For no better reason than that nothing better was available to watch last night, I resaw Jaws for the third or fourth time after a gap of several years. Early on, when the shark is making its presence known and Roy Scheider is conflicted about whether to close the beaches or to allow the mayor and the town council to have their way because of summertime economics, Roy is nervously watching the water from a beach chair when this weird looking old guy in a swimming cap with one ear sticking out comes up and starts small talking with Roy.
Out of frustration mostly but also because the hat is godawful and the old guy is such an annoyance, Roy says, “That’s some bad hat, Harry.”
As though I had been drugged before that moment or about to drop off to sleep I bolted upright and hollered for my wife to come see the scene. I backed it up to the start so she could see the old boy come up out of the water, maybe a minute or two from the line itself, and let her get the full impact of it.
Once she heard it she was as shocked as I had been. We both knew that line has great significance.
Bad Hat Harry is a TV production company. “That’s some Bad Hat Harry” is what the guy says to the other guy, who reminds me of Jimbo from The Simpsons.
I’ve never seen Jaws and I’ve always wondered about that. Ignorance fought today.
So that’s why you hear the line after episodes of some TV shows? I’ve been wondering slightly about that. Do you know who says the line? I’ve always thought it sounds a bit like Steve Buscemi.
That’s it! The company (Bryan Singer’s) has produced The Usual Suspects and nowadays the TV series House, M.D. where the little logo (what do you call those things at the end where the production company is identified? Title card?) has a cartoon of the very scene. The House one is immediately followed by one where a boot stomps out something. Can anybody identify that one?
I almost tried to start the thread with the generic issue of What’s behind the various studio names and logos? but couldn’t dream up a catchy title, so I hoped this one would attract the type of people who would care enough to look into the issue with me.
Another one I think I have read/heard about its origin: Tarantino’s A Band Apart company/whatever.
Can you think of others that bug you whenever they show up?
There’s one where a cartoon kid (rather primitive artwork) points toward a tree in the distance and says, “What’s that mean?”
It can also be a fun thing to try to relate the weird logo and the production company with shows or movies they have done. Maybe we can all learn something new today!
Boston Legal has the one with the old woman with a hockey stick watching TV and getting knocked over. I suspect it’s tied to David E. Kelley, but haven’t tried to Google for it yet.
I’ve often wondered about where that ramp is located that is used for Brad Grey at the end of The Sopranos.
Some of the ones used at the start of movies are really cryptic and involved. Studios that leap to mind with weird logos/title cards are:
Imagine
Castle Rock
Miramax
There’s one where a kid runs toward a lake on a pier and jumps toward the water and then it freezes with some company name.
Another one has a guy walking away from us down a road and it has a Magritte feel to it.
Does anybody know of a website that catalogs these things or at least discusses their origins/meanings?
I have to wonder how these ideas come about, who starts the ball rolling, why they have to go through so many changes before settling on the final image, and all that sort of thing. I do know they’re catchy, for the most part.
I think the Dreamworks thing is as clever and evocative as any.
Not to go too deeply into the hijack, but what really cracks me up is the face he makes after - but he doesn’t fully turn away from Smails when he makes it!
Everybody Loves Raymond’s production company has a silverwear setup with the company’s name in the middle. Then someone puts a plate of food on top. The company’s name is “What’s for Lunch?”
It took me two seconds to realize that was the most entertaining part of the show, and two weeks to realize the plate always held a different meal.
Actually, I was thinking of starting a thread yesterday about individual’s production company names and their origins and I had some going through my head: “Oprah Winfrey. Harpo. Her name spelled backwards. Brian Singer. Bad Hat Harry. A line from Jaws. Adam Sandler. Happy Madison. Two of his films, Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison…” As you can see, I was thinking of Bad Hat Harry Productions as well- but I was beaten to the punch.
I love logos. I used to be a member of the Closing Logo Group online, but left before the regime change.
As for websites, the only one I can think of is this one, which is an offshoot of the aforementioned CLG.
The old woman you mention is indeed the logo for David E. Kelley productions. The woman is his late grandmother, who utters her favorite saying, “You stinker!”
The music for the Dreamworks logo was composed by the great John Williams, who also composed the music for the Universal logo. Mel Brooks wrote lyrics for the Universal theme to be used in front of The Producers, but they weren’t used. They were something like:
Hello folks, here comes the movie now (yes sir)
No more previews, here’s the movie now (that’s right)
No more previews here comes the movie now
Here’s the movie now…
