Premiere Magazine: RIP 1987 - 2007

The final reel has arrived for Premiere magazine. Hachette has found no buyers, so as the Reaper was waiting at the door, it was time to come and take it.

In its golden era in the 1980's, Premiere was THE buzzed-about movie magazine -- glossy, sexy, juicy. Great writers launched their careers from Premiere. This was THE movie fanatic's bible.

Fast forward more than 20 years later and Premiere is a classic case to become a guest on the Reaper's boat: a million movie gossip sites, and blogs posting photos of celebs before they even get to put their makeup on (!).  Movie companies looking to push their latest dreck or DVD preferred plastering those web sites and blogs with ads for a fast rush of buyers. It even made more sense to advertise on the radio to capture the compulsive buyers of movie tickets and DVD's (that is, if they weren't downloading bootleg copies in the first place). Premiere became obsolete.

We've discussed the impending demise of Premiere before, and it still bring up that question which seems to bring about lots of comments here -- if Premiere folds, how in God's name does Movieline's Hollywood Life still exist?

Of course, the Premiere folding announcement has the inevitable "we'll keep premiere.com and Premiere Mobile" going -- Hachette should. This is a well-known name brand for a great on line area and they should be able to scoop up some money if they really do it right and it's not just lip service.

But this is about magazines, isn't it? Great ones that have somehow outlived their usefulness, and Premiere is a classic example of that. So we're riding Premiere off into the sunset -- and thank goodness it's dark down here because it makes spectacular film viewing.

UPDATE: As predicted, one mention of "Movieline's Hollywood Life" and bam, instant venomous comments appear! There is no other magazine that seems to inspire such hatred on this blog as this publication, that I'm beginning to think is the cause behind cancer, the War between the States, 9/11 and bacterial tooth decay.

MORE THOUGHTS: With a general movie magazine meeting its demise because of the changing technology and media habits, what does the future abode for Entertainment Weekly?

Comments

[Desiree Blanc]

While it’s true that Premiere has outlived its usefulness and became the victim of our bloggy times, did it really deserve to succumb to the Reaper before the atrocity that is Movieline’s Hollywood Life? I mean, at least Premiere was about, you know, movies. Hollywood Life purports to be a movie magazine, or at least it did when it was Movieline, and now just covers frocks, handbags, makeup and useless bits of junk spotted on celebutards. With a circulation hovering around what I’m sure is in the lower teens, I’m beginning to think Hollywood Life’s publisher must have a pact with the devil…or BE the devil.

[mmmbuhbye!]

Here's hoping MHL, that cesspool of bad journalism and even worse fashion sense, follows sad old Premiere into the annals of publications that have come and gone to magazine hell. MHL's slave-driving editor/publisher steals from babies and eats kittens for dinner while hawking Lindsay Lohan's favorite lipgloss and ugly gold junk your grandmother wouldn't wear.

[magluver]

Hollywood Life = useless crap rag only a PR hack could love -- DIE ALREADY BITCHEZZZZ

[Tippy McTipperson]

There is ONE reason that "Hollywood Life" survives. Horny oil barons will always want an "in" to frotteurize starletts at parties thrown by the publisher!

[Stewart M. Clamen]

When did PREMIERE launch? I think I've been a subscriber for close to 20 years.

[mmmbuhbye!]

It's behind all that AND MORE

[Corey Mesler]

They are sending us US for the final 8 months left on our subscription. Who would think for one minute that that unreadable rag, a magazine of almost no words, would be a substitute for Premiere? Do we have any recourse? No one asked me what I wanted instead---like a refund.

Corey Mesler
Memphis