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macfalk
Doriath
May 6 2010, 7:00am
Post #1 of 41
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MGM lenders to vote on debt extension - again
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As May 15 deadline looms, Lion will seek fifth forbearance
By Carl DiOrio
May 5, 2010, 08:46 PM ET Figure on yet another extension to MGM's debt forbearance agreement.
The Lion has gotten four such extensions previously, including one delaying more than $400 million in interest and principal payments until May 15. With a lenders steering committee set to meet Monday, electronic ballots will be sent early next week to a broader group of debtholders in an attempt to give MGM and its restructuring team even more breathing room.
The proposal is expected to pass, giving MGM at least another several weeks to work on its restructuring.
Strapped with a crushing $3.7 billion in debt, MGM and consultant Moelis & Co. tried unsuccessfully to find buyers for the studio and in recent weeks has been discussing with top industryites means of securing new capital to keep the lights burning in the Lion's Century City lair. The process is expected eventually to result in two additional things: the appointment of a successor to current MGM CEO Stephen Cooper and a shift of most studio equity from a current consortium to the lenders group.
MGM's owners include Providence Equity, TPG Capital, Sony, Comcast, DLJ Merchant and Quadrangle.
Cooper is a turnaround veteran brought in for the sale-or-restructuring process. Companies considering possible new equity investments in MGM include Lionsgate, Access Industries, News Corp. and Qualia Capital.
Time Warner -- which topped bidders in the failed MGM auction with a $1.7 billion offer -- isn't interested in partial ownership. The Warner Bros. parent could re-engage with the Lion in talks regarding a modestly increased bid for the entire studio, but that's considered a long-shot scenario.
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3if2e371e23945e3cfdcc4076e497f455c
Okay... what's the plan now?
(This post was edited by Silverlode on May 6 2010, 7:16am)
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duats
Hithlum
May 6 2010, 8:09am
Post #2 of 41
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Okay, now I'm really annoyed.
(This post was edited by Ataahua on May 6 2010, 7:37pm)
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macfalk
Doriath
May 6 2010, 8:28am
Post #3 of 41
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Analysis of the situation, someone?
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Please 
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duats
Hithlum
May 6 2010, 8:37am
Post #4 of 41
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Just another month or two before this film can even hope to begin production.
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Earl
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
May 6 2010, 11:33am
Post #5 of 41
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I feel sorry for GDT and PJ and everyone else on the production team
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While this is surely extremely frustrating for all of us, I can well imagine the state the production team must be in. I mean, unlike us, they are literally waiting on something to happen so they can begin work in earnest and their immediate future plans do depend on this.
That thought has put all this in perspective for me. I'd like to be angry and frustrated about everything, but I don't really have a right to be.
I do hope however, that for all our sakes, things work out well, and soon 
Thanks for the heads-up by the way.
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Silmaril
Nargothrond
May 6 2010, 12:20pm
Post #6 of 41
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maybe i should find another hobby for some time...
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and somebody has to pay the pre-preproduction or did they stop working on it?
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Patty
Elvenhome
May 6 2010, 2:24pm
Post #7 of 41
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Thanks for this news, macfalk. Is there any set amount of..
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extensions permissible, does anybody know?
Permanent address: Into the West
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath
May 6 2010, 2:38pm
Post #8 of 41
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As long as the debt-holders think it will increase their chances of getting paid ...
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... they will continue to extend the deadline. This news is not a surprise; it doesn't change anything at all. My advise to people is not to look at these deadlines as meaning anything at all. You are simply setting yourself up for unnecessary disappointments.
The situation will be resolved when it is resolved. One way or the another. This isn't something to get all angst-ridden about. It really isn't. It's just business.
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
www.arda-reconstructed.com
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MrCere
Sr. Staff
May 6 2010, 2:40pm
Post #9 of 41
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I have no choice but to believe in free will.
The cake is a lie
The cake is a lie
The cake is a lie
My blog
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MrCere
Sr. Staff
May 6 2010, 3:14pm
Post #10 of 41
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The current restructure team failed and the money lenders still want their money back. They weren't willing to take $1.7B in exchange for the $3.7B owed, so they are asking the studio to come up with another plan.
Warners wants to know who it is making two pretty expensive movies with so it will wait to see if there is a sale or bankruptcy or some other solution before they sink a lot of money into a production. It seems pretty sensible.
We know a little more than we knew but the issue is the same as it was yesterday and the day before: Unresolved.
I have no choice but to believe in free will.
The cake is a lie
The cake is a lie
The cake is a lie
My blog
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Patty
Elvenhome
May 6 2010, 4:19pm
Post #11 of 41
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"Angst ridden" is a little strong...
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or, at least I hope it is --it certainly is for me. "Looking for further information" is perhaps an accurate term for me. And as I've mentioned before, this delay is making me apathetic, and that's perhaps worse.
But time is moving on, and considering that time is not the friend of many who are possibly involved with these movies, it is disconcerting.
Permanent address: Into the West
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Patty
Elvenhome
May 6 2010, 4:24pm
Post #13 of 41
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Thanks, Kristin! I'll head over there./
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Permanent address: Into the West
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath
May 6 2010, 4:32pm
Post #14 of 41
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Sorry, that wasn't directed at you
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I agree that angst-ridden would not be appropriate applied to your comments, but I'm afraid I stand by it as a general comment on the attitude that I have seen demonstrated here by quite a few people. There is nothing particularly unusual going on here, and while we all we would like the situation to be resolved soon, it will be resolved when it is resolved (and probably in a way that no one currently anticipates).
