I am glad to see MGM getting involved. At least that company has a legitimate connection to the Stooges' history.
Excerpted from C3 and MGM/UA's press releases...
- The Three Stooges Rejoin the Lion
- The Three Stooges... their relationship with MGM dates back to 1933 when the trio appeared in a series of shorts and features for the Lion.
No, not really. Actually... not at all.
Outside of the "MGM" corporate logo/name, today's MGM/UA has
no legacy/connection with the studio that the Stooges worked at in 1933 and 1934.
- MGM acquired by corporate raider/entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian in the 1970s, the backlot was dismantled and sold off to Culver City downtown development in the late 1970s.
- MGM's pre-1986 film library was sold to Turner Entertainment in 1986. Turner was acquired by Time-Warner in 1996, and that film library is owned by Warner Brothers.
- The remaining MGM studio was acquired by Lorimar Telepictures in 1987. Lorimar went belly-up, and later sold the facility to Sony. The Culver City based studio has been the home of (ironically) Sony/Columbia Pictures since 1991.
The MGM of today is a trademarked asset, and a film financer with gambling, hotel, and resort interests... it owns none of the films or real estate that define what is regarded as the [1924 - 1986] history and legacy of the "real" MGM.
If this ill-advised film project goes forward... it has not "rejoined" anyone... it has done nothing more than to partner with a corporate stooge.
