Hollywood Pictures

Background

Hollywood Pictures was a film division of The Walt Disney Company that was established on February 1, 1989, initially to finance and distribute B-movies and smaller-budget films, and to create internal competition with the company's other adult-oriented label, Touchstone Pictures. The banner was also used for releasing titles by Cinergi Productions in the US and select regions. After being dormant since 2001, the brand was re-activated in 2006 to produce genre films such as horror and African-American films (in the same vein as Sony Pictures Entertainment's Screen Gems Pictures), in place of Dimension Films after Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein left Disney to form The Weinstein Company. However, after only three films, the label was discontinued again a year later. Today, Disney continues to control the films produced by the studio, with Hollywood existing in name only to hold their copyrights.

1st Logo (July 18, 1990-April 27, 2007)

Logo: On a black background, a blue moon glows behind an object, as the glowing line increases to reveal the object as the famous Egyptian sphinx. The light dies down to a circle behind the logo, as three lines (resembling as steps) fades-in below the logo, and below them is the text "HOLLYWOOD PICTURES".

Variants:

There is an early variant, in which a box appears around the sphinx logo, with "HOLLYWOOD" above it and "PICTURES" below. It appeared on Arachnophobia and Taking Care of Business.
On some movies, such as Terminal Velocity, the logo looks worn out.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare composed by Danny Elfman.

Music/Sounds Variants:

An alternate mix of this fanfare can be heard on most movies from the company released in 1992 and 1993.
On some movies like Crimson Tide, The Rock or The Sixth Sense, it is silent or uses the opening theme of the movie.
As a closing logo, the closing theme is used or it is silent.
The 1991 Australian VHS release of Arachonophobia uses the home video variant of the fanfare.
On the 2012 Mill Creek Entertainment DVD and Blu-ray release of Gone Fishin', the Walt Disney Pictures theme can be heard, but muffled and quiet. This was due to the film originally being planned as a Disney release but switched to Hollywood later on.

Availability: Was seen on several films from the studio such as Arachnophobia (the first film from the studio and the first film with this logo), Tombstone, Nixon, Evita, Just Visiting, Stay Alive, Super Mario Bros., Grosse Pointe Blank, An American Werewolf in Paris and The Sixth Sense. Also appears at the beginning of a UK VHS print of Scream 3.

2nd Logo (1993)

Logo: On a black background we see the stacked words "HOLLYWOOD PICTURES" in white fading in. Two red lines come from left and right between the words and form into one red line.

Trivia: This logo was made to fit in with its appearance on a TV spot for the Super Mario Bros. movie, which utilized red lines and the same font on the names of cast members.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: Just the music from the TV spot (Snap!'s "The Power") and Don LaFontaine saying, "From Hollywood Pictures".

Availability: It appeared on a TV spot for the live-action Super Mario Bros. film.

Hollywood Pictures

Touchstone Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
20th Century Studios
Searchlight Pictures

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