You know a studio is in trouble when completed films are now forced to stay on the shelf. MGM, whose tales of woe could probably fill an entire book or two by now, have now put aside another film project. The nearly completed “Red Dawn” remake, starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki and Jeffrey Dean Morgan has officially been shelved and will not hit theaters on its planned release date of November 24, 2010.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. MGM’s last release, “Hot Tub Time Machine,” wasn’t the “The Hangover”-sized success suits were hoping for and with “Red Dawn” pegged for a Thanksgiving release, we really don’t see where the bankrupt studio would’ve found the money necessary to market the movie. The film would’ve also had to contend with squaring off against the action-thriller “Faster” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson opening on the same day.
So what will happen with “Red Dawn”? Well, the film does star Thor himself and could be an attractive option for another studio looking to pad out their release schedule. It should be noted that Sony stepped in to distribute “The Zookeeper” starring Kevin James which was originally an MGM film, so its very probable another studio/distributor could swoop in and manage something similar. The film is mostly finished, but apparently still needs a soundtrack.
This news probably also spells doom for the other lone film in MGM’s release calendar, the 3D horror film “Cabin In The Woods” currently slated for a January 14, 2011 release. Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, with the latter directing, the film also stars Chris Hemsworth (poor guy). We figure its only a matter of time before that film is announced to be shelved as well.
Of course, we don’t have to remind you that the studio’s financial problems put “Bond 23” on indefinite hiatus earlier this year and “The Hobbit” is still without a greenlight or a director. MGM is currently being managed by a team of debt holders as they try and sort things out, but we’re not quite sure how the studio is going to climb out of its hole, aside from being sold either outright or in pieces.