Village Roadshow Pictures: Difference between revisions

Content added Content deleted

Inline

Revision as of 10:16, 5 January 2023

Background

Village Roadshow Pictures is an American co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures, established in 1986. It is the American division of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is a subsidiary of Australian company Village Roadshow (parent of Roadshow Entertainment and Roadshow Films).

In 1997, the company signed a five-year first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to finance their films for a five-year period, which was later extended in 2012. Around that time, Bruce Berman was signed on as president of the studio. In May 2014, the company signed a co-financing production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment which ended in 2016. On September 27, 2021, Bruce Berman stepped down as the CEO of the company.

Contents

1st Logo (December 5, 1985-June 30, 1992)	2nd Logo (March 8, 1992-July 1, 2000, April 10, 2003, September 14, 2007)	3rd Logo (October 16, 1998-June 8, 2018)	4th Logo (October 4, 2019-)

1st Logo (December 5, 1985-June 30, 1992)

Logo: Same as the Roadshow Films logo at the time, but the "V" is a darker shade of gold, the company name is farther from it and the lasers don't form "VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION".

Variant: A still version exists.

Technique: Same as the Roadshow Films logo, minus the lasers forming the text. None for the still version.

Music/Sounds: Same as the Roadshow Films logo. Otherwise, it's silent or uses the opening theme of the trailer. When run at 24 FPS, the pitch is lower as opposed to PAL sped-up.

Availability: Extremely rare.

The still version was seen on trailers for Over the Hill and Blood Oath.
The full version (without music) has been spotted on a Stan HD print of The Delinquents (1989), while the Australian DVD has the 3rd logo.
A version in 4:3 with the jingle appears on the 1990 UK Warner Home Video VHS and 2000 VCD release of the former.

Legacy: This logo was generally hard to find for the longest time, as most films the company produced at the time usually had the logo for the film's distributor. Also, many have found the inclusion of the lasers extremely pointless, given there is no text for it to form.

2nd Logo (March 8, 1992-July 1, 2000, April 10, 2003, September 14, 2007)

Logo: Same as the Roadshow Films logo of the time, but with the company name underneath the "V".

Variants:

This logo can be cut short or still for TV shows and mini-series.
Sometimes, the text "PICTURES" is omitted.
The TV version might have the text "A VILLAGE ROADSHOW COMPANY".
On The New Adventures of Flipper S1 episode "Treasure Hunt", a blue toned version of the above variant exists.

Technique: Same as the Roadshow Films logo.

Music/Sounds: The opening/closing theme of the show.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On Night Man, it has the Tribune Entertainment music.
For the "Village Roadshow" version, it's a shortened version of the Roadshow Films music.

Availability: Rare. This only appeared on TV series and made-for-TV movies produced by them from the era.

The animated version is seen on The New Adventures of Flipper and Tarzan and the Lost City.
The still version can be seen on the mini-series Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, Tales of the South Seas, and the TV show Night Man, among others.
This also makes surprise appearances on Fat Pizza and December Boys.
Don't expect this to appear on Fortress (1992) though.

3rd Logo (October 16, 1998-June 8, 2018)

Later variant
Later variant (scope)

Logo:

1998-2012, 2014: Similar to the 1984 New World Pictures logo, we see rows of bars turning inward extremely close to the camera, from bottom to top. A spotlight lights up the background behind them. The spotlight fades as it zooms out to reveal the "V" in sky blue with a orange sheen on the left (different from the official logo). The company name in orange fades in below. This version was last used on The Lucky One, and additionally came back for a one-time revival with American Sniper (albeit a variant).
2012-2018: Starting with Dark Shadows, the logo is silver and remade in higher quality, In addition, the text is now in Calibri.

Technique: CGI animation, done by yU+Co.

Music/Sounds:

March 2, 2001-March 15, 2002: A shortened version of the Roadshow Films theme.
February 10, 2006-April 20, 2012: The 1996 Roadshow Entertainment theme.
February 24-September 23, 2016: A nice orchestral tune, recorded with a real orchestra in Australia, composed by Greg Dombrowski of Secession Studios with Immediate Music.
On Rogue, the 2006 theme is high-toned.
Most of the time, it's silent or it uses the film's opening soundtrack.

