Logo descriptions by Thehugetvfan Logo captures by Thehugetvfan, Eric S., and V of Doom Editions by Thehugetvfan, Logophile, CuriousGeorge60, and V of Doom
Background: Also known as The Geffen Film Company and The Geffen Company, this was the movie production/distribution arm of Geffen Records established in 1980 by David Geffen with Warner Communications (now TimeWarner) as its subsidiary. After, Geffen later sold it to Universal Studios, but Warner continued distributing most of Geffen film releases. Finally, the company closed its doors in 1997, and the parent company became currently a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group; however, various of the Geffen movies, with the exception of Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (owned by Paramount Pictures), are currently held by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
(1982-1997)
Nicknames: "The Circle-G", "The Geffen G"
Logo: On a black background, a light blue (or silver) sphere appears and slowly moves forward. At the same time, the sphere slowly turns clockwise, revealing a thin, inscribed "G". When the "G" is fully revealed, the sphere stops, and text that reads "A GEFFEN COMPANY RELEASE", "GEFFEN PICTURES" or "A GEFFEN PICTURES RELEASE" appears under it. A few seconds later, smaller text appears near the bottom of the screen, which says "DISTRIBUTED BY WARNER BROS." on the left side of the WB bug (either the \\' or WB shield) and next to the bug is the Warner byline.
Bylines:
1982-1990: A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
1990-1992: A TIME WARNER COMPANY
1992-1997: A TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY
Sometimes, the logo appears bylineless.
Variants:
The early variant of this logo had "A GEFFEN COMPANY RELEASE" in a Century Gothic font.
A still version of this logo exists on Personal Best, the first Geffen movie release.
A version has been spotted except instead of the sphere slowly spins clockwise, the finished logo remains intact, but then the sphere zooms down as it fades out. This was seen at the end of Geffen-produced films.
FX/SFX: The sphere rotating to the familiar Geffen logo, or none.
Music/Sounds: A light synthesizer tune, the opening and closing themes of the movie, or none.
Availability: Appears at the beginning of Geffen-produced films from 1982 to 1997, such as Beetle Juice, Risky Business, After Hours, Little Shop of Horrors, Joe's Apartment, and The Last Boy Scout to name a few. The last movie produced by Geffen was The Butcher Boy., premiered in the U.S. in 1998. Also, this logo was also seen on Beavis and Butt-Head Do America without the Warner Bros byline.