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5:00AM Friday August 22, 2008 By Andy Fixmer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the movie studio controlled by private-equity firms, is raising as much as US$600 million to produce some of its biggest films, including The Hobbit. Financing will be completed shortly, said Jeff Pryor, a spokesman for Los Angeles-based MGM. The MGM fund includes The Hobbit, being produced by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, and Pink Panther movies starring Steve Martin, Pryor said. "In the past, movie studios haven't offered Wall St the opportunity to participate in their biggest and best films," Pryor said. "There's a lot of interest because of the quality of product we have." Paramount Pictures blamed market conditions for unfavourable terms in scrapping a fund on July 15, and Deutsche Bank closed a division dedicated to film financing as demand... [read full story]
