MGM IN BED WITH SONY

MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment are partnering on several projects, from James Bond 23 (November 9, 2012) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to 21 Jump Street. MGM Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum and Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton and Co-Chairman Amy Pascal, had announced that they would partner on several projects over five years.

With 21 Jump Street and Dragon Tattoo—the first film adapted by Steve Zaillian in the three-picture film version of Stieg Larsson’s worldwide bestseller The Millennium Trilogy, directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara—Sony will handle marketing and distribution, while MGM will handle select international television licensing.

In recent years, the two studios have collaborated on numerous films, including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, 21, Yours, Mine and Ours, The Pink Panther, and the summer tent pole Kevin James comedy Zookeeper, which opens nationwide on July 8, 2011.

21 Jump Street is based on the television series, which focused on young cops with youthful appearances who work undercover in high schools and colleges. The TV series made the young Johnny Depp a star.  The film is being directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, from a screenplay by Michael Bacall based on a treatment from Hill and Bacall. Neal H. Moritz will produce the film with Stephen J. Cannell, who will receive posthumous credit.  The film is set to be released on March 16, 2012.