Availability: Very common. Seen on all films from the company from Practical Magic to Ocean's 8.

Legacy: This logo is seen by a lot of people as memorable, especially in the case of the 1998 version.

4th Logo (October 4, 2019-)

Logo: On a white gradient background, we see the row of "V" bars slowly emerging one-by-one, working its way to the top. As the camera pulls back, the company name (in the Nexa font) emerges in, which is now aligned to the right as shadows appear from behind. The entire logo then embosses on the background.

Trivia: This logo was inspired by the variant seen on Collateral Beauty.

Variant: A still version of this logo exists.

Technique: Decent CGI animation done by Trailer Park.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral rendition of the 2006 fanfare. Otherwise, none or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Current.

First seen at the end of Joker.
The animated version made its debut on the trailer for The Matrix Resurrections albeit a variant, then appeared on the actual film itself.
The normal version with fanfare first appeared on Trailer Park's site.

Legacy: This logo is rather boring compared to the previous logos, although the animated variant with fanfare is better recieved.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 ===Background===
-'''Village Roadshow Pictures''' is an American co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures, established in 1986. It is the American division of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is a subsidiary of Australian company Village Roadshow (parent of [[Roadshow Entertainment (Australia)|Roadshow Entertainment]] and [[Roadshow Films (Australia)|Roadshow Films]]). It has produced over 100 films since its establishment, including co-productions with [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] (though co-productions with other major studios are not unheard of). Village Roadshow Pictures self-distributes its film entertainment through affiliates in several territories around the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore (the latter through Golden Village).
+'''Village Roadshow Pictures''' is an American co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures, established in 1986. It is the American division of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is a subsidiary of Australian company Village Roadshow (parent of [[Roadshow Entertainment]] and [[Roadshow Films]]).
+In 1997, the company signed a five-year first-look deal with [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] to finance their films for a five-year period, which was later extended in 2012. Around that time, Bruce Berman was signed on as president of the studio. In May 2014, the company signed a co-financing production deal with [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]] which ended in 2016. On September 27, 2021, Bruce Berman stepped down as the CEO of the company.
 {{ImageTOC|
@@ Line 19: / Line 21: @@
 {{YouTube|id=3SL1OsMyz6A|id2=LE5E7UDZsws}}
+'''Logo:''' Same as the [[Roadshow Films]] logo at the time, but the "V" is a darker shade of {{color|gold}}, the company name is farther from it and the lasers don't form "VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION".
-'''Logo:''' Same as the [[Roadshow Films (Australia)|Roadshow Films]] logo at the time, but the "V" is a darker shade of gold, the text "VILLAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES" is farther from the "V" and the lasers don't form "VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION" and disappear instead.
 '''Variant:''' A still version exists.
@@ Line 26: / Line 27: @@
 '''Technique:''' Same as the Roadshow Films logo, minus the lasers forming the text. None for the still version.
-'''Music/Sounds:''' Same as the Roadshow Films logo, otherwise either silence or the opening theme of the trailer. When run at 24 frames per second, the pitch is lower as opposed to PAL sped-up.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' Same as the Roadshow Films logo. Otherwise, it's silent or uses the opening theme of the trailer. When run at 24 FPS, the pitch is lower as opposed to PAL sped-up.
 '''Availability:''' Extremely rare.
-* The still version was seen on trailers for ''Over the Hill'' (1992; can be found on the UK VHS of ''Strictly Ballroom'') and ''Blood Oath'' (1990; can be found on the Australian VHS of ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'').
+* The still version was seen on trailers for ''Over the Hill'' and ''Blood Oath''.