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
www.arda-reconstructed.com
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Eruthurin
Ossiriand
May 6 2010, 4:36pm
Post #15 of 41
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Warner should done that a long time ago...
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So everything would be rolling now!..... 
:: All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you ::
Tapatía Orgullosa de tener al paisano Zapopano en la Tierra Media!.... :D
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Patty
Elvenhome
May 6 2010, 4:54pm
Post #16 of 41
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I know there are indeed those who, as I think it was Dominic Monaghan says on the DVD EE extras, need to get out of the house more.
Permanent address: Into the West
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macfalk
Doriath
May 6 2010, 5:22pm
Post #17 of 41
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Gonna read your entry.
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Patty
Elvenhome
May 6 2010, 6:06pm
Post #18 of 41
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Well reasoned, as always, MrCere./
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Permanent address: Into the West
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Theodred
Menegroth
May 6 2010, 7:17pm
Post #19 of 41
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Maybe they should take a well earned vacation...
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because now they will have the chance to do so, if ever for the coming three years. It's probably their last chance, because they have finished the scripts, and can't start casting yet, so now they have some spare time on their hands...
http://dehobbithyve.hyves.nl/
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Snaga
Menegroth
May 6 2010, 7:48pm
Post #20 of 41
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It's time for the rough stuff...
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MGM's debtholders need to send Quido and the boys over and break the right legs of every board member.
"Alas for Boromir! It was too sore a trial!"
-Faramir
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NZNoldor
Lindon
May 6 2010, 8:34pm
Post #21 of 41
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Just to put people's minds at ease -
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All the people I've been speaking to in the last few weeks that work at Weta and the various surrounding companies have been working quietly in the background, on what I can only presume to be The Hobbit (they're very secretive creatures). All these rumours haven't changed anything to them, at least not negatively. I do know a few people that have returned from their "normal life" jobs (waiting tables etc) and are now working again, since "this big project" has been in pre-pre-production.
In fact, there are a number of my contacts who are no longer replying to my emails which usually signifies extreme business.
As far as I can tell, they're gearing up in a big way here in Wellywood.
- Jack M,
http://nznoldor.blogspot.com/
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sharku
Menegroth
May 6 2010, 8:34pm
Post #22 of 41
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Like I've said, the first part eventually will get released in 2033, so there's no point in complaining about it:
http://newboards.theonering.net/...;;page=unread#unread
MGM eventually tallies up 231 requests for restructure, during which time their debt collects interest and mounts to $37.2 billion. This is eventually restructured by way of Bill Gates buying the studio. It turns out (not surprisingly) that he's a Tolkien fan, and like the rest of us finally got sick of waiting.
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Kangi Ska
Gondolin
May 6 2010, 9:00pm
Post #24 of 41
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I am certain that the project is proceeding on an unofficial basis.
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There are matters that can not wait for the inevitable. We are very close to a official announcement. When that comes the project will move forward at an astounding rate...almost as if the production company had a couple years to get everything ready.
Kangi Ska
There is no place like the Shire...There is no place like the Shire...There is no place like the Shire...
At night one cannot tell if crows are black or white.
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Iolite
Lindon
May 7 2010, 2:55am
Post #25 of 41
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As a probable crew member still waiting to start....
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While this is surely extremely frustrating for all of us, I can well imagine the state the production team must be in. I mean, unlike us, they are literally waiting on something to happen so they can begin work in earnest and their immediate future plans do depend on this. That thought has put all this in perspective for me. I'd like to be angry and frustrated about everything, but I don't really have a right to be. I do hope however, that for all our sakes, things work out well, and soon Thanks for the heads-up by the way.
I cannot adequately get across what a huge source of frustration, depression, and stress the Hobbit movies have been for me, since working on them has been my dream job and #1 goal ever since they announced they would be making them. I have put aside all other considerations to pursue this dream and have been waiting to start work on the films for a long time now, which has caused a great deal of stress for my wife, since I have had very little paid work in the NZ Film and TV industry over the past 12 months. I have effectively put my life on hold since late 2008 because I was lead to believe that preproduction could start at any time and I did not want to miss out. I am definitely not the only one either. Many, many folks in the NZ film industry are just scraping by doing odds and ends to bring in money while they wait for the big 'crewing up' to happen (which requires the greenlight). Almost as many have given up waiting and moved on to other avenues of work or (for a lucky few) other projects in film and television.
Despite the reports of work going on behind the scenes, by all accounts only a relatively small number of people are actually working on the BagEnd set in Matamata, and Weta Workshop is running on a pretty small crew (and have been for quite a while). Work HAS been going on at a steady rate behind the scenes for a long time, but the big intake of crew to really see things take off for the Art Department and Weta has not yet happened.
Fingers crossed PJ and GDT have finished or almost finished that budget and that Warners will approve it quickly. I also hope that Warners will consider just giving the project the greenlight regardless of sorting out the MGM situation first, afterall they will have at least two years before the films are due to be released to sort out the distribution rights.... I worry that the longer they wait the harder it will be to find a sufficient number of highly skilled crew - many will have moved on to other things (myself included and it would be the most disappointing decision I would ever have had to make!).
So, while I understand how you all feel impatient as fans waiting for the films to come out (I'm a huge fan of the books and films too!), spare a thought for those of us who are not just fans, but whose livelihoods also rely on the project getting a greenlight ASAP. Perhaps that may put the wait in perspective and make it seem a little easier... 
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