Mutual Film Company

Credits

Descriptions by
PAV123 and EnormousRat

Background

Following the closure of De Laurentiis Entertainment Group in 1989, Gary Levinsohn formed Classico Entertainment, which served as a sales agent of Dno De Laurentiis Communciations. The company signed a deal with Atlas Entertainment in 1994, allowing Classico to finance films for Atlas.

In 1995, Levinshon and fellow film producer Mark Gordon decided to merge their own companies, forming Cloud Nine Entertainment. The company focused on the co-production and financing of feature films; the company also created an international sales division and finalized a multi-year equity partnership with the BBC, Tele-München Gruppe, Toho-Towa/Marubeni and UGC-PH. The four companies financed a combined 60% (15% each) of the films' budgets in exchange for distribution rights in their respective territories (the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and France) and equity stakes in the films on a worldwide basis.

18 months after Cloud Nine's formation, Gordon and Levinshon renamed the company to Mutual Film Company. The new name was meant to reflect the joint venture and the profits it would share with its international investors. Mutual notably financed films for Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures, and major film studios financed several of Mutual's output.

On May 9, 2000, it was reported that Tele-München, Toho and the BBC had negotiated with a banking consortium led by Union Bank of America and secured a $200 million revolving credit line, allowing Mutual to produce and finance movies without approval from a major film studio. On September 9, Gordon left Mutual to relaunch his own company; film producer Don Granger joined the company on February 13, 2001. Mutual's investors left the company around that time, citing the poor box office performance of most of the company' output.

Mutual's output has been slow after Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life and Timeline both underperformed; the company has only worked on three films since then: Snakes on a Plane, Deadfall and Jack Reacher (Mutual went uncredited for Reacher).

Logo (November 14, 1997-July 25, 2003)

Visuals: The white words "MUTUAL FILM COMPANY", with "MUTUAL FILM" in an arc formation, zoom out from the right side of the screen on a black background. A blue box with a golden outline fades in and zooms toward the text. They both come together in the middle of the screen, with the text leaving shadows. The logo stops zooming out and shines while a sun blink-like light appears and shines on the logo.

Variants:

• Minor changes of letter view and arrangement were made through the years.
• A shorter version exists; it starts with the already-formed logo before it stops zooming out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None, or the opening/closing theme to the movie.

Availability: Seen on The Jackal (its debut), Primary Colors, Virus, and both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider films, including both the opening and the closing credits. The shorter version is seen at the end of some films such as Paulie (1998). Not all films used this logo, and after Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life, it was fully retired.