G2 Films

Background
G2 Films (stylized as "G² Films") was originally formed in 1997 following Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's purchase of the Goldwyn Entertainment Company, which was re-established as MGM's indie/arthouse division. It was first known as "Goldwyn Films", but after Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. sued the company for using the "Goldwyn" name without his permission, it was renamed to G2 Films. In 2000, the company was folded into United Artists, which then became MGM's primary specialty/arthouse division.

(November 7, 1997-November 27, 1998)
Logo: On a black background, we see the silver letters "MGM" zooming out and turning from left to right. The two M's suddenly fade away leaving the letter "G" to form an aurora-light effect while turning. There is also the word "oldwyn" on the right corner of the "G" forming the word "Goldwyn", where we later see the word "FILMS" wiping in from the right under the logo, and the byline "AN MGM COMPANY" fades in beneath. "FILMS" and the byline later fade out while "Goldwyn" turns away.

Variant: A prototype version exists where the light effect is absent, and the letters "MGM" instead flip into "Goldwyn".

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A synth theme with a metal-swiping sound as the aurora appears, ending in a bang and a string note, or none.

Availability: Rare. It's seen on U.S. prints of foreign movie releases from the era, such as Live Flesh (Carne Trémula), The Hanging Garden, Velvet Goldmine, and The Wisdom Of Crocodiles.

Legacy: While it has nice animation and a neat musical theme, the final result looks pretty plain, though this may have been intentional.

(May 14, 1999)
Logo: Same as the previous logo, but instead of "Goldwyn", we instead see a large "G", with a small number two (like the squared symbol seen in mathematics) on the upper right hand corner of it. The rest of the text is normal, though "FILMS" and the MGM byline are bigger and spaced out further underneath the "G". Like before, the text fades away, and the "G" and "2" turn away.

Closing Title: It's only a still in-credit "G²" logo with the text "FROM" above and the MGM byline with the text "Times New Roman" below.

Technique: Same as the last logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare. Only seen on U.S. prints of the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini.

Legacy: A major example of a wasted logo; the end result is a much more distinctive and nicer design, but it was sadly only used on one film.