The Answer to MGM's Financial Woes? Remakes!

MGM has come back from the brink of ruin, and like anyone trying to pay back its lenders, it's looking for a steady job. And what's more steady than remakes and reboots?

Variety reports that MGM is looking to get five major projects underway - a reboot of "RoboCop," a reboot of "Mr. Mom," a remake of the 1980 film "The Idolmaker," a "Hercules" project, and a fourth "Poltergeist" movie.

They've also come onboard to co-finance "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," which stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the famous fairy tale siblings fifteen years after killing the witch. I wish I was making that up, but alas.

A "Robocop" reboot has been kicked around for years, with Oscar nominee Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") attached at one point to direct. With Aronofsky getting his big-budget studio kicks from "The Wolverine," it's unlikely that he'll return to the on-again-off-again project.

"The Idolmaker," for those that don't remember (and how could you forget?), was the story of a music promoter intent on turning two boys into teen idols. It was based on the life of Bob Marcucci, best known for discovering and promoting Frankie Avalon and Fabian.

The one that's really fascinating is a "reboot" of "Mr. Mom." While the whole "reboot"/"remake" thing can often be a matter of semantics, "reboot" is a term usually used for formerly proven franchises that studios are seeking to revitalize.

"Mr. Mom" was one movie, and kind of a joke at this point. It's now no longer that revolutionary for a woman to be the breadwinner in the house, and with the recession on, a story that begins with a guy losing his job isn't exactly the laugh factory it once was.

Then again, the early 1980s didn't provide the best job market either, so maybe those crazy studio executives know a thing or two after all.