Rick Sands, who played a key role in MGM's ongoing efforts to reinvent itself, resigned Wednesday as the company's COO.
Last month, MGM chairman and CEO Harry Sloan named former Universal executive Mary Parent chairman of MGM's worldwide motion picture group, charging her with developing MGM's film slate. That move, which gave responsibilities for worldwide theatrical production, distribution, marketing and business affairs to Parent, undercut Sands' role in those areas, raising the question about his future at the company.
Joining MGM in January 2006 as Sloan set about reviving the privately held company, Sands focused on re-establishing MGM as theatrical distributor. He also had a hand in MGM moving its home entertainment business from Sony to Fox, and he developed the company's worldwide TV sales and digital-media divisions.
To quickly enter the theatrical arena, MGM offered itself out as a rent-a-studio for independent producers looking for an outlet for their product in theaters and on pay cable, where MGM has had an output deal with Showtime.
Since then, MGM has released nearly 40 films. It struck pay dirt with some titles: Rocky Balboa, in which it held a stake, became its top 2006 release, hitting $70.3 million domestically; and the horror movie 1408, from the Weinstein Co., grossed nearly $72 million in 2007.
Last month, MGM chairman and CEO Harry Sloan named former Universal executive Mary Parent chairman of MGM's worldwide motion picture group, charging her with developing MGM's film slate. That move, which gave responsibilities for worldwide theatrical production, distribution, marketing and business affairs to Parent, undercut Sands' role in those areas, raising the question about his future at the company.
Joining MGM in January 2006 as Sloan set about reviving the privately held company, Sands focused on re-establishing MGM as theatrical distributor. He also had a hand in MGM moving its home entertainment business from Sony to Fox, and he developed the company's worldwide TV sales and digital-media divisions.
To quickly enter the theatrical arena, MGM offered itself out as a rent-a-studio for independent producers looking for an outlet for their product in theaters and on pay cable, where MGM has had an output deal with Showtime.
Since then, MGM has released nearly 40 films. It struck pay dirt with some titles: Rocky Balboa, in which it held a stake, became its top 2006 release, hitting $70.3 million domestically; and the horror movie 1408, from the Weinstein Co., grossed nearly $72 million in 2007.
CANNES -- MGM is backing a remake of the 1980s musical Fame with 300 producer Mark Canton and Lakeshore Entertainment, MGM COO Rick Sands said here Tuesday.
Sands also said that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's United Artists is "weeks away" from concluding a $500 million film financing fund with Merrill Lynch.
"We're just finalizing the paperwork," Sands said. Press reports had suggested that Merrill Lynch was struggling to deliver a partner to fund the estimated $100 million equity portion of the debt-driven fund, but Sands dismissed the report as "just wrong."
The $25 million Fame remake is slated to hit theaters in summer 2008 and will be based on the Alan Parker film set at the New York Academy of Performing Arts, which starred Irene Cara and Debbie Allen and launched a generation of wannabe performers.
Sands said MGM has hired a writer and director for the project but offered no further details. Casting has not yet begun. He said the studio plans to retain many of the musical elements of the original movie that also launched a global television hit and international stage show.
Sands also said that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's United Artists is "weeks away" from concluding a $500 million film financing fund with Merrill Lynch.
"We're just finalizing the paperwork," Sands said. Press reports had suggested that Merrill Lynch was struggling to deliver a partner to fund the estimated $100 million equity portion of the debt-driven fund, but Sands dismissed the report as "just wrong."
The $25 million Fame remake is slated to hit theaters in summer 2008 and will be based on the Alan Parker film set at the New York Academy of Performing Arts, which starred Irene Cara and Debbie Allen and launched a generation of wannabe performers.
Sands said MGM has hired a writer and director for the project but offered no further details. Casting has not yet begun. He said the studio plans to retain many of the musical elements of the original movie that also launched a global television hit and international stage show.
- 4/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MGM said Tuesday that it has signed a three-year multipicture distribution pact with producers Howard Baldwin and Karen Elise Baldwin and their Baldwin Entertainment Group.
The Baldwins, who produced the best picture Oscar nominee Ray, plan to feed MGM's distribution pipeline with two to three films per year.
"I believe in Harry Sloan and Rick Sands and their team over there," Howard Baldwin said. "They are good friends, and I think they will bring the studio back to its glory days."
MGM is filling a void left when Bauer Martinez, one of the distributor's original content providers, scaled back its slate following layoffs late last year.
Under the Baldwin pact, MGM will have the first look at BEG's finished and produced films for distribution in all media throughout North America. The studio expects to release such upcoming Baldwin titles as the drama 1:30 Train, the comedy Indiscretion and the action-adventure Mandrake, a modern take on the classic Hearst comic.
MGM COO Sands praised the producing team for the "great pedigree surrounding their work."
"We are looking forward to putting Baldwin-produced films through MGM's North American distribution infrastructure with the goal of having their movies seen by as large an audience as possible," he said.
The Baldwins, who produced the best picture Oscar nominee Ray, plan to feed MGM's distribution pipeline with two to three films per year.
"I believe in Harry Sloan and Rick Sands and their team over there," Howard Baldwin said. "They are good friends, and I think they will bring the studio back to its glory days."
MGM is filling a void left when Bauer Martinez, one of the distributor's original content providers, scaled back its slate following layoffs late last year.
Under the Baldwin pact, MGM will have the first look at BEG's finished and produced films for distribution in all media throughout North America. The studio expects to release such upcoming Baldwin titles as the drama 1:30 Train, the comedy Indiscretion and the action-adventure Mandrake, a modern take on the classic Hearst comic.
MGM COO Sands praised the producing team for the "great pedigree surrounding their work."
"We are looking forward to putting Baldwin-produced films through MGM's North American distribution infrastructure with the goal of having their movies seen by as large an audience as possible," he said.
- 2/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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