-* The full version (without music) has been spotted on a Stan HD print of ''The Delinquents'' (1989), while the Australian DVD has the 1998 logo in its place.
+* The full version (without music) has been spotted on a Stan HD print of ''The Delinquents'' (1989), while the Australian DVD has the 3rd logo.
 * A version in 4:3 with the jingle appears on the 1990 UK [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment|Warner Home Video]] VHS and 2000 VCD release of the former.
-'''Legacy:''' This logo was generally hard to find for the longest time, as most films VRP produced at the time did not use this logo and usually had the logo for the film's distributor. It wasn't until Stan HD's print of ''The Delinquents'' popped up, confirming what the logo was like. However, with the logo's discovery, many have found the inclusion of the lasers extremely pointless, given there is no text for it to form.
+'''Legacy:''' This logo was generally hard to find for the longest time, as most films the company produced at the time usually had the logo for the film's distributor. Also, many have found the inclusion of the lasers extremely pointless, given there is no text for it to form.
 ===2nd Logo (March 8, 1992-July 1, 2000, April 10, 2003, September 14, 2007)===
@@ Line 44: / Line 45: @@
 {{YouTube|id=Cetrc0NN9iA|id2=tIJXbUzz23k}}
+'''Logo:''' Same as the [[Roadshow Films (Australia)|Roadshow Films]] logo of the time, but with the company name underneath the "V".
-'''Logo:''' Same as the [[Roadshow Films (Australia)|Roadshow Films]] logo of the time, but with "VILLAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES" underneath the "V".
 '''Variants:'''
 * This logo can be cut short or still for TV shows and mini-series.
-* There is a variation where it removes "PICTURES".
+* Sometimes, the text "PICTURES" is omitted.
 * The TV version might have the text "<small>''A''</small> VILLAGE ROADSHOW <small>''COMPANY''</small>".
 * On ''The New Adventures of Flipper'' S1 episode "Treasure Hunt", a {{color|blue}} toned version of the above variant exists.
@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 '''Technique:''' Same as the Roadshow Films logo.
-'''Music/Sounds:''' The opening or closing theme of the show.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' The opening/closing theme of the show.
 '''Music/Sounds Variants:'''
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 * For the "Village Roadshow" version, it's a shortened version of the Roadshow Films music.
-'''Availability:''' Rare.
+'''Availability:''' Rare. This only appeared on TV series and made-for-TV movies produced by them from the era.
-* For the most part, films produced by Village Roadshow that weren't distributed by them didn't use this logo, but the animated version is seen on ''The New Adventures of Flipper'' and ''Tarzan and the Lost City''.
+* The animated version is seen on ''The New Adventures of Flipper'' and ''Tarzan and the Lost City''.
 * The still version can be seen on the mini-series ''Thorn Birds: The Missing Years'', ''Tales of the South Seas'', and the TV show ''Night Man'', among others.
 * This also makes surprise appearances on ''Fat Pizza'' and ''December Boys''.
 * Don't expect this to appear on ''Fortress'' (1992) though.
-'''Legacy:''' A notably wasted logo due to only appearing on TV series and made-for-TV movies produced by them from the era.
 ===3rd Logo (October 16, 1998-June 8, 2018)===
@@ Line 74: / Line 72: @@
 Village Roadshow Pictures Logo (1998; Cinemascope).jpg
 InHeartSeaRoadshowintro.png|Later variant
-VillageRoadshowOpeningConncussion.png|Later variant (CinemaScope)
+VillageRoadshowOpeningConncussion.png|Later variant (scope)
 </gallery>
 {{YouTube|id=teec3cNUY7o|id2=G34r3hQryW8|id3=ZooHmqrK8Qk}}
+'''Logo:'''
-'''Logo:''' Similar to the 1984 [[New World Pictures]] logo, we see rows of bars turning inward extremely close to the camera, from bottom to top. A spotlight lights up the background behind them. The spotlight fades as it zooms out to reveal the V in sky blue with a orange sheen on the left (different from the official logo). The text "{{color|orange|'''VILLAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES'''}}" fades in below.
+*1998-2012, 2014: Similar to the 1984 [[New World Pictures]] logo, we see rows of bars turning inward extremely close to the camera, from bottom to top. A spotlight lights up the background behind them. The spotlight fades as it zooms out to reveal the "V" in {{color|skyblue|sky blue}} with a {{color|orange}} sheen on the left (different from the official logo). The company name in {{color|orange}} fades in below. This version was last used on ''The Lucky One'', and additionally came back for a one-time revival with ''American Sniper'' (albeit a variant).
