World News for Students of English

17-03-2021 07:00

It’s one of the most iconic images in cinema, a lion, framed by a golden circle of film stock, triumphantly roaring just before the opening credits roll.

The MGM film studio has used a lion to introduce its films since it was founded in 1924, using five different animals before Leo the Lion made his first appearance in 1957.

Now, after almost 100 years, MGM is replacing its mascot for a near-identical computer-generated duplicate. The move came after increases in video resolution and quality marked a significant change in quality since Leo was immortalized on celluloid 64 years ago.

MGM originally planned to debut its new mascot in the latest ‘James Bond’ film; however, ‘No Time to Die’ was delayed from 2019 to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. MGM has decided Leo’s digital look-alike will be seen with upcoming films ‘Dog’ and ‘Respect’.

Difficult words: triumphantly (in a way that shows joy at a victory or achievement), mascot (a person, animal, or object used as a symbol that is associated with a particular company), immortalize (to help someone or something live or be remembered forever), celluloid (transparent plastic sheets that were used in film and photography in the past).

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