Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Background: Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films was founded in the 1980s by movie producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Together, the duo had produced some of the most successful films of the 1980s, including Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop I and II, and Top Gun. The company didn't use a logo until 1990 on Days of Thunder. When Simpson died in 1996, it was renamed to "Jerry Bruckheimer Films", with the logo first appearing on Con-Air. From 1983 to 1990, and again starting in 2014, the studio's films were released by Paramount Pictures and by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (later Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) through its Walt Disney Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Touchstone Pictures units from 1990 to 2013 (although select films were released by Columbia Pictures and sister company Screen Gems Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures).

(June 27, 1990-June 7, 1996, July 18, 2003, May 13, 2019-)


Nickname: "The Lightning"

Logo: We start with sky blue clouds moving across the screen. Two bolts of lightning strike and converge at the bottom, and the clouds instantly turnorange-red. The screen zooms out in a box on a black background, as the text "DON SIMPSON/JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS" with "FILMS" in spaced-out letters under "DON SIMPSON/JERRY BRUCKHEIMER", is revealed at the bottom of the screen, in a red color.

Variants:
 * The print logo was seen at the end of Bad Boys.
 * An early version just has the company name.
 * On Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life, the logo is shortened and the text is smaller.
 * The trailers for Top Gun: Maverick and Bad Boys for Life have the logo minus the name.

FX/SFX: The clouds gliding, the lightning and the zooming out. Appears to be live-action footage mixed with 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: Just the sounds of lightning.

Availability: Scarce. In its original run, the film was seen on some films from 1990 until 1996, including Days of Thunder, Crimson Tide, Dangerous Minds, and The Rock. Following Simpson's death, however, Bruckheimer has opted to retain this logo on sequels to films he originally produced with Don Simpson when he was still alive, presumably out of respect; with the logo reinstated for Bad Boys II, Bad Boys for Life, and the series L.A.'s Finest (a spinoff to the Bad Boys film series). The logo can also be seen on trailers for Top Gun: Maverick, and may presumably be seen on the actual film as well. The version without the lightning box was on a teaser trailer for Days of Thunder, which can be found on the 1990 Paramount VHS release of Black Rain. Does not appear on The Ref.

Editor's Note: The animations and atmosphere may get to some people who do not like lightning. The animation of the lightning also looks poor, with limited visuals and choppy movement.

(June 6, 1997- )
Nickname: "The Road", "The Lightning II", "The Tree"

Logo: We zoom down a road, as a thunderstorm brews above. Lightning strikes multiple times, as we encounter a leafless tree. Lightning strikes it, and leaves instantly appear on the tree. The screen freezes and zooms out in a box, as the text:

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER F---I---L---M---S

is revealed below, in a yellow color.

Trivia: According to Jerry Bruckheimer, the lightning bolt is meant to represent "the power of an idea." The tree was modeled after an oak on a property in Kentucky that Bruckheimer owns. He photographed the tree and sent it to Dream Quest Images, who created the logo.

Variants:
 * There is a prototype version of this logo that existed at the end of Con Air and on trailers for the film. The difference is that it is a still shot where the tree already has leaves on it and the font is larger and more stretched out and in a green color. While the normal logo was used in the beginning, at the end of the film, an animated version of the prototype logo appears. It is animated differently as the camera already has the tree (with leaves) on view, the zooming animation down the road is absent. Only the clouds move, thunderstorm and all, and when the lightning strikes the tree, the screen zooms out and freezes.
 * On the aforementioned film, the logo is slightly longer, and the box above the text is bigger.
 * There is a later variant of this logo in which the "JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS" name is absent; it's mainly the same logo with a thin yellow rectangle added around the clip. The camera also gradually keeps zooming out as the clip plays, revealing that the clip is now in a box. When the lightning strikes the tree, the screen freezes without the text below it and the zoom-out of the clip ends.
 * 12 Strong has the regular logo without the text.
 * The print logo appears the end of Deliver Us From Evil.
 * On the 1999 TV movie Swing Vote, there's a short version beginning with the lightning strike.

FX/SFX: The zooming through the desert landscape, the lightning rumbling in the clouds, and the lightning striking the tree. Well-made CG animation that still looks great over two decades later.

Music/Sounds: Just the sounds of the wind and thunder.

Availability: Common. Appears on several films, including Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. The later variant appears on films from 2004 onward, beginning with National Treasure. Does not appear on Remember the Titans. Also seen on the 1999 TV movie Swing Vote and is retained on the Sony Pictures Choice Collection DVD-R of the aforementioned title.

Editor's Note: The animation and concept is very creative and professional. The lightning may startle some people though.