Weintraub Entertainment Group

Background
Weintraub Entertainment Group was the independent production company of Jerry Weintraub, founded in 1986. The company was backed with a $461 million credit invested by Columbia Pictures and Cineplex Odeon among other firms. In 1987, WEG acquired the Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment library from Cannon Films due to the latter company's crippling debt. A lack of box-office hits caused WEG to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 1990. Weintraub disbanded from the company shortly thereafter and made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures.

(August 19, 1988-April 13, 1990)
Nickname: "Copper W"

Logo: On a black background, we see a W made out of copper with lines zooming-out. When the zooming has finished, under it, the words "WEINTRAUB" in gold, and "ENTERTAINMENT GROUP" in white fade in. Later, the words "RELEASED THROUGH COLUMBIA PICTURES" fade-in.

Variants:
 * On films that WEG inherited from Cannon, the Columbia byline isn't shown and the logo plays at a faster speed.
 * At the end of The Gods Must Be Crazy II, a still version is seen. Here the stacked words are made bigger. Also, the Columbia text isn't seen below.

FX/SFX: The "W" zooming out and the letters fading.

Music/Sounds: Usually silent, or the opening theme of the film.

Availability: Rare. Seen on films such as My Stepmother Is An Alien, Troop Beverly Hills, She's Out of Control, and Fresh Horses. The still version can be seen after the credits of The Gods Must Be Crazy II. This originally appeared on U.S. prints of The Big Blue, but the DVD release has the 2001 Samuel Goldwyn and 10th Gaumont logos instead. The bylineless version was spotted on the UK Warner Home Video VHS releases of films such as the 1950 movie The Elusive Pimpernel and the 1955 movie Confession (known in the U.S. as The Deadliest Sin).

Final Note: In 1997, Jerry Weintraub started another production company, JW Productions.