When are MGM going to start releasing catalogue titles again!

[Filmfanatic10]

Originally Posted by steve_dave

The MGM/Warner deal is solidified and confirmed. Warner has distributed Bill and Ted Face The Music and Wrath of Man along with repacking existing Fox/Sony discs in new artwork.

Universal has distribution for Candyman in theaters & home video and No Time To Die for home video.

Yeah. Unfortunately, MGM and Warner Bros. didn't publicly announce the deal because of the virus, and most of Warners' home entertainment staff was fired wrongfully last year for the exact same reason. >_>

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Filmfanatic10

Since the current MGM/Warner Bros. home entertainment deal is still quiet and hasn't been confirmed yet, I think an eventual confirmation might depend on the successes that Universal's and Warners' marketing/distribution team at their Studio Distribution Services joint venture may achieve from Warners' physical media releases of Wrath of Man, the Rocky IV director's cut, the new Orion movies and/or MGM's TV shows and Universal's releases of No Time to Die and Addams Family 2 on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K and other formats on behalf of their two studio partners, or it might not happen until MGM is sold to Amazon, or another company if Amazon's acquisition talks drop the ball and fail? I'm suggesting the former based on how MGM and Fox renewed their previous distribution deal in 2016 due to the successes of Skyfall, Spectre and previous 007 movies on physical media.

The Warners tie-up began on July 1 2020, the day after the Fox deal expired. It's not a rumour, it's not a myth, it's actual fact. See page 8 of the 2020 financial report for MGM: https://d20qidnmpnrwiu.cloudfront.ne...l%20Report.pdf

Do studios normally do big announcements for these things? I don't recall there being a big thing when Paramount employed Warners for their home video distribution several years ago, nor when Universal became Par's physical distribution partner in the UK. Not that there's never been such an announcement for anyone ever, these things get picked up in the trades now and then, but just because they've been quiet about it doesn't mean it didn't happen or will unilaterally be undone by the Bezosaur.

[Filmfanatic10]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The Warners tie-up began on July 1 2020, the day after the Fox deal expired. It's not a rumour, it's not a myth, it's actual fact. See page 8 of the 2020 financial report for MGM: https://d20qidnmpnrwiu.cloudfront.ne...l%20Report.pdf

Do studios normally do big announcements for these things? I don't recall there being a big thing when Paramount employed Warners for their home video distribution several years ago, nor when Universal became Par's physical distribution partner in the UK. Not that there's never been such an announcement for anyone ever, these things get picked up in the trades now and then, but just because they've been quiet about it doesn't mean it didn't happen or will unilaterally be undone by the Bezosaur.

I know, it's an actual fact. But after those reprints of MGM's library titles, we haven't gotten brand new editions of any of them, with the exceptions of releases by the third party distributors.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Filmfanatic10

I know, it's an actual fact. But after those reprints of MGM's library titles, we haven't gotten brand new editions of any of them, with the exceptions of releases by the third party distributors.

But what does that have to do with the Warners deal? They're the monkey, MGM are the organ grinder, i.e. Warners cannot decide themselves what they want to release from MGM's catalogue, that direction has to come from MGM first and, well, they still don't give a shit about physical media. They're happy enough to keep licensing stuff to indies and keep their perennial sellers like the Bonds in print - especially as they had a Bond movie due for release which always leads to an uptick in sales of the existing movies - which is why they employed Warners to be their new video distributor, just to keep those dribs and drabs going. MGM didn't employ Warners as though it was some shining new direction for the company's home video dept, it was just to continue what they're doing. That's the misapprehension here I think.

[Filmfanatic10]

I know it's an actual ongoing distribution deal since July 2020, but I think since the director's cut of Rocky IV has now been released theatrically and on streaming, if it's going to get a physical media release sometime later this month/year or next year, it might be the first official release of an MGM catalog title under the Warner Bros. deal.

And yeah, I know this might not have to do with that deal or the current MGM's library, but if only Warners would also make a separate licensing deal to use any of MGM's print logos on future releases of their pre-1986 MGM titles, just to pay tribute to MGM's history before the Turner acquisition. (I know, most back covers still credit MGM, but the studio trademark is owned by the current MGM since the split from Turner, who only bought the old MGM for the library.)

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by Filmfanatic10

I know it's an actual ongoing distribution deal since July 2020, but I think since the director's cut of Rocky IV has now been released theatrically and on streaming, if it's going to get a physical media release sometime later this month/year or next year, it might be the first official release of an MGM catalog title under the Warner Bros. deal.

And yeah, I know this might not have to do with that deal or the current MGM's library, but if only Warners would also make a separate licensing deal to use any of MGM's print logos on future releases of their pre-1986 MGM titles, just to pay tribute to MGM's history before the Turner acquisition. (I know, most back covers still credit MGM, but the studio trademark is owned by the current MGM since the split from Turner, who only bought the old MGM for the library.)

Warner has already released catalog titles for MGM which are repackages of Fox/Sony discs.

Rocky IV: The Director’s Cut is also not a catalog title as it is a new 2021 release of the film with restored footage.

[drush9999]

^ Yeah I already have some Warner distributed MGM titles (same UPC as previous releases).

