Play It Again: MGM Plans to Add UA to Firm’s Name

First there was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. And it begat Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Co., which took unto itself United Artists Corp. And they were as one and begat MGM/UA Entertainment Co. Then they were no longer as one, begetting MGM Entertainment Co. and New United Artists.

Now they are as one again, and the begat goes on.

New United Artists, the Los Angeles-based movie studio formed after financier Kirk Kerkorian sold MGM/UA Entertainment to Turner Broadcasting and then bought back the remnants minus the film library, said Thursday that it will ask shareholders for permission to change its name to MGM/UA Communications as soon as the MGM purchase is completed, which is expected later this summer.

“We believe utilizing both MGM and UA in our corporate name offers compelling advantages in the marketplace and reflects our philosophy of having two motion picture production groups supplying product to a centralized distribution system,” said Lee Rich, UA chairman and chief executive.