sem algarismos, masculino, de mostrador de fundo branco, ponteiros metálicos, com pulseira de couro e à prova dágua ("30 m"), mas "não é de camelô" - FB
"In the 1920's, Volney Phifer was Hollywood's premier animal trainer and his most successful protégé was Leo, the MGM lion, who Volney taught to roar on cue. (...)"
(http://householdname.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/07/annals-of-namin.html)
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DISCUSSÃO online, opinião de especialista na controvérsia sobre "leões da Metro"
"Name That Lion!
1) LEO (the Goldwyn lion) - Found as a cub in Port Sudan, Africa by lion trapper/trainer Volney Phifer in 1913. Hired by Sam Goldwyn in 1917 (not '16) to fill the logo designed by Howard Dietz. After the MGM merger, he made tours with Phifer at the studio's behest. Moved with Phifer to New Jersey in the early '30's, but was sold to the Philadelphia Zoo when local zoning commission banned wild animals kept as domestic pets. Died in Philadelphia in 1936; remains are buried at Phifer's former home.
2) SLATS - Born 1919 in Dublin Zoo, Ireland; brought to Hollywood by Volney Phifer as MGM's new mascot. Became the star of Gay's Lion Farm in El Monte, California; the farm closed in 1942, and he was returned to Phifer. He sold Slats to the Memphis Zoo, who renamed him "Volney". He died in 1944.
3) JACKIE - the one who "roared in" the sound era at MGM. Born at the World Jungle Compound in Hollywood; trained by Melvin Koontz; lived at the Selig Zoo (the former Selig Studios) in Los Angeles, and later at Jungleland in nearby Thousand Oaks, where he died in 1952.
4) TANNER - Jackie's Technicolor counterpart, and the lion who would symbolize the MGM musical. Also handled by Melvin Koontz, his life-dates are unknown to me. His roar was the lustiest and liveliest. Served two tenures as the mascot of MGM's animated output.
5) al-MARAH (a.k.a JACKIE II, BOB) - Fluffy-maned and ill-tempered, not much is known about him at all, except he was pressed into service as the lion who would be shot in CinemaScope.
6) LEO (a.k.a. LEO II, JACKIE III) - The most famous to today's audiences, his image has been used since 1957 in motion pictures and television, although his roar was discarded in 1982 (the year he died).
The floor is now open to theories, addendums and downright repudiations. Fire away! 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?
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EM IDIOMA PORTUGUÊS, CONTRIBUIÇÃO AO DEBATE SOBRE O leão da Metro
"(...) 'Léo o leão' , o leão da MGM, apareceu antes mesmo da fundação da Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. O logotipo foi criado em 1916 por Howard Dietz, executivo de propaganda da Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, e foi inspirado no grito de guerra da Universidade de Columbia, intitulado Roar, Lion, Roar ('Ruja, Leão, Ruja'). Em 1924, a Goldwyn se juntou à Metro e à Louis B. Mayer e o leão logo se tornou o símbolo do novo estúdio. No entanto, o público dos cinemas só pôde ouvi-lo rugir pela primeira vez em 1928, quando o som passou a ser reproduzido por um fonógrafo. O primeiro leão a 'interpretar' Léo foi Slats ('tabuinha') e ele aprendeu a girar a cabeça e rugir na hora certa com Volney Phifer, um famoso treinador de animais em Hollywood. Na época, o leão excursionava pelos Estados Unidos para promover o estúdio e, como um bom felino, sobreviveu a dois acidentes de trem, uma enchente no rio Mississippi, um terremoto na Califórnia, um incêndio e um acidente de avião. Slats morreu em 1936 e, mais tarde, foi substituído por Jackie, Tanner e Jackie II. No logo da MGM, pode-se ver um círculo ao redor de Léo com inscrições em latim. É o lema do estúdio: Ars Gratia Artis, que quer dizer 'Arte pela Arte'". (http://br.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071011190322AA1FnQN)
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VERBETE Léo, o Leão (MGM), em língua inglesa, Wikipédia
"Leo the Lion (MGM)
Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures, featured in the studio's production logo, which was created by the Paramount Studios art director Lionel S. Reiss.[1]
Since 1924 (when the studio was formed by the merger of Samuel Goldwyn's studio with Marcus Loew's Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer's company), there have been around five different lions used for the MGM logo, including Tanner[2], and Leo, the current (fifth) lion. Tanner was used on all Technicolor films and MGM cartoons (including the Tom and Jerry series), and in use on the studio logo for 22 years (Leo has been in use since 1957, a total of 52 years and counting). However, when the MGM animation department—which had closed in 1958—re-opened with the Chuck Jones-directed Tom and Jerry shorts in 1963, these shorts used Tanner in the opening sequence rather than Leo, which had already been adapted onto the studio logo and the 1961-63 Gene Deitch cartoon logos.
