Deal Between MGM And Sony May Result In The Release Of Red Dawn And Cabin In The Woods

"Deal Between MGM And Sony May Result In The Release Of Red Dawn And Cabin In The Woods"src="http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/23067/mgm_23067.jpg"style="border: 1px solid black;margin:1px;margin-left:5px;position:relative;"align="right"vspace="3">With MGM finally achieving financial stability, nearly all of the headlines have been focused on the studio's two biggest breadwinners:The Hobbitand James Bond. But while those two projects have been greenlit and given shooting schedules, questions remain about the Joss Whedon-scriptedCabin in the Woodsand the remake ofRed Dawn. Both projects have been completed and in the can for months, but due to MGM's issues their theatrical future has been up in the air. Today we learn that they may finally be coming.

The Los Angeles Timesis reporting that Sony and MGM are currently closing in on a distribution and co-financing deal that would link the two companies for both old projects, likeCabin in the WoodsandRed Dawn, and new projects, like the next two Bond films. The agreement would see Sony provide 50% of the budget forBond 23and 25% ofBond 24(presumably because MGM would actually have some money of their own by then). The deal would be similar to the one struck by the two companies for both of the previous two 007 movies,Casino RoyaleandQuantum of Solace. Sony would also take distribution control of the aforementioned completed titles as well as MGM's 4,000-title library on DVD (Fox currently holds the rights to the DVD library, but the contract expires in September).

Though the report says that the two are finalizing the deal, there is some concern that it may not all play out, as a source close to the negotiations said,"there are a number of complex terms still to be hammered out and that it's not certain a deal will be completed."Sony isn't the only company interested in handling distribution for MGM, particularly the Bond franchise, with Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. (who are handling the distribution forThe Hobbit) talking to the classic studio at one point.

Another aspect to the deal is that MGM wants to have a piece of films already in production. Because MGM was struggling for so long, the studio won't have a movie ready to be released until late 2012, which is a long time away. One project in particular that has peaked the studio's interest is David Fincher's adaptation ofThe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. While discussions are on-going regarding that title, MGM also inquired about a piece of Marc Webb's upcomingSpider-Manreboot, but were turned down.

It's all very technical, but if the deal works out we might be able to seeCabin in the WoodsandRed Dawnbefore the end of the year. For those wondering, that's a good thing.

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