Vicodore Productions

Background
Vicodore Productions was a production company operated by Linda Dunn, Penelope Charest and Ruth Dodd in 1988. The name of the company was a mix between those of the VIC-20 and Commodore 64; Dunn was an avid collector of home computers. Vicodore was launched to co-produce films with Moviestore Entertainment, while taking advantage of Canadian and South African tax incentives. Bebe Kosove and Muriel MacPherson would join the company in 1994 and merge their own company, Pear Films, with them; Pear would become Vicodore's label for NC-17 classified films. In 1994, Vicodore struck a deal with Pathe to distribute their films in the United Kingdom. The company made their first big break when they struck a production alliance with director Oliver Stone for the development of film and television projects. In 2000, the company landed a three picture deal with Universal Studios, with one of the films in the slate being an adaptation of Black Widow. Unfortunately, the company was hit with a lawsuit by Bonneville Worldwide Entertainment, who had helped contribute the company's nestegg and accused Vicodore of funding films promoting sacrilege against The Jesus Christ Church of Later Day Saints, owners of Bonneville. The suit was dismissed, as Vicodore only used Bonneville's funds for corporate purposes, and did not specify they would produce non-secular content. In spite of this, the lawsuit along with the financial failures of their movies led to Vicodore closing in 2003. Two of the three films in the Universal deal were released, both under the arthouse label Universal Focus; Water Man was released before the Boneville suit, The Hunchback was delayed but eventually released, while Black Widow was completed but never released due to Vicodore's license expiring and Marvel not wanting to continue with it.

1st Logo (1989-1991)
Logo: On a black background, we see various blue lines shoot from the right of the screen, forming into a curve. It then fades to a curve facing the opposite direction which splits into two copies. We then fade to the curves in full view as they zoom back. When they settle, we see the text "VICODORE PRODUCTIONS" zoom back and settle beneath the curves.

Trivia: The curves are meant to represent "C", "D" and "D", the last initials for the company founders.

Variant: On D.O.A.D. II, the logo is shifted toward the top of the screen.

FX/SFX: The lines and zooming.

Music/Sounds: A synth rock tune.

Availability: Appeared on the two D.O.A.D. movies. First appeared on the unsold pilot for the American adaptation of Watch With Mother.

2nd Logo (1993-2000)
Logo: A film projector activates, only for the countdown to stop at 4. The image proceeds to burn and it leaves behind a "V" shaped emblem with a white banner containing the word "VICODORE".

FX/SFX: The projector and the burning.

Music/Sounds: Projector noises, followed by the sound of scorching, ending with a triumphant fanfare.

Availability: Seen on The Milkman, the 1995 remake of The Beast of Yucca Flats, Termites and A Strange Illness.

3rd Logo (1997-2002)
Logo: On a black background we see a curved line. The screen flashes and the line is cropped and put into a dark orange box with the text "VICODORE" and "Productions" toward the bottom left.

Variant(s):


 * On the unsold pilot for U-Turn, this shares the screen with the logos for Ixtlan Films and Camelot Pictures.
 * This shares the screen with the logos for Winchester Films, Mind's Eye International and The Spice Factory on Fisherman's Den.

FX/SFX: The flash.

Music/Sounds: A thunder crack.

Availability: Seen on two TV movies, Rabies: A Neighborhood's Nightmare and She-Hulk. Also appeared on the unsold pilot for U-Turn.

4th Logo (2001-2003)
Logo: On a black background, we see white text appear and disappear in succession; words include "feel", "journey" and "experience", along with random letters in the company name. Soon, the company name appears with "Vicodore" in white and "Films" in orange.

FX/SFX: The letters appearing.

Music/Sounds: A series of clangs and chimes, ending with a distorted series of notes.

Music/Sounds/Variant: When it debuted, it used a theme consisting of a couple of bassoon notes, which gradually ascended to a more powerful orchestrated theme.

Availability: Seen on Water Man and The Hunchback. It was recently found on the unreleased Black Widow. Last seen on Sundown.