Contents |
Logos
Logo 1: 1924-1928
Slats[2] was the first lion used for the newly-formed studio. He was born at Dublin Zoo, Ireland on March 20, 1919.[3] Slats was used on all black and white MGM films between 1924 and 1928. The original logo was designed by Howard Dietz and used by the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation studio from 1916 to 1924 (see left). The first Goldwyn Pictures Corporation film to feature Leo the Lion's roar was Polly of the Circus (1917). Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was ultimately absorbed into the partnership that formed MGM, and the first MGM film that used the logo was He Who Gets Slapped (1924). Dietz stated that he decided to use a lion as the studio's mascot as a tribute to his alma mater Columbia University, whose athletic teams' nickname is the Lions; he further added that the inspiration for making the lion roar was Columbia's fight song "Roar, Lion, Roar". Slats was trained by Volney Phifer to growl rather than roar, and for the next couple of years, the lion would tour with MGM promoters to signify the studio's launch. Slats died in 1936 [4], and his skin is currently on display at the McPherson Museum in McPherson, KS [5].
Logo 2: 1928-1956
Jackie[2] was the second lion, depicted on the left from The Wizard of Oz (1939). Jackie looked almost identical to Slats, his predecessor. Jackie was also the first MGM lion whose roar was heard by audiences of the silent film era, via a gramophone record. Jackie growled softly; this was followed by a louder growl, a brief pause, and then a final growl, before looking off to one side. In the early years that this logo was used (1928-c. 1932), there was a slightly extended Jackie logo wherein, after growling, the lion looked off to one side and returned its gaze to the front seconds later. Jackie appeared on all black and white MGM films (1928–1956), as well as the sepia-tinted opening credits of The Wizard of Oz (1939). Jackie also appeared before MGM's black and white cartoons, such as the Flip the Frog and Willie Whopper series produced for MGM by the short-lived Ub Iwerks Studio, as well as the Captain and the Kids cartoons produced by MGM in 1938 and 1939. Despite Jackie's "official" introduction in 1928, the lion had been used on three earlier films: Greed (1924), Ben-Hur (1925), and Flesh and the Devil (1926). The color variant is ultra rare and can be found on the colorized version of March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934).
MGM began experiments with two-color short subjects in 1927 and animated cartoons in 1930. Two two-strip Technicolor variations of the MGM logo were created for the first MGM color films, with two different lions being used. This is depicted in the still on the right featuring the second lion from the 1932 feature Roast Beef and Movies. This logo lasted until 1934 for live action films and late 1935 for the Happy Harmonies cartoons, when production was switched to full three-strip Technicolor filming.
There has also been an extended version of this logo, seen at the beginning of the 1932 short Wild People. It features the lion growling as it did in Roast Beef and Movies, but lasts a few seconds longer to feature an additional roar by the lion. Then it looked off to one side and returned its gaze to the front a second later.
