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Background. Orion Pictures (legally Orion Releasing LLC) was formed as the Orion Pictures Company in March 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and former United Artists executives Arthur B. Krim, Eric Pleskow and Robert S. Benjamin. When the studio was formed, they produced films that would be released through Warner Bros.
- Overview
- 1st Logo (April 27, 1979-December 18, 1981, July 15, 1983)
- 2nd Logo (July 4, 1979-March 19, 1997, October 4, 2013- )
- 3rd Logo (January 1, 1997-September 24, 1999)
Logo descriptions by James Fabiano, Jeffrey Gray, Matt Williams, and indycar Logo captures by Eric S., Juniorfan88, Shadeed A. Kelly, Logophile, Derrick Anderson, indycar ,TrickyMario7654, and thestudioghibifan2001 Editions by V of Doom, codyfinke, Shadeed A. Kelly, Lee Cremeans, indycar, and DabigLogoCollector Video captures courtesy of BreadCrustCouncil, Eric S., Logo Archive (OZ_Paramount87), Edifice5151, DudeThatLogo, and indycar
Background: Orion Pictures was formed as the "Orion Pictures Company" in March 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Pictures and three former executives of United Artists: Arthur B. Krim, Eric Pleskow and Robert S. Benjamin. When the studio was formed, they produced films that would be released by Warner Bros. In 1982, Orion bought Filmways, Inc., after Orion was unhappy with distribution agreements with Warner Bros. In June 1982, Filmways Pictures was reincorporated as "Orion Pictures Corporation". In 1983, Orion introduced Orion Classics as an art-house division. On May 22, 1986, Metromedia purchased a minor stake in the studio and later purchased 67% of the studio on May 20, 1988. In the late 1980s, Orion began to struggle financially and would declare bankruptcy on December 11, 1991. In 1996, Orion Pictures under Metromedia acquired Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. On April 11, 1997, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. acquired Metromedia's film studios (Orion, Goldwyn and the Motion Picture Corporation of America) and the deal was closed in July. A year later, Orion was folded into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the Motion Picture Corporation of America separated from MGM to become independent. Orion survived as an in-name-only unit of MGM during that time frame. In 2013, MGM relaunched the Orion Pictures brand for use on genre films, which runs theatrical and multi-platform campaigns, and became a standalone division with the same purpose in late 2017. Currently, most of Orion's post-1982 films are owned by MGM (with Orion retaining the copyright). Warner Bros. continues to own all pre-1982 films, select films that they released afterwards (although MGM/Orion does own two Orion films they released after the initial deal, Woody Allen's A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy and Zelig) and films produced by The Saul Zaentz Company, StudioCanal owns First Blood through producer Carolco Pictures, HBO Films owns North American distribution rights to Three Amigos (MGM retains TV and foreign rights, however), Paramount Pictures owns North American distribution rights to The Addams Family and Lionsgate Films owns films produced by LIVE Entertainment. Films produced by Nelson Entertainment and Hemdale Film Corporation were originally distributed by Orion and became owned by MGM (with Orion holding the copyright) after MGM purchased the pre-March 31, 1996 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment library.
Nicknames: "Red/Blue Split", "Splitting Rectangles", "The Orion/Warner Bros. Combo"
Logo: On a black screen, two rectangles, one blue and one orange, each one tilted forward at a 45 degree angle (making them appear like the floor and ceiling of a tunnel), shoot out towards the center of the screen. When they both connect at the center of the screen, they tilt back 45 degrees, so that they are facing the viewer completely, and enlarge to fill the screen. In the blue rectangle, which is on the top, we see the \\' logo and the words "WARNER BROS" in orange. In the orange rectangle, which is on the bottom, we see the words "ORION (in their trademark font) PICTURES COMPANY (in an ITC Avant Garde Gothic font)" in blue. After a while, the blue and orange rectangles move to each others spot, briefly overlapping. "A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY" and "present" fade-in under "WARNER BROS".
Variants:
•On the 1983 Warner Home Video VHS release of Time After Time, the color scheme is brighter and the logo is zoomed in.
•On the trailer for Zelig, the logo appears in red and black rather than orange and blue.
Closing Variants:
Nicknames: "The Constellation", "Starry Sky", "Orion"
Logo: We first see a starry sky, then a constellation of stars (in the shape of Orion, appropriately) in the middle shine brighter than the rest. It moves to the left, forms a circle, and spins around until, in a small, but bright flash, it forms a letter "O." Then the letters "RION" appear (by a sliding effect) to complete the logo, which is stylized when a line is drawn across it. The traces of the line remain on the left side of each letter except the "I," which has the line across the word. "An" and "PICTURES RELEASE" all in light blue appear above and below the logo accordingly.
Trivia:
•This logo was parodied in the Family Guy season 8 episode "April in Quahog", where Adam West (best known for playing Batman in the 1966 TV series) punches the constellation ("Take that Orion!") to form the logo without the additional text and with a little synth jingle. Adam responds "That's right, all you are is a failed production company!"
•On the DVD and Blu-ray releases of UHF, if you listen to the commentary, it has "Weird Al" Yankovic sing lyrics to the jingle ("Orion, Orion is bankrupt now!"). This references how Orion nearly killed themselves by releasing the film the same year that many popular franchises were releasing new films.
Variants:
Nicknames: "The CGI Constellation", "CGI Starry Sky", "The Constellation II", "Starry Sky II", "Orion II"
Logo: Very much the same as the previous logo, but updated with 1990s computer effects. The starfield behind the logo no longer zooms-out as the logo forms, but shoots out towards the screen. The animation is the same, but the stars now have a "trail" that forms the "O", and the forming of the actual logo, including a laser light, forming the line in the logo, is different. The logo itself is now silvery and 3D, and only "PICTURES" appears below the logo in the same font as last time. Inside the "ORION" text has an animated landscape.
Variant: There is a black and white variant of this logo on American International Pictures films in black and white.
FX/SFX: Now that's what we call a logo update! A suitable successor to the previous "Starry Sky", the computer animation looks very good, even today.
Music/Sounds: An ascending cycle of strings that repeats alongside a horn tune. As the logo begins to form, it picks up tempo, culminating in a majestic hit and a 3-note sounder, ending with a whoosh and sparkling sounds. This theme was composed by John Pratt. Otherwise, it's none or the opening theme of the film is heard.
Availability: Uncommon. Can be found on the studio's (limited) output of films from this period until its original demise in 1999, such as The Locusts, City of Industry, Gang Related, and Ulee's Gold. Like the previous logo, the MGM logo precedes this logo on most current prints. It can also be seen on DVD releases and television airings of a few American International Pictures films, such as Coffy, Hell Up in Harlem, and Bucktown. This also plasters the Filmways Pictures logo on the MGM DVD release of Blow Out and it is seen on current prints of the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again (meaning it was not produced by Eon Productions, the production company of the series), by plastering the Warner Bros. "Big W" logo, including the 2001 MGM/UA United Kingdom VHS release, MGM DVD releases, and streaming prints. Some prints of Orion films distributed by MGM plastered the previous logo with this one, such as No Way Out and The Falcon and the Snowman. Also seen on international prints of One Man's Hero (Orion's final film during their original era). The Stargate television movie pilot also had this logo.
Closing Logo Group. in: Special logos, Orion Pictures, Film production companies of the United States, and 9 more. Orion Pictures/Other. < Orion Pictures. Contents. 11979–1981. 21979–1997, 2014-2022. 2.11979–1982. 2.21982–1997. 2.32014-2022. 31997–1999. 42022-present. 1979–1981. Excalibur (1981) Prince of the City (1981) 1979–1997, 2014-2022.
References. Further reading. External links. Orion Pictures. Orion Releasing, LLC ( doing business as Orion) is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon.
Orion Pictures/ Home Video. 1st Logo. (1979-1982) Nicknames: "Sliding Rectangles", "The Orion/WB Combo Logo". Logo: On a black screen, two rectangles, one blue and one orange, each one tilted forward at a 45 degree angle (making them appear like the floor and ceiling of a tunnel), shoot out towards the center of the screen.
Authentic stories in film with a focus on developing, producing, and acquiring feature films that amplify underserved voices.
Summarize this article for a 10 year old. SHOW ALL QUESTIONS. Orion Releasing, LLC ( doing business as Orion) is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon. In its original operating period (then-known as Orion Pictures Corporation ), the company produced and released films from ...
