Premiere (magazine)

Premiere

Editor	Peter Herbst
Categories	Film Entertainment
Frequency	Monthly
First issue	1987
Final issue	April 2007
Company	Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Country	United States
Website	premiere.com

Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première, was established in France in 1976 and is still being published there.

History [edit]

The magazine originally had offices in Los Angeles and New York and was published by Rupert Murdoch. The founding editor was Susan Lyne and many notable people worked under her, including Peter Biskind who spent a decade at the magazine as executive editor and went on to write the bestselling book, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. He said that early on the magazine "gave us a lot of freedom to do hard-hitting, in-depth reporting."^[1] Chris Connelly is another former editor who went on to work as a correspondent for ESPN and contributing correspondent for ABC's 20/20 and a commentator backstage at the Academy Awards.

News Corporation sold the magazine to K-III (later Primedia) in 1991, and Hachette reacquired the magazine in 1995.

After Lyne left the magazine, Connelly became editor-in-chief in early 1996 with Nancy Griffin as deputy editor. Both editors resigned suddenly in May of the same year after publisher Hachette Filipacchi's then president and chief executive, David Pecker told Connelly to not publish a column about Planet Hollywood because of its ties to billionaire Revlon owner Ronald Perelman, who was also half owner of Premiere.^[1]

Regular features [edit]

Premiere was released ten times a year, with issues dated February, March, April, May, June, July/August, September, October, November and December/January. It sold all over the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and France, among others.

Each issue of Premiere included regular features, such as:

• The Backstory - An introduction by current Editor-in-Chief, Peter Herbst.
• Letter