Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
, (also known as
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
, commonly shortened to
MGM
), is an American media company specializing in film and television production and distribution. Founded on April 17, 1924, and based in Beverly Hills, California, it is owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon.
The company is named after three companies which were combined in 1924 to start the MGM movie company. They were Metro Pictures,
Samuel Goldwyn
Productions, and Louis B. Mayer Productions.
From the
1920s
through
World War II
, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the largest movie
studio
in
Hollywood
. They made more money than any other studio. At its busiest, MGM made about one movie a week and also made many short movies and cartoons. By the mid-1930s MGM had 4,000 employees.
[1]
It had 23
Sound stages
on their 117-acre lot. In 1939 MGM's
assets
were worth $144
million
USD
. In the 1940s the studio had problems.
Movie theatre
attendance
was declining and
television
was starting to draw people away from the movies. In 1948, the
Supreme Court
decision
United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.
put an end to movie studios owning their own theatres. Lowes continued to be the parent company of MGM. But in 1954 Lowes Theatres was formed to control most of the movie theatres. In the late 1960s and 1970s, MGM sold off most of their back lot. They sold MGM's British studios and
MGM Records
.
[1]
In 1981 MGM's major stockholder,
Kirk Kerkorian
bought
United Artists
. In 1983 MGM and United Artists merged as MGM/UA Entertainment.
[1]
On August 7, 1985,
Turner Broadcasting System
announced that they would buy MGM/UA. Turner saw the value of acquiring pre-May 1986 MGM's film library for his superstation
WTBS
. Under the terms of the deal, Turner would immediately sell MGM's United Artists back to Kerkorian. As a result of the MGM split from Turner, both MGM and UA became merely brands of
MGM/UA Communications Co.
in late 1986.
In late 1986 after Turner Broadcasting System split into two companies; Turner Broadcasting System and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Turner continued to release the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library on video known as Turner Home Entertainment. Turner sold the MGM lot for $190 million to
Lorimar-Telepictures
.
[2]
In 1990,
Giancarlo Parretti
, the owner of
The Cannon Group
, bought MGM/UA for $1.2
billion
.
[3]
He then merged Cannon with MGM and named it MGM-Pathe Communications. In 1991 there were a number of lawsuits and he defaulted to Credit Lyonnais, his financial backer. Parretti also faced
securities
fraud
charges in the
United States
and
Europe
.
[4]
The company name was changed back to Metro-Goldwin-Mayer Inc.
US
bankruptcy
laws forced Credit Lyonnais to sell MGM. It was acquired again by Kerkorian for $1.3 billion.
[1]
The Wizard of Oz
is one of the most famous movies made by MGM. It was made in 1939. The star of the movie was
Judy Garland
. MGM has also made other famous movies like
2001: A Space Odyssey
, the
James Bond
movies and the
Rocky
movies.
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|