Michael Nathanson, the president and COO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Pictures, has entered into a longterm agreement with MGM to remain in charge of the production division. He has been in the job since 1997 and is one of the few senior managers to have survived the transition of management at MGM in 1999. He continues to report to MGM vice chairman and COO Chris McGurk.

Nathanson will continue to oversee all facets of development, acquisition, business and production of films produced by MGM Pictures as well as playing a strategic role in the marketing and distribution of those films. He oversees MGM Pictures president of production Alex Gartner.

Nathanson joined MGM from New Regency Productions where he was chairman and chief executive officer; prior to that he was president of worldwide production at Columbia Pictures. He began his career as a production assistant on The Deep and held executive production posts at MGM, United Artists and Warner Bros.

Nathanson has steered the studio to a series of hits this year such as Hannibal, Heartbreakers and Legally Blonde and overseen upcoming movies like Windtalkers directed by John Woo and Bandits directed by Barry Levinson. Next year's slate includes John McTiernan's Rollerball, Chen Kaige's Killing Me Softly and Gregory Hoblit's Hart's War.