MGM Bankruptcy Plan Approved

A U.S. judge has paved the way for bosses at troubled Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Mgm) to restructure its finances and emerge from bankruptcy with new owners.

The company has spiralled into debt in recent years and the financial turmoil left a number of high profile movie projects in hold, including Lord Of The Rings prequel The Hobbit and the latest James Bond picture.

Last month (Nov10), executives filed for bankruptcy and announced plans for a massive debt-restructuring deal with bosses at Spyglass Entertainment, the U.S. company behind Star Trek and Get Him to the Greek, who will take over the running of Mgm.

U.S. bankruptcy judge Stuart Bernstein approved the Hollywood studio's restructuring plan at a hearing in New York on Thursday (02Dec10), with a lawyer for Mgm revealing the studio is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within the next few weeks.

The court approval means Mgm bosses can now get back to work on movies such as The Hobbit and the new Bond film, which were both put back into production after the announcement of the restructuring plans.