Mancuso Likely to Tap Paramount Connections for New MGM Brass : Hollywood: Former colleagues David Kirkpatrick and Gary Lucchesi are among the candidates for top posts.

With MGM Chairman Frank G. Mancuso moving into his new offices Monday, Hollywood sources predicted that he will name producer David Kirkpatrick, a former Paramount colleague known for his tough negotiating style and cost-slashing efforts, to a senior post at the studio.

And another Paramount executive, Gary Lucchesi, is considered a leading candidate to join MGM, with Mancuso planning to bring aboard production presidents for both MGM and a revived United Artists. Lucchesi could not be reached for comment.

While people close to Mancuso discouraged speculation, Kirkpatrick for now is considered one of the better bets. He was president of Paramount’s motion picture group under Mancuso, and he was a part of Mancuso’s inner circle of advisers.

Kirkpatrick did not return calls. He currently has a production deal with Paramount, but observers said they do not believe that would stand in the way.

Another name mentioned for a possible MGM job is lawyer Ken Suddleson, who has represented Mancuso in the past and remains a close confidante. But Suddleson said he has had no discussions with Mancuso about joining him at MGM.

Mancuso was named to head MGM on Sunday when Credit Lyonnais, the French bank that took possession of MGM when former owner Giancarlo Parretti defaulted on his loans, ousted Alan Ladd Jr. as chairman. Speculation continued on whether Ladd will sue over his firing. Reached at home, Ladd declined to talk in detail, but hinted action may be coming soon.

“In a few days we’ll probably have lot to say. It’s a sticky situation,” Ladd said.

Expected to join Ladd in leaving are several executives with longtime MGM ties, such as production chief Jay Kanter and marketing executive Ashley Boone.

In addition to reviving United Artists, the bank is boosting its credit line to the studio from $190 million to $400 million, and it is wiping most of the debt off MGM’s balance sheet by shifting it to another Credit Lyonnais-owned entity. That is expected to make the studio more attractive to sell--which Credit Lyonnais must do by 1997 to comply with banking laws--and is likely to make outside investors less wary of the studio.

Mancuso has plenty of challenges ahead at MGM. While the expanded credit line will help the money-strapped studio, it is far less than what major studios have at their disposal. One scenario has MGM seeking outside funds soon, which is expected to be easier with a cleaner balance sheet.

An additional problem is that another potential source of revenue--the video rights to MGM’s films--are held by Warner Bros. past the year 2000.

Mancuso arrives at MGM at a time when the lion’s den is virtually empty. The studio will release only 13 films this year, about half the average for a big studio. Coming up are such films as “The Meteor Man” with Robert Townsend, “Undercover Blues” with Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid, and Blake Edwards’ “Son of the Pink Panther.”

MGM agreed to pay a whopping $8 million to get “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin for “Getting Even With Dad,” a film also starring Ted Danson that is now shooting. If that wasn’t enough, the studio also recruited Culkin’s brother, Kieran, for the film “A Summer Story.”