Trimark Pictures

Credits

Descriptions by
WizardDuck and Eric S,

Captures by
Eric S., EnormousRat, SubparMario63 and Derrick Anderson

Video captures courtesy of
thelogoarchive

Background

Trimark Pictures was founded in 1985 by Mark Amin, and debuted in 1988 as a movie company by Vidmark, Inc. to produce and distribute genre and lower-budget material. In 1997, Vidmark, Inc. was reincorporated as Trimark Holdings, Inc. In late 2000, it was acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment, and folded into Lionsgate Films. Currently Mark Amin is a member of the Lionsgate's board of directors. Trimark Pictures did not use a logo until 1989.

(May 12, 1989-June 26, 2001)

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Logo: Over a black background, gold stripes rise up from the bottom of the screen and swerve to the left. As they swerve, they slide into a striped triangle shape, which slowly zooms out. On the triangle, a detailed engraving of a lion's head roaring emerges from the triangle. As it forms "TRIMARK" wipes in below in a gold, beveled variation of the Copperplate Gothic font, which is followed by "PICTURES" in a much smaller version of the font.

Variants:

• Originally, this logo faded out to make room for the text reading "A DIVISION OF VIDMARK INC." This variant was used from 1990 until 1994. One of the movies to use this was Leprechaun.
• Closing: We have a print logo of the Trimark Pictures logo with the letter "A" above and the stacked words, "TRIMARK PICTURES RELEASE" below the logo.
• On the trailer for Warlock, it just has the words "TRIMARK PICTURES" on a black background. "PICTURES" is spaced out below "TRIMARK".
• On trailers, the logo may either be still, or shortened to the lion emerging.
• A full screen version exists.
• On Thunder in Paradise, the second half is used as a television logo.

Technique: CGI animation, with the lion head done with cel animation.

Music/Sounds: A synthesizer that mixes into a triumphant fanfare with a boom that occurs when it fades out. Beginning around 1994, the music was recomposed with slightly different instrumentation and the boom comes in earlier. This theme was composed by Robert J. Walsh. Sometimes, it is silent or the opening theme from any given film is heard.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• There is also a variant of it, in which the end is longer, and instead of a "boom", there is a loud "WHOOSH".
• Another variant has no ending "BOOM".
• There is said to be one variant which has the 2006 Lionsgate music playing over this logo instead due to sloppy plastering.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen intact on older VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD releases of films such as Warlock 1-3, Black Magic Woman, Leprechaun 1-5, Chairman of the Board, Meet Wally Sparks, Teresa's Tattoo, Return of the Living Dead 3, The Stoned Age, Love and a .45, The Favor, the Watch and the Very Big Fish, Sprung, Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor, and The Dentist 1 and 2, among others. The last film with this logo was Blood Surf. This is also seen after the 1990 Walt Disney Pictures logo on the 1995 film A Kid in King Arthur's Court (the original VHS release and full screen DVD prints only; current prints have the Tapestry Films logo at the beginning instead while Trimark is seen after the end credits). It makes a surprise appearance at the beginning and end of the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment DVD of The Little Patriot (released as Sign of the Otter: The Little Patriot) and on the Canadian C/FP Video release of Sweet Killing (The U.S. Paramount Home Video VHS uses the 3rd Skouras Pictures logo instead). It may also be seen on foreign prints of Jailbait (AKA: Streetwise), All American Murder, Night Eyes 2, and Hail Caesar, among others. It is unknown if this was seen on theatrical prints of Kickboxer 2: The Road Back, Endless Descent and Scissors, among possible others.