Screen Gems Pictures/Summary

Background: Screen Gems was resurrected by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1999 as a movie division to distribute specific genre and mid-budget film releases such as horror, thriller, Sci-Fi, and African-American films. However, in the early years it also distributed some independent movies.

1st Logo (June 4, 1999- )
Warning: Due to profanity, videos of the Slackers variant will not be allowed on this site!

Nicknames: "S from Heaven", "The CGI Spiral S from Heaven", "The S Returns"

Logo: On a black background, a flash of light with a lens flare forms a light blue sphere. A series of ITC-like tops spin around it and form the two lines of the "S" (the same as the Screen Gems Television logo from 1965; the "S" is also in a sky blue color). Under the "S", the text "SCREEN GEMS" flips into place and flashes, and underneath that, the byline "A SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" fades in. The entire animation also has light trail and "distortion"-type effects.

Bylines:
 * June 4-July 9, 1999: [Bylineless] {This was used on their independent films.}
 * June 4, 1999-October 18, 2013: "A SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" {This was used on the majority of their films.}
 * July 2, 2014- : "a Sony Company" {This is the current version, which was first seen on Deliver Us from Evil.}

Variants:
 * In 2004, there is a registered trademark symbol that appears next to the name.
 * There's a red version of the Screen Gems logo used on some films, mostly horror movies such as Untraceable, Lakeview Terrace, and Vacancy. It occasionally appeared on non-horror/thriller movies such as Dear John and First Sunday.
 * On some early films released by the company, the "S" is bigger than usual. Also, the beginning of the logo is slightly different.

Closing:
 * Just like Columbia and TriStar Pictures, the Screen Gems "Spiral S" is on the right with "SCREEN GEMS" stacked on top of one another on the left and the byline "A Sony Pictures Entertainment Company".
 * There is an alternate print logo which can be seen at the end of Half Past Dead.

FX/SFX: The light and the spinning "tops". The stunning CGI animation of the logo has made this a favorite of logo fans who've seen it.

Music/Sounds: It starts out with a rising orchestra, then to an extremely majestic/inspirational five-note tune with a choir singing along coinciding with the animation and the forming of the words "SCREEN GEMS". In other cases, it uses the opening theme or it's silent.

Availability: Very common. Seen on many genre and mid-budget films produced and distributed by the studio. Since the next logo appeared on The Perfect Guy (a suspense drama), this one might have been retired, but it's best to see what happens.

2nd Logo (July 22, 2011- )
Nicknames: "S from Heaven II", "S in the Sky", "Crystal Screen Gems", "Crystal Gems"

Logo: We start out high in the sky. The camera turns and ascends through layers of cloud. Eventually the clouds clear and we see a CGI blue letter "S". The camera continues to turn and zoom out, slowly revealing the name "SCREEN GEMS" which fades in with the smaller byline underneath it, in the same vein as the previous logo. The camera continues to ascend and zoom out, revealing the same trademark "Spiral S". It seems to be made out of glass, refracting the blue of the sky (rather than being blue itself per se). As the camera comes to a stop, the blazing sun is positioned exactly behind the bottom half of the "Spiral S", with the clouds forming a plane under the logo. The finished product looks rather reminiscent of the current logo of Columbia Pictures, this studio's corporate parent, complete with rainbow-like circles around the sun.

Trivia: This logo was based on artwork by Buffy Cutler, who was commissioned to create a new Screen Gems logo for Friends with Benefits. Some of the other candidates he produced are here, and appear to have been inspired by the 1960 Screen Gems Television logo.

Byline:
 * July 22, 2011-April 20, 2012: "A SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
 * February 14, 2014- : "a Sony Company"

Variants:
 * Starting with Think Like a Man Too, the 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment logo now transitions to this logo.
 * On some films, the logo faded out earlier.


 * Closing: Same as the previous logo.

FX/SFX: The camera moving, the clouds blowing in the wind, the text and logo fading in and reflecting their surroundings. Very nice CGI, though perhaps not as sophisticated as the Columbia Pictures logo.

Music/Sounds: At first, wind can be heard blowing very faintly, then the opening theme of the film starts when the "S" first appears on the screen.

Availability: Used in tandem with the previous logo. Seen mostly on comedy films such as Friends with Benefits, Think Like a Man, About Last Night, Think Like a Man Too and The Wedding Ringer. Also seen on The Perfect Guy, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Don't Breathe, and When the Bough Breaks, despite the red version of the previous logo being shown on trailers, leading to the aforementioned scenario about the previous logo.