Logo 3: 1934-1956
MGM began producing full three-strip Technicolor films in 1934, and the logo was slightly modified for color. Trained by Mel Koontz (who also trained Jackie), Tanner[2] was used on all Technicolor MGM films (1934—1956) and cartoons (late 1935—1958, 1963—1967), except for The Wizard of Oz, which had the opening and closing credits and the Kansas scenes in sepia-toned black-and-white. Tanner, whose first appearance was before the short subject Star Night at the Coconut Grove (1934) (his first feature film appearance was before Sweethearts four years later, in 1938), was in use as Leo the Lion for 22 years, second only to the current lion (who has been retained for 52 years). It is the Tanner version of the logo that was the most frequently used version throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood as color became the norm. The MGM full three-strip Technicolor short Star Night at the Coconut Grove (1934) features an extended longer version of Tanner roaring a whopping four times.
Tanner and Jackie were kept in the change from Academy ratio films to widescreen CinemaScope movies in 1953, with Tanner for color movies — as depicted on the right from Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) – and Jackie for black and white films. The logo was modified; the marquee was removed and the company name was placed on top of the ribboning.
Logo 4: 1956-1958
The fourth lion, George [6], was introduced in mid-1956, and was more heavily maned than any of the predecessors and the current lion. Two different versions of this logo were used; one with the lion roaring once toward the right of the screen & then roaring at the camera, another version had the lion roaring just twice toward the right of the screen. This logo would have either a black or blue background.This logo is also in black & white. Two of this lion's appearances include The Opposite Sex (1956) and The Wings of Eagles (1957). From 1957 to 1958, the fourth lion was used in tandem with the current lion.
Logo 5: 1957-present
Leo, the fifth lion, was purchased from a famous animal dealer named Henry Trefflich and trained by Ralph Helfer. He had a smaller mane than any of the previous lions. Leo was used on all MGM films from circa 1957 to 1983 and Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch, 1961. It was during the period 1957-1960 that MGM used two variants of the logo featuring Leo: the standard version is still used to this day, and features Leo roaring twice; the extended version features the lion roaring three times. Although the logo was in use for MGM films during 1963 and 1967, the opening sequence for the third series of Tom and Jerry (made during the aforementioned years) featured Tanner. MGM's three Camera 65/Ultra Panavision films, Raintree County (1957), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and Ben-Hur (1959) utilized a resized still-frame of the logo, with the lion roar track added to the backing track. However, Ben-Hur did not include the roar; instead, the film score continued underneath the still-frame of the logo. A special black and white version was created for Jailhouse Rock (1957), and was utilized again in 1982 for the Columbia Pictures film Annie during an excerpt from MGM's 1936 film, Camille, replacing the 1928-1938 logo featuring Jackie (which had originally appeared on Camille).
MGM was revamped in 1968 with a new logo, dubbed "the stylized lion". This particular logo was very short-lived, and somewhat unpopular; the still-frame image (with no roar) was seen on only three MGM films, Grand Prix (1966), The Subject Was Roses (1968), and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) before the company reverted to the original logo. However, the "stylized lion" logo was retained by the MGM Records division and was also used as a secondary logo on MGM movie posters. It was later used by the MGM Grand casinos. (A refined version of it is currently used in the present logo of their parent company, MGM Mirage.)
Leo the lion was reintroduced shortly after the stylized lion was discontinued.
Leo the lion was retained in the corporate revamp following MGM's acquisition of the then-falling United Artists (UA) in 1981. The "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" lettering on the studio logo now read "MGM/UA Entertainment Co."; this variation was used on all MGM and UA films between 1983 and 1987. It was also at this time that the original lion roar sound was replaced with a remade stereophonic one, redone by Mark Mangini; the first film to feature the new roar effect was Poltergeist. Incidentally, the sound effect was also used for a beast in the film, as well as Poltergeist: The Legacy. The lion roar was remixed once again in 1995 because an MGM executive found the then-current roar to be "lacking muscle"[citation needed]. Using digital audio technology to blend many roars together[citation needed], this roar debuted with the release of Cutthroat Island (1995, Thru Carloco and Live Entertainment), and has been used to the present.