+*2012-2018: Starting with ''Dark Shadows'', the logo is {{color|silver}} and remade in higher quality, In addition, the text is now in Calibri.
-'''Later Variant:''' The font for the company name is now in the Calibri font instead of the corporate one, the entire logo was remade in higher quality, and the color was changed to {{color|silver}}. First used on ''Dark Shadows''.
-'''Technique:''' Great CGI from yU+Co.
+'''Technique:''' CGI animation, done by yU+Co.
 '''Music/Sounds:'''
-* March 2, 2001-March 15, 2002: A shortened version of the [[Roadshow Films]] theme. First heard on ''See Spot Run''.
+* March 2, 2001-March 15, 2002: A shortened version of the [[Roadshow Films]] theme.
-* February 10, 2006-April 20, 2012: The 1996 [[Roadshow Entertainment]] theme. First heard on ''Firewall''.
+* February 10, 2006-April 20, 2012: The 1996 [[Roadshow Entertainment]] theme.
-* February 24-September 23, 2016: A nice orchestral tune, recorded with a real orchestra in Australia, composed by Greg Dombrowski of Secession Studios with Immediate Music. First heard on ''The Brothers Grimsby''.
+* February 24-September 23, 2016: A nice orchestral tune, recorded with a real orchestra in Australia, composed by Greg Dombrowski of Secession Studios with Immediate Music.
 * On ''Rogue'', the 2006 theme is high-toned.
 * Most of the time, it's silent or it uses the film's opening soundtrack.
-'''Availability:''' Very common.
+'''Availability:''' Very common. Seen on all films from the company from ''Practical Magic'' to ''Ocean's 8''.
-* It first appeared on ''Practical Magic'', and was later seen on many movies produced by Village Roadshow from the era such as ''Cats & Dogs'', ''Three to Tango'', ''Happy Feet'', ''Zoolander'', and ''No Reservations'', among others.
-* Although the last film to use the original variant was ''The Lucky One'', it later made a surprise appearance on ''American Sniper'' (albeit as a variant).
-* The later variant was first seen on the aforementioned title above and made its last appearance on ''Ocean's 8''.
 '''Legacy:''' This logo is seen by a lot of people as memorable, especially in the case of the 1998 version.
@@ Line 104: / Line 99: @@
 {{YouTube|id=T_oVrj1EBk8}}
-'''Logo:''' On a white gradient background, we see the "V" logo slowly emerging from the background, and as the camera zooms away, we see "VILLAGE ROADSHOW" with "PICTURES" underneath in the Nexa font, both aligned to the right as shadows appear from behind, as the entire logo embosses on the background.
+'''Logo:''' On a white gradient background, we see the row of "V" bars slowly emerging one-by-one, working its way to the top. As the camera pulls back, the company name (in the Nexa font) emerges in, which is now aligned to the right as shadows appear from behind. The entire logo then embosses on the background.
 '''Trivia:''' This logo was inspired by the variant seen on ''Collateral Beauty''.
@@ Line 110: / Line 105: @@
 '''Variant:''' A still version of this logo exists.
-'''Technique:''' It's all done with decent CGI, provided by Trailer Park.
+'''Technique:''' Decent CGI animation done by Trailer Park.
 '''Music/Sounds:''' A majestic orchestral rendition of the 2006 fanfare. Otherwise, none or the opening theme of the movie.
 '''Availability:''' Current.
+*First seen at the end of ''Joker''.
-*It was first seen at the end of ''Joker'', while the animated version made its debut on the trailer for ''The Matrix Resurrections'' albeit a variant, then appeared on the actual film itself.
-*The normal version of the full logo with fanfare first appeared on Trailer Park's site.
+*The animated version made its debut on the trailer for ''The Matrix Resurrections'' albeit a variant, then appeared on the actual film itself.
+*The normal version with fanfare first appeared on Trailer Park's site.
-'''Legacy:'''  Although it can be seen as rather boring compared to the previous logos, the animated variant at least does add something to it. Additionally, the normal animation of the logo debuted on TV first (through [[Village Roadshow Television]]) before the film logo arrived.
+'''Legacy:'''  This logo is rather boring compared to the previous logos, although the animated variant with fanfare is better recieved.
 [[Category:American film logos]]