WARNER-How about releasing these MGM titles
 

Its about time these fine films from the eighties should be put on dvd. WHOS LIFE IS IT ANYWAY? - SHOOT THE MOON - - RICH IN LOVE

That's a long movie title.

I beleive that would be up to MGM to release it if it came out in the 80's.

Depends... I believe the cutoff year is 1984 (right?). Although I'm not sure I'm familiar with those films, so I don't know if they were early-, mid-, or late-80s.

I believe there is a Warner HTF chat scheduled for March 29th. Maybe you can ask for them yourself!

I guess Warner would have the rights unless it was from one of these United Artists, Orion, Cannon and Polygram catalog holdings. Then it would be MGM.



(So for all the tensions the termination of the MGM / Warner seems to have lessened, as further details on the deal came to light, some have questioned the division of product between the two entities. It is Warner, not MGM, that now completely retroactively controls (to January 1, 1999) all pre-1986 MGM titles, in addition to all the pre-1948 Warner titles that up until the deal MGM had home video licensing rights to (though Warner was actually distributing these MGM-licensed Warner titles!). MGM retains control of the post-1986 catalog, the complete Orion and Polygram acquisitions, as well as all United Artists titles.

Many have asked the question of just how MGM would "give up" control of all their pre-1986 catalog, which contains such lucrative and well-regarded properties as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Poltergeist, amongst others. The fact of the matter is that the story is a bit more complicated, in that MGM in actuality has not owned these titles for some time already.

Back in 1986, Ted Turner tried to buy Time Warner (!), but failed due to lack of funds, and ended up with only Warner's pre-1948 and MGM's pre-1968 titles. In a subsequent and quite convoluted chain of events , Warner ended up buying Ted Turner's company, TNT. Good ol' Ted also sold home video distribution rights to these titles to MGM. So, when the Pathe deal rolled around in 1990, Warner ended up distributing pre-1948 Warner titles licensed to MGM by Ted Turner, which were now owned by Warner!

Thankfully, the early termination of the MGM/Warner deal simplifies the ownership and control of the MGM library. MGM fully owns and can distribute its post-1986 titles, and all United Artists, Orion, Cannon and Polygram catalog holdings. Warner gets all the Turner pre-1948 Warner and pre-1986 MGM titles. So, for example, Citizen Kane, The Haunting and 2001: A Space Odyssey, to name but three, are fully Warner-controlled titles. But, the James Bond and Rocky series, which are United Artists, stays with MGM, as do post-1986 titles, such as The Birdcage and, uh, Showgirls (Editor's Note: And just what is the matter with Showgirls, Mr. Smart Guy?).

Interestingly, many of MGM's DVD release decisions over the past two years in hindsight make more sense than many accused them of. The vast majority of releases have either been post-1986 MGM titles or United Artists films. The Polygram and Orion titles have been indicated by MGM to be arriving near Christmas 1999. Also, sources report that MGM's monthly DVD output will be increased to a likely 8 catalog titles a month starting late summer 1999. Of course, there will be some interesting divisions of product. For example, Warner now controls both Poltergeist and Poltergeist II, yet MGM retains control of Poltergeist III, as it is a post-1986 title. In addition, MGM are also free to make all packaging decisions and strike up any new retailer relationships they like. They can even continue with DIVX without hassle from Warner. (Editor's Note: But lets not go there...)

OK lets add these titles for Warner to release GRAND PRIX-RYANS DAUGHTER-GOODBYE MR CHIPS-FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD-INTERNATIONAL VELVET.

I would love to see a 2-disc Grand Prix release. There is a wealth of behind-the-scenes material that could go with it. And James Garner isn't getting any younger.

Commas are your friend. So is the 'Enter' key.

I'll add that "Caps Lock" is not a single use key. It can be pushed as many times as necessary.

someone on imdb said that grand prix might get a release in the fall, but nothing confirmed.