Even though the MGM/UA name was still being used, the company now used MGM and UA as separate brands, starting in 1987. That year, Leo was used for the new MGM logo, with gold ribboning and the gold "Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer" name. Subsequently, a new "MGM/UA Communications Co." logo was made, and would precede the MGM lion or the "UA Swoosh" logo. Between 1990 and 1993, the MGM/UA logo would no longer precede the MGM or UA logos, but both logos would have the byline "An MGM/UA Communications Company" at the bottom of each logo. In 2001, MGM's website was added to the bottom of their studio logo.
The logo was revised once again in 2008, with the gold ribbon and drama mask below Leo remade in a more brilliant gold color. MGM had been using a similar logo in print for several years beforehand. The first film to use the new revised logo is the 22nd James Bond film Quantum of Solace.
For television productions owned by MGM (including films from the MGM library), the logo appears after the credits, in which the lion roars once in front, with the byline "MGM Worldwide Television Distribution" or "MGM International Television Distribution" (outside the United States) appearing at the bottom of the logo.
Secondary MGM logo
Mention should also be made of a secondary MGM logo, seen in the opening or closing credits of several MGM movies. This logo features a reclining lion (from a side view) on a pedestal with "A Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Picture" inscribed on it. Behind the lion is a semi-circular film ribbon with the "Ars Gratia Artis" motto. On either side of the pedestal are torches. The secondary logo was used in the credits of most MGM films from the mid 1920s until the mid 1980's. For example the logo is found on "A Christmas Story" in the closing credits. In addition, many MGM films made in the late 1930s and early '40s, set their entire opening credits against a background of a relief carving of an outline of the reclining lion image. Among the films that include this kind of credits sequence are the 1938 A Christmas Carol, based on the Charles Dickens novel, and the 1939 adaptation of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Parodies
The Mary Tyler Moore show, which premiered in 1970, as well as other MTM shows, parodied the Leo the Lion opening with its colophon, at the very end of the program. In place of Leo was a kitten named Mimsie, who meowed (St. Elsewhere showed Mimsie wearing a surgical mask). The ribbon over the kitten's head read "MTM" instead of "Ars Gratia Artis." Monty Python's movie And Now For Something Completely Different (1971) parodied MGM's logo with a roaring rabbit, as a trademark of Playboy Productions.
References
- ^ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16626.html
- ^ a b c d "TV ACRES: Advertising Mascots - Animals - Leo the MGM Lion (MGM Studios)". TV Acres. http://www.tvacres.com/adanimals_leolion.htm.
- ^ "Dublin Zoo - Come into the Zoo - African Plains - Lion". http://www.dublinzoo.ie/come_plains_lion.htm.
- ^ "Leo, the MGM Lion". RoadsideAmerica.com. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/leo.html.
- ^ "Skin of Leo the MGM Lion". RoadsideAmerica.com. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/15972.
- ^ "MGM Logo History and the 2008 Restoration Process". http://panel.clgvn.net/MGMLogoHistory_Restoration.pdf.
See also
External links
- MGM official site
- MGM page at Hollywood Lost and Found
- Lion roar (MP3 format), as trademarked by MGM, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website
"There’s no doubt that MGM has given us some of the greatest and most enduring movies ever made – Mutiny on the Bounty, The Wizard of Oz, The Pride of the Yankees, An American in Paris, Doctor Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Poltergeist, Thelma and Louise. Of course, they’ve given us some real stinkers too: Night of the Lepus (yeah… check that link out), Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Getting Even with Dad among them. It would also appear that they have a third installment of Bill and Ted slated for 2010, which I am simultaneously thrilled and horrified by.
Anyway, the studio that has provided hundreds of memorable movies celebrates an important anniversary this month, so here are a few of the notable things that have happened to them in the last 85 years.
1. The studio was founded by Marcus Loew, a rags-to-riches story if there ever was one. His family was very poor and Marcus ended up working as a child instead of going to school. He saved up some money and bought a penny arcade, then he partnered with Adolph Zukor to buy a nickelodeon. The business expanded into Loew’s Theaters, which enabled him to buy three movie studios in the early ’20s – Goldwyn Pictures, Metro Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. He combined them all and MGM was born. Zukor, by the way, went on to found Paramount.
