Will Top MGM Execs Mark Burnett and Michael De Luca Survive

Now that Amazon has made its buy of MGM studio official, the query now shifts to what is going to occur to the highest executives on the honored studio — significantly movie head Michael De Luca and TV head Mark Burnett — significantly in relation to present Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke.

Even earlier than Jeff Bezos introduced the $8.45 billion acquisition on Wednesday, MGM has undergone upheaval inside its government ranks over the past 18 months. In January 2020, former New Line and DreamWorks government De Luca took over as chairman of MGM’s Motion Picture Group, following Jonathan Glickman’s departure after a nine-year tenure. On the TV facet, Steve Stark left as the top of MGM’s scripted TV division in March 2021 after his personal prolonged tenure, with Epix president Michael Wright taking up his obligations along with working the premium cable community.

Then there’s Burnett, who has served as chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group since 2018, and has been with the studio in some capability because it acquired Burnett’s manufacturing firms One Three Media and Lightworkers Media in 2014.

Burnett’s contract runs via 2022 and his tenure has been marked by status scripted hits like “Fargo” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which had been developed by Stark and his workforce, however not an entire lot of unscripted TV breakouts from the person behind “The Apprentice,” “The Voice,” “Survivor” and “Shark Tank.” All of these collection had been developed earlier than he joined MGM.

After the large success of 2013’s “The Bible” miniseries for History, Burnett’s makes an attempt within the religion style have additionally not gone as properly. MGM’s “Messiah” for Netflix was critically panned and canceled after only one season final yr, and his makes an attempt to launch a faith-based streaming service along with his spouse, Roma Downey, have did not materialize.

Additionally, there have been experiences Burnett has butted heads with many different MGM executives and has been at the very least partially accountable for the departures of Stark and Nancy Tellem, who joined what MGM referred to as the Office of the CEO, however left after solely six months. “Burnett has a mixed track record and is somewhat hard to deal with,” one streaming government who requested to not be named instructed TheWrap.

Representatives for MGM and Amazon didn’t reply to TheWrap’s requests for remark.

Jason Hirschhorn, CEO of MediaREDEF and a former MGM board member, mentioned just a few days earlier than the sale that Burnett could possibly be on the way in which out. “My guess on Burnett would be they keep him away from Amazon operations with an arms length deal for himself and a NewCo. Again, total speculation. But that’s half worse than having him there,” he mentioned on Twitter.

As the deal was being finalized between Amazon and MGM, Burnett posted a video on his Instagram of a helicopter dropping him on the facet of a mountain someplace in distant Iceland for manufacturing on a actuality present. The caption learn: “Nothing like being dropped off and as the rotor blades fade away, you hear only the wind.”

It is just not clear how Amazon plans to combine MGM into its operations. Will MGM be built-in into Amazon Studios or stay as an unbiased model, very like Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios have their very own management groups even after Disney acquired them. When Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2018, the ecommerce large saved CEO John Mackey in place, however added a few of its personal executives alongside him.

Both CEO Jeff Bezos and Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, have touted the MGM’s deep library of content material as a cause for the deal. ““The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team,” Hopkins mentioned.

Bezos added to Amazon shareholders:…