Fox Dumping MGM's Video Distribution; Sony Picking It Up?

[AndyDursin]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO is all I have to say to this.

Now, this isn't official -- but Sony being the likely distributor of the next Bond movie (and also giving MGM a piece of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo so they can get an influx of cash) is probably going to mean that Fox won't be interested in renewing their contract to distribute/manufacture MGM's home video product, which expires at the end of the year.

Frankly this is a blow, or seems to be on the surface, for movie buffs.

Sony has shown NO interest, or very little interest, in their back catalog. They've started recently licensing catalog titles out to IMAGE Entertainment because of that lack of interest!

MGM needs and wants their back catalog out on Blu-Ray -- just look at all the catalog titles being issued here in the first half of 2011 -- but Sony's interests are almost entirely the opposite of what MGM needs and wants.

Fox has been doing a solid job with many MGM transfers on Blu-Ray recently...I know Sony, technically, has the ability to do a fine job, but you wonder if MGM's catalog titles aren't going to be licensed out to another label given how few catalog titles Sony releases. (Hello LAWRENCE OF ARABIA -- coming in 2008, right? lol).

[Eric W.]

Doesn't seem like good news on the surface at least.