader, who spoke with Zwigoff, Criterion has been approached about Ghost World, and it would appear that the ball is rolling on it’s release. It could be anywhere from 6 months, to a year before things get started, but it’s highly likely that this will happen.

I suppose the 6 months to a year before things get started means that they are currently negotiating more titles from MGM? Hopefully that means they grab some Altman/Wilder/Jodorowsky titles that they apparently didn't get the first time. Also, I actually wouldn't mind seeing Bad Santa, if they end up being able to get some Miramax stuff.

[Buttery Jeb]

Apparently Terry Zwigoff has been telling people at his recent signings for Louie Blouie/ Crumb that Criterion will be handling the special edition of his film Ghost World.

Immediately after the San Diego Comic-Com, I had a thought that Criterion should pick up the rights to "Ghost World," and record a live audio commentary/Q&A with Zwigoff and Clowes at the 2011 SDCC, sort of like the one they did at ATP with Jim Jarmusch last year. Maybe even get the cast to show up (hell, Johansson will probably be around anyway to promote "Avengers").

Weird to see confirmation on a project so soon; but I figured this was inevitable given their new relationships with Zwigoff and MGM.

-BJ

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

They sure as hell better film new interviews with Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. I'd be curious to know how they see the film now. It'd be awesome if they could get Ebert on a commentary with Zwigoff, but I doubt it'd happen because of Ebert's condition.

[mfunk9786]

Yessssss! This is wonderful. Dear Josh, we came by to fuck you, but you were not home. Therefore... you are gay.

[Jeff]

It'd be awesome if they could get Ebert on a commentary with Zwigoff, but I doubt it'd happen because of Ebert's condition.

Yeah, Roger doesn't have a lower jaw at all he hasn't been able to speak a word in over four years. He does communicate via text-to-speech software that has been designed to sound (roughly) like his own voice. Don't know how that would be on a commentary. He's writing more than ever now though, and could surely contribute an essay. He loved Ghost World, writing in the Sun Times that he "wanted to hug this movie."

I'm not at all surprised that Criterion is apparently going back for yet another batch of MGM titles. Fox has always been very generous with Criterion, and I'm sure that they're the ones handling the licensing. God knows MGM doesn't have the money to produce anything right now, and is hungry for the royalty cash that Criterion licenses provide. I'm hoping that this time they've gone after Man of the West, Smile, Pauline at the Beach, Small Change, Last Tango in Paris, The Train, Topkapi, The Spiral Staircase, Ball of Fire, Southern Comfort, The Falcon and the Snowman, and, of course, a passel of Wilder titles!

[flyonthewall2983]

Still got my fingers crossed for Thunderbolt And Lightfoot.

[Frances]

Ghost World by Criterion? Yes!

[Tom Hagen]

If they're doing Ghost World, I really hope they're at least considering 24 Hour Party People.

[Finch]

They sure as hell better film new interviews with Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. I'd be curious to know how they see the film now. It'd be awesome if they could get Ebert on a commentary with Zwigoff, but I doubt it'd happen because of Ebert's condition.

Seconded. Ghost World on Blu would be most welcome. Perhaps they could also do a piece on Brad Renfro - I thought we lost a very promising young actor when he died.

[ianungstad]

They have the actual quote from Zwigoff in a different article:

“I was talking to them about doing Ghost World next year, maybe… I think they’d be agreeable to it. I just, you know, I put a lot of work into these [Crumb & Louie Bluie], and got so sick of doing commentaries and digging through all the footage, I said just give me some time, and maybe in a year or so, or six months or something, I’d try to do it….” Zwigoff also had praise for the Criterion Collection personnel, stating that they’ve done “a terrific job on these — the films have never looked or sounded better… I loved working with them, I thought they were great.”

Sounds like fairly informal discussions at this point to me. I'm sure it will materialize eventually though.

[CSM126]

As regards Ebert and commentaries, ever since he lost his voice I've wondered if he'd be at all interested in writing commentaries and allowing someone else to record them. Of course it's sad not to hear Ebert's voice anymore, but at least to have his insights in some form would be delightful when watching a number of films.

(and hasn't this sort of thing been done before? I believe CC's Rules of the Game has Captain Ascot reading someone else's prepared statements?)

[domino harvey]

The old Kino Metropolis had someone reading a translation of the commentary, didn't it?