MTV Films

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Background

MTV Films was founded in 1996 to produce films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, the Jackass film series, and Æon Flux (2005). They also produce other adaptations and original productions, such as Napoleon Dynamite and The Longest Yard (2005). Their first movie, Joe's Apartment (distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under Geffen Pictures), received negative reviews and underperformed at the box-office, despite MTV's heavy promotion. However, their following movie, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (which was the first MTV film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, since MTV's owner, Viacom, bought the studio) was a critical and commercial success, which led MTV Films to make more movies. On August 21, 2006, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films became full labels of the Paramount Motion Pictures Group. It has currently produced 40 films, with four direct-to-video titles.

1st Logo (1996)

MTV Productions (1996)

Logo: On a black background, we see a small MTV logo on the left and the word "PRODUCTIONS" is on the right.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the trailer.

Availability: Very rare. Was only seen on the teaser trailer for Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (July 26, 1996)

MTV (1996)

Nicknames: The MTV Logo, "The Static-Filled MTV"

Logo: On a black background, we see the MTV logo (with "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact underneath). In the "M" is some animated static. When the static disappears, the "M" in the logo turns into white.

FX/SFX: The animated static, and the "M" turning white.

Music/Sounds: The cockroaches singing the "Charge" fanfare and shouting "JOE!"

Availability: Only seen at the end of Joe's Apartment.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (December 20, 1996-August 27, 2004, October 18, 2019- )

MTV Productions (1996)MTV Films (2004)MTV Films (2019)

Nicknames: "The Astronaut", "The MTV Astronaut"

Logo: We fade into space as we see an astronaut floating around from right to left. The astronaut suddenly comes close to the camera, and we see that the MTV logo is reflected backwards onto his helmet. We zoom into the reflection and out again to reveal the MTV logo (With "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact under it) with the word "PRODUCTIONS" below it.

Variants:

Orange County was the last film to use the "PRODUCTIONS" variant, but only on theatrical prints. Starting with Crossroads in 2002, the word "PRODUCTIONS" is replaced by "FILMS" in spaced-out letters.
On home media prints of Orange County, the part where the astronaut comes close to the camera is removed.
This logo was revived starting with Eli; here, the logo reflected onto the astronaut's helmet is just the post-2010 MTV logo next to the text "Films", all in white. The logo zooms out with a fisheye-esque effect.

FX/SFX: The astronaut floating in space, the zooming in and out of the MTV logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the movie's opening theme.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Jackass: The Movie, we hear breathing followed by a laugh provided by Johnny Knoxville.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on all MTV films from the era. It originally first appeared on Beavis and Butt-Head Do America and last appeared on Napoleon Dynamite before returning 15 years later on Eli.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (January 14, 2005-October 23, 2009)

MTV Films (2007)

Nicknames: "The Astronaut II", "The MTV Astronaut II", "The Astronaut Theater"

Logo: We see an overhead view of Earth, which turns out to be a reflection on the helmet of an astronaut. The astronaut is one of many sitting in a movie theater. Popcorn flies in zero-gravity. We then zoom out of the MTV logo (With "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact underneath) as "FILMS" zooms out underneath it.

Variants:

On Coach Carter, the logo turns into a drawing (for a split-second) before turning back to normal.

There's a prototype version of the logo where it has a slower zoom-out, the astronauts in different positions and all wearing white spacesuits. The word "FILMS" appears letter-by-letter.

FX/SFX: The reflection and the zooming back, paired together with nice CGI.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie. On Jackass Number Two, we can hear the astronauts laughing and chuckling (provided by Steve-O and Chris Pontius), then a metal slam. On the prototype version of the logo, it starts off with an engine huffing, followed by a note sounding similar to the THX deep note when we zoom out of the astronaut's helmet. As we zoom out, a calm piano tune plays, accompanied by sounds of beeping. When the company name forms, a rock guitar chord is heard.

Availability: No longer current, but still very common. Can be seen on movies starting with Coach Carter and ending with Dance Flick. The prototype variant was only used as a test logo, and thus, was not used on any movie.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (December 26, 2007)

Nickname: "The MTV Logo II"

Logo: On a white background, we see the MTV logo (with "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact underneath).

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only seen on Jackass 2.5.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (October 15, 2010-June 15, 2014)

MTV Films (2010)

Nickname: "The Astronaut III", "The MTV Astronaut III", "The MTV Flag"

Logo: We see an astronaut standing on the moon surface, near the flag with the MTV logo. The shot of the astronaut repeats three times from various directions, but finally it zooms into the flag, which constantly changes its surface and colors.

Trivia: This was based on the very first MTV bumper, only with much cleaner graphics (as well as using the post-2010 MTV logo with "FILMS" appearing underneath).

FX/SFX: The shot with the astronaut repeating, and the colors changing on the flag.

Music/Sounds: A slightly rearranged version of the track from the bumper from which it came.

Music/Sounds Variant: In some cases, such as Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, it's the opening theme of the movie playing over the logo.

Availability: The logo first appeared on Jackass 3D and is seen on movies by MTV Films up to Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (July 31, 2013, January 30, 2015)

MTV Films (2015)

Logo: We see several flashing shots of multicultural and multicolored eyes. When we get to the last eye, we zoom in onto the iris and several flashing lights are seen before the MTV logo slides up on a box with the word "Films" in it. Inside the finished product is a live-action shot of a cheering audience, possibly taken from an EDM concert. The logo ends with several flashing shots and we get to the last eye.

Variant: On Project Almanac, the logo cuts off early.

FX/SFX: The flashing eyes and lights.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie.

Availability: First seen on the trailer for Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (but the film itself uses the previous logo instead). The fully animated version appeared only on Project Almanac.

Editor's Note: None.