The Weinstein Company

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Main Logo Variations Trailer Variations

Credits
Editions by
NAlogofan and TheLogoFan2004

Video captures courtesy of
IdentsandLogos


Background

Harvey & Bob Weinstein founded The Weinstein Company in 2005 after leaving Miramax Films that same year. After the departure, the Weinsteins retained ownership of Dimension Films. From April 7, 2006 to November 7, 2008, most of their films were primarily distributed and marketed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, after which they intermittently distributed alone or produced with other studios.

On October 5, 2017, The New York Times published an editorial stating that over 60 women in the media industry have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, including the use of "casting couch" practices, with rumors spanning as far back as 19 years.[1] On October 8, TWC announced that Weinstein had been dismissed from the company; prior to Weinstein's firing, four members of the board of directors resigned (a fifth, Richard Koenigsberg, followed suit on October 12), while Weinstein said that he had taken an indefinite leave of absence. The allegations, Weinstein's dismissal, and major backlash in the media, combined with the poor performance of TWC's then-released films, eventually led to the company declaring bankruptcy on March 19, 2018. Weinstein subsequently pled guilty and was sentenced to 23 years in prison in March 2020, and later for an additional 16 years in February 2023, leaving a total of 39 years in prison.

Bob Weinstein would later form his current production company Watch This Entertainment on October 11, 2019 and brought in former Dimension Films executive Pantea Ghaderi as President of Creative Development.

To raise funds, TWC sold the rights to three of its films, Paddington 2, In the Heights, and The Six Billion Dollar Man, to Warner Bros. Pictures. In May 2018, Lantern Capital won the studio's bankruptcy auction, and on July 16, they absorbed TWC's 277-film library into a new production and distribution company called Lantern Entertainment, with the rights to a majority of their films later being sold to Lionsgate Films. Later that year, TWC's library was transferred to Spyglass Media Group, which Lantern Entertainment has a majority stake in.

Logo (November 11, 2005-September 1, 2017)

  • Closing variant

    Closing variant

  • "TWC" variant

    "TWC" variant


Visuals: On a black background, two spotlights morph to form three lights from one light above, forming an abstract "W". While that happens, the text "THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY" (in the Engravers Gothic font) fades in at the bottom of the three lights. Afterwards, the lights disappear one at a time with the company name fading last.

Variants:

  • Some films' closing credits have the logo with different lighting and plain text.
  • Sometimes, the text reads "TWC" instead of the company's full name.
  • On Hoodwinked!, the logo is still.
  • The North American release of Arthur and the Invisibles has the logo squashed up.
  • On Derailed, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and The Ex (which uses the "TWC" variant), the logo is filmed.

Technique: CGI by Kelly Carlton at Intralink Film Graphic Design.

Audio: An orchestrated piece composed by Nicole Weinstein (daughter of Bob) that fades out when the logo fades. Otherwise it is silent, or has the opening theme of the film. The closing variant has the tail-end of the end credits music playing over or none.

Audio Variants:

  • The American release of The Magic Roundabout (Doogal) has a different orchestral tune composed by James L. Venable playing over the logo. This version's theme has some similarities to the music for the 4th Image Entertainment logo.
  • On Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight (both directed by Quentin Tarantino), a different piece with light switch sounds is heard. This was also composed by Nicole Weinstein.

Availability: Appeared on all films from the company from Derailed to Tulip Fever.

  • This did not appear on Space Chimps, as that uses an in-credit notice and it was distributed by 20th Century Fox in the US instead.
  • This plastered the aforementioned logo on the US release of The Iron Lady (2011), as Fox distributed the film in the UK.
  • It also appeared on their DVD reissues of a couple of Miramax films, such as Cinema Paradiso and The Thief and the Cobbler, preceding the Miramax Films and Miramax Family Films logos, respectively.
  • It also appeared on the US release of Leo the Lion.
  • Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the company stopped releasing movies, and this logo has since been retired due to the company's bankruptcy and to distance the films from the scandal. Current prints have slowly begun plastering this logo over with the 2013 Lionsgate logo for films they currently distribute, though for the most part it's usually preceded by Lantern's logo. Some Lionsgate owned Weinstein Company films, such as The Young and the Prodigious T.S. Spivet and Trick or Treaters, still have this logo intact.
  • Even though it appeared on its theatrical release, it didn't appear on the Lionsgate DVD release of Leap! for obvious reasons; in fact, they aren't even mentioned at all on the DVD cover art.
  • This originally appeared on original pre-theatrical prints of Wind River (2017). However, it doesn't appear on the Academy Awards screening due to the same reasons above.[2]

Legacy: The many controversies of Harvey Weinstein and his company have destroyed this logo's reputation beyond repair.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html
  2. ↑ https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/weinstein-company-logo-wind-river-academy-1201888556/
The Weinstein Company
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