{"id":60931,"date":"2019-03-13T13:26:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=60931"},"modified":"2019-03-13T13:28:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:28:56","slug":"will-mary-magdalene-get-a-north-american-release-after-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2019\/03\/will-mary-magdalene-get-a-north-american-release-after-all.html","title":{"rendered":"Will Mary Magdalene<\/i> get a North American release after all?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some possible good news for those North Americans who are still waiting to see Mary Magdalene<\/a><\/i>, starring Rooney Mara as the title character and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus: Deadline<\/a> is reporting that former MGM chair Gary Barber is teaming up with Lantern Entertainment, the outfit that acquired most of The Weinstein Company\u2019s assets, to form a new company that will start releasing its first theatrical titles in 2020.<\/p>\n

Deadline doesn\u2019t specify which<\/i> films the new company will release, and the article never mentions Mary Magdalene<\/i> by name. But, as far as I know, the film\u2019s North American distribution rights would have been among the Weinstein assets acquired by Lantern, so here\u2019s hoping. And of course, even if Mary Magdalene<\/i> doesn\u2019t get a theatrical release, it could still come out on DVD or end up on a streaming service in North America.<\/p>\n

More impatient Bible movie fans can, of course, turn to foreign DVD vendors if they really want to see Mary Magdalene<\/i>. The film was released<\/a> overseas<\/a> a year ago<\/a> and has been available on DVD in Europe and Australia since last summer<\/a>, courtesy of Universal and Transmission Films, who hold the international distribution rights.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, Gary Barber was one of the driving forces<\/a> behind the recent remake of Ben-Hur<\/a><\/i> when he was at MGM. He teamed up<\/a> with The Bible<\/a><\/i> producer Mark Burnett on that film and eventually bought Burnett\u2019s company\u2026 and a recent article in The New Yorker<\/a><\/i> indicates that that might have led to Barber\u2019s ouster from MGM:<\/p>\n

Burnett was recruited to the television arm of M-G-M in 2015, by Gary Barber, the company\u2019s chairman and C.E.O. Barber, a former accountant, had brought the studio back from bankruptcy, slashing costs and shepherding profitable titles like the James Bond franchise. In his effort to build up M-G-M, Barber wanted to augment the studio\u2019s television business. So he bought Burnett\u2019s company and enlisted him to oversee television production.<\/p>\n

Ostensibly, Barber and Burnett got along. But, whereas Mark Burnett Productions had been characterized by profligate dazzle, Barber was thrifty, and monitored every expense. The chairman of M-G-M\u2019s board is Kevin Ulrich, a financier whose private-equity fund holds a controlling stake in the company. People who know Ulrich describe him as someone who relishes the flashy perquisites of Hollywood moguldom. Whereas Barber liked to spend weekends quietly tending to the racehorses he owns, Ulrich liked going to parties and premi\u00e8res.<\/p>\n

Barber was interested in selling the studio\u2014a move that Ulrich opposed. According to several sources, Burnett began cultivating Ulrich, inviting him to events and introducing him to celebrities. Then, last March, M-G-M\u2019s board informed Barber that he had been fired; he had just signed a contract extension, so the studio would pay him two hundred and sixty million dollars to leave. Despite this payment, he was incensed. Three months after Barber\u2019s ouster, Burnett was promoted to chairman of television at M-G-M. Barber declined to speak with me, but a friend of his said that he was \u201cblindsided\u201d by his ouster: Burnett had made an alliance with Ulrich and got Barber kicked off the island.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For whatever that\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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