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| CATEGORIES ABOUT ORION PICTURES | |
| companies established in 1978 | |
| 1998 disestablishments | |
| defunct american movie studios | |
| metro-goldwyn-mayer subsidiaries | |
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In 1982 , Orion merged with Filmways, Inc. (which had produced well-remembered TV shows in the late 1960s , such as '' The Beverly Hillbillies '', '' Green Acres '', '' Mister Ed '' and '' The Addams Family '', but was a second-string studio by the late 1970s and mainly interesting for its ownership of American International Pictures ), and became an independent company. It also introduced a new logo, featuring an animated depiction of the Orion star Constellation . During the 1980s , its output included Woody Allen films, Hollywood blockbusters such as the first '' Terminator '' film and the '' RoboCop '' films, and Academy Award winners such as '' Amadeus '', '' Platoon '', '' Dances With Wolves '', and '' The Silence Of The Lambs ''. It also had its share of box office flops, such as "Weird Al" Yankovic 's '' UHF ''. In 1986 , billionaire John Kluge invested in the company as a favor to Krim, and by 1988 his Metromedia organization had become majority owner. In the late 1980s and early 1990s , Orion had severe financial problems, and declared Bankruptcy in 1992 . The studio entered into a profit sharing deal to secure distribution of " The Addams Family " that meant it saw little of the profit while the company's other lucrative properties such as the Terminator franchise went to other studios. ''Silence of the Lambs'' was almost passed on due to lack of funding, and several other projects in production at the time, such as ''Car 54 Where Are You?'' and ''Clifford'', had their release delayed by three years (from 1991 to 1994) because of the bankruptcy filing. Orion was eventually able to exit bankruptcy in 1996 , but few of the films released during the four years under bankruptcy protection made much of a critical or commercial impact. As a result of Orion's financial troubles, its television division was sold to ABC and became ABC Productions (which produced the television series '' The Commish '' and '' My So-Called Life ''), although Orion continued to retain ownership of all its television output up to the time of the bankruptcy. Coincidentally, ABC held the broadcast rights to most of Orion's theatrical library during the bankruptcy period. Around 1996 and 1997, Orion introduced Orion Classics, distributing their classic movie library from American International Pictures and Filmways. In 1997 , Metromedia sold Orion (as well as The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Motion Picture Corporation Of America ) to MGM , with the deal finalized in late 1998 . Orion remains an in-name-only subsidiary of MGM, and all Orion releases (mostly of the AIP and Filmways backlogs, as well as their own post-1982 library, with the exception of two Saul Zaentz films, '' The Unbearable Lightness Of Being '' & '' Amadeus '' (both of which are now owned by Warner Bros. ), and the television output originally produced under the Orion name) now bear the MGM name, though in most cases, the 1980s Orion logo is retained (or added on, in the case of the Filmways and AIP libraries). In 2005, the Orion library became part of the Sony / Comcast consortium which bought the MGM studio. Meanwhile, most ancillary rights to Orion's back catalog from the 1978-1982 joint venture period remains under the control of Warner Bros. THE OBJECT OF THE LOGO 1st Logo (1978-1982) 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. 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 "W" logo and the words "WARNER BROS" in orange. In the orange rectangle, which is on the bottom, we see the words "ORION (in the same font an in logo #2) PICTURES COMPANY (in a more plain font)" in blue. After a while, the blue and orange rectangles move to each other's spot, briefly overlapping. "A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY" and "presents" fade in under "WARNER BROS". SFX: The rectangles shooting out, tilting, enlarging, overlapping, and switching places. Music: Door-locking/jail cell closing type noises are made as the rectangles swap and the text changes position. 2nd Logo (1982-1996) Nickname: "Starry Sky" Logo: We first see a starry sky, then a constellation of stars in the middle shine brighter than the rest. It moves to the left, forms a circle, and spins around until, in a small flash, it forms a letter "O". Then the letters "RION" appear (by a sliding effect) to slashed the lines over the letters and 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 whole thing. "An" and "PICTURES RELEASE" (all in blue) appear above and below the logo accordingly. SFX: The stars forming the "O", the rest of the logo appearing and the line being drawn on it. Music: A horn fanfare against the background of a futuristic sound effect. Sometimes uses the beginning of the movie's music. Can also be silent as well. 3rd Logo (1996-98) Nickname: "Starry Sky 2" Logo: Exactly the same as the Starry Sky logo, but updated for the 1990s, with CGI 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 id different, with a laser light forming the line in the logo. The logo itself is now silvery and 3D and only "PICTURES" appears below the logo. SFX: THIS is how you update a logo. The same thing as the popular Starry Sky logo, but the nice CGI and trueness to the original have made this a favorite of those who have seen it. Music: Begins with a variation of the "futuristic sound effect" in the original Starry Sky, then a soft but majestic horn tune. As the logo begins to form, is gets faster and faster, culminating in a majestic hit and three-note sounder. Fantastic music. |
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