[Filmfanatic10]

I wish MGM and Warner Bros./SDS would release two new box sets for the Bond and Rocky/Creed franchises. They need to release a "Bond 60" box set as part of the film series' 60th anniversary, and include all movies from Dr. No to No Time to Die (I know, the latter is a Universal release, but it can easily be included via SDS since they handle distribution on behalf of Warners/MGM and Universal). They also need to put out a Rocky/Creed box set with all eight movies from the franchise in anticipation of the November theatrical release of Creed III, and I hope they include the directors' cut of Rocky IV as well.

[albert_m2]

They "need" to do that?

[Filmfanatic10]

Originally Posted by albert_m2

They "need" to do that?

Yeah. There also needs to be a Poltergiest 40th anniversary box set, with all four movies including the original one (owned by Warners via the Turner library) and the 2015 remake (unless Fox/Disney still controls the physical media rights for that).

[Filmfanatic10]

Just saw this... https://www.amazon.com/Jame-Bond-The.../dp/B09Q6F7LC8 (It's a new collection of all five movies.)

[El_Fez]

Ugh. Can we get the GOOD James Bond movies instead?

[Nailwraps]

I was thinking about this; how about Warner and MGM collaborate on making an MGM Archive Collection subline for the Warner Archive?

A few ideal titles come to mind:

-Solarbabies
-Babes in Toyland (with its March of The Wooden Soldiers re-release version)
-Men At Work
-Dirty Work
-My Summer Story

[Filmfanatic10]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

I was thinking about this; how about Warner and MGM collaborate on making an MGM Archive Collection subline for the Warner Archive?

A few ideal titles come to mind:

-Solarbabies
-Babes in Toyland (with its March of The Wooden Soldiers re-release version)
-Men At Work
-Dirty Work
-My Summer Story

There was an MGM Limited Edition Collection line. But really, since you mentioned My Summer Story, I can imagine it being in a double feature set with A Christmas Story, since it's a sequel to the latter.

[Filmfanatic10]

I read one the comments on the site's press article about the new Daniel Craig 007 box set, and the user said that nowadays, home entertainment distribution deals including the MGM/Warners deal last for three years. It looks like it's not becoming official until the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery has to finalize next after Amazon just closed their acquisition of MGM, but would Amazon allow the studio to renew their physical media deal with Warners, or are they going to cancel it and claim that "sorry, but we can't allow competitors to distribute our content"?

[Nailwraps]

It's not affected:
https://twitter.com/HighDefDiscNews/...4956643360781?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Filmfanatic10

I read one the comments on the site's press article about the new Daniel Craig 007 box set, and the user said that nowadays, home entertainment distribution deals including the MGM/Warners deal last for three years. It looks like it's not becoming official until the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery has to finalize next after Amazon just closed their acquisition of MGM, but would Amazon allow the studio to renew their physical media deal with Warners, or are they going to cancel it and claim that "sorry, but we can't allow competitors to distribute our content"?

Who else is gonna distribute their content? Santa Claus? The reason why MGM used Sony and then Fox and then Warners to release their home video stuff over the last 15-ish years is because they have none of the infrastructure needed to distribute it themselves. Studios have been doing this sort of merry dance for years and not just MGM, Paramount have also used Warners for home vid distribution in recent years and in Europe it was Universal who distributed Par's stuff for a good long while. In some countries Universal and Sony are basically the same entity as far as home video is concerned, and let's not forget the Warners/Universal tie-up where one distributes the other's content depending on the territory, creating a new company called Studio Distribution Services in the process. Basically, the "competitor" thing means sod all to the studios.

Maybe Bezos will change the distribution infrastructure at MGM, maybe he won't, though nothing seems to be changing at the corporate level for now, but he can't unilaterally end the Warners deal. Will he renew it when it comes up again? That's a more pertinent question I think, along with the issue of all the licensing that MGM have been doing for years. Depends whether MGMazon feel that disc is still worth their time. That said...

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

It's not affected:
https://twitter.com/HighDefDiscNews/...4956643360781?

...it's hilarious that matey there says that we'll still get 4K UHDs from MGM in reply to someone saying "guess I won't hold my breath for any MGM releases on 4K Blu ray" because MGM DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT 4K DISC ANYWAY, having released a grand total of four UHDs thus far. Which were all Bond movies.

[DMRI2006]

...it's hilarious that matey there says that we'll still get 4K UHDs from MGM in reply to someone saying "guess I won't hold my breath for any MGM releases on 4K Blu ray" because MGM DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT 4K DISC ANYWAY, having released a grand total of four UHDs thus far.

The fact MGM didn't roll out a complete Bond UHD box-set says it all. If they were interested in the format a Bond UHD set would have been the very 1st catalog title you'd think they would want out there.

[captveg]

In regards to catalog, I'd only ever expect Rocky and Bond films to come to UHD from MGM itself. They literally have no interest in releasing anything else on their own. All other catalog titles would come from 3rd party licenses.

And I just don't see Amazon caring enough about physical releases to change this.

[Mose Harper]

For the same reason Disney won't put out the D+ Marvel shows on disc, I don't expect Amazon to be looking to license out their new acquisitions anytime soon.

Once the current deals expire, I expect that will be it for a lot of those titles physical releases.