The Hobbit

So news broke the other day that Guillermo Del Toro quit as being the director of the new Hobbit movies. I don't blame him, because they kept getting put off and postponed due to financial troubles at MGM. As far as I remember, the first installment of the Hobbit was originally supposed to be released Christmas of this year. My question is how is it possible that a renowned Hollywood studio such as MGM be in such financial trouble? MGM owns one of the most lucrative franchises in movies: The James Bond franchise.



MGM, or Metro Goldwyn Mayer started in 1924, and through the 30s and 40s remained as one of the top franchises, with movies such as the Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind as some of their intellectual property (they have since been acquired by Time Warner and Warner Bros.) Sometime in the 60s the financial troubles began for MGM, and it went though a series of owners and CEOs up until present day, where the studio is still under bankruptcy protection and the future of the studio will be determined if there is a owner willing to pay enough to the creditors to purchase it.

With Del Toro leaving the movies, this is a large hit towards the making of these movies, with only Peter Jackson et al still of board to produce. Word came yesterday that Jackson hasn't ruled out completely to direct the movies. In fact, fan wise, I think, would only really accept Jackson as the director in leu of Del Toro.

So, in response to my initial question, I suppose due to a series of sells and mismanagement, MGM is in major financial trouble. Does it make sense that it should be with such a storied history? No, I don't think so. I can't even begin to imagine how many movies I have seen that has the Roaring Lion at the start of the movie.

-d