Phoenix Pictures

Background

Phoenix Pictures is a production company that was founded in 1995 by Mike Medavoy, who was formerly the CEO of TriStar Pictures; before that, he worked at United Artists, and was one of the UA defectors that helped launch Orion Pictures.

Logo (November 15, 1996-)

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Visuals: On a black background, a hand holds up a lit match, which brings forth a morning skyline background. The screen fades to a black screen with two flames which resemble a phoenix, as "PHOENIX PICTURES" forms below with "PICTURES" in spaced-out letters inside an orange rectangle under "PHOENIX". A light shines behind the logo as it fades out (except for the bird, which turns into an outline before fading away).

Trivia: The logo is a homage to the famous "match cut" transition from Lawrence of Arabia.

Variants:

• A still version exists.
• On The Thin Red Line, the logo fades out early.
• On season 1 of Altered Carbon, the logo is next to the Mythology Entertainment logo.
  • On season 2, it shares the screen with the aforementioned logo and that of Virago Productions.
• At the end of Miss Potter, the print logo is seen. Here, the phoenix is moved to the right of the name and "PICTURES" is also not in the rectangle.
• When The 33 debuted in North America, the logo was enhanced to include a desert with fast moving clouds and a bright sun instead of the skyline. Additionally, lens flares are added to the symbol and the aura is brighter and more colorful.

Technique: Live-action and CGI, created by Rainmaker Digital Effects and Picturemill.

Audio: The striking of a match followed by a majestic French horn-led fanfare composed and conducted by John Williams.

Audio Variants:

• On Basic, Miss Potter, and The 33, a different arrangement of the fanfare with softer instrumentation is heard.
• Apt Pupil has an entirely different fanfare composed by John Ottman. This is the first track of the film's soundtrack, entitled "Phoenix Pictures Presents".
• On Lake Placid, a dramatic rendition of the fanfare, also composed by John Ottman, is heard after a more realistic match-striking sound.
• On Urban Legend, a synth choir is heard after the match-striking sound.
• Sometimes, it uses the opening theme of the movie accompanied by the match-striking sound.
• On The Thin Red Line, the logo is completely silent.
• On recent prints of Miss Potter, the fanfare from The Weinstein Company logo plays over the first half of this logo, with this logo's own fanfare playing afterwards and into the UK Film Council logo.

Availability:

• Seen on films from the company such as The Mirror Has Two Faces (the first film to use this logo), Dick, The People vs. Larry Flynt, U-Turn, Apt Pupil, Urban Legend and its sequel Urban Legends: Final Cut, The Thin Red Line, The 6th Day, Lake Placid, Basic, Miss Potter, All The King's Men, and What to Expect When You're Expecting.
• The still version appears at the end of License to Wed, Shutter Island, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
  • It was also seen on television programs such as The Long Road Home and Altered Carbon.
• This logo does not appear on Holes, Stealth, Black Swan, or Zodiac (however, movie posters and DVD covers for the latter have the print logo).
• The original version was last spotted on the Chilean release of The 33 while the 2015 update debuted on its domestic release.