2. Louis B. Mayer only allowed Loew to buy his company if he could become studio head. Loew agreed, and Mayer turned MGM into the marketing powerhouse that it was in the ’30s and ’40s. It was really because of his efforts that MGM was known for having “more stars than there are in the heavens.” That’s old L.B. in the picture to the left with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
3. Mayer’s son-in-law was David O. Selznick. Sound familiar? It should – he was one of the industry’s biggest producers, winning two Best Picture Oscars in a row – Gone with the Wind and Rebecca. But his success was not because he was taking handouts from his father-in-law. In fact, Selznick worked for Paramount when he married Mayer’s daughter Irene. Their marriage lasted about 18 years, but he had been having affairs for most of that time – including one with one of his leading actresses, Jennifer Jones. She became his second wife the same year that he and Irene divorced.
4. Fox and MGM almost merged once a long time ago. After Marcus Loew died in 1927, William Fox bought out the Loew family’s holdings in MGM. Louis B. Mayer was not happy about that, and tried to use political connections to have the motion blocked, saying that it violated antitrust laws. But Fox was in a bad car accident, which held up all of his business deals until he recovered. Sadly, by the time he did, the stock market crash of 1929 had literally wiped out his fortune, making the MGM deal totally moot. Fox tried to bribe the judge during his bankruptcy proceedings in 1936, which landed him in prison for six months. When he was released, he retired from the film industry.
5. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were the heads of the MGM animation department when it closed in 1957. They went on to create their own animation company – maybe you’ve heard of it. They had a few successful cartoons.
6. MGM’s famous “Leo the Lion” logo was a carryout from the Goldwyn Pictures part of the business. Samuel Goldwyn had used the lion logo to honor his alma mater, Columbia University. So far, there have been five lions used – Slats, from 1924-1928; Jackie, from 1928-1956; Tanner, from 1934-1956; Bob AKA Jackie 2, from 1956-1958; and Leo, the current lion, who has been in use since 1957. You can check them all out over at Neatorama – and learn the stories behind other Hollywood studio logos as well.
7. The current MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas originally had a Wizard of Oz theme. Inside were animatronic versions of Dorothy and her friends, along with a yellow brick road that led to an amusement park (see #8 below). The journey included some of the same stuff Dorothy encountered on hers – a haunted forest, an apple orchard and a corn field. You also entered the building through the open mouth of a lion that resembled the studio’s logo. The theming was eventually pulled, but you can still see the lion logo represented in the five-ton bronze statue outside and the real lion habitat inside. There are also the Majestic Lion slots, which are tucked back in a remote corner of the casino and are supposedly looser than the rest of the slot machines. I’ve never had any luck with them, though, and I make it a point to try every time I’m in Vegas. Sucker.
8. Despite being called “Disney-MGM Studios,” the theme park in Orlando really had very little to do with MGM. The licensing agreement allowed Disney to use the MGM name and logo and also allowed the MGM content in The Great Movie Ride. That was about it. The two companies had a pretty touchy relationship, with lawsuits flying back and forth from 1988 (and the park didn’t even open until 1989) until 1992. MGM was upset that Disney was building a working studio; they said they had only signed on for a studio-themed amusement park. Then when MGM announced plans to build an amusement park in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Disney sued and said that a theme park in a casino would hurt their sterling reputation. Oh, Hollywood. Eventually it was ruled that both companies could just keep on keepin’ on with both projects. None of it matters now anyway – Disney changed its name to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008 and MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park closed in 2000.
9. The studio’s motto is “Ars gratia artis” and can be seen on the film scroll around Leo the Lion’s head in the logo. It’s Latin for “Art for art’s sake.”
10. There used to be an MGM record label. It was created in 1946 to distribute the soundtracks from MGM’s hit musicals – The Wizard of Oz, Gigi, Annie Get Your Gun and Singin’ in the Rain, to name a few. In the ’50s it was considered one of the major labels of the time, but by 1972 it ceased to be profitable. MGM Records was sold to PolyGram, which was sold to Seagram in 1999 and is now part of Universal Music Group". (http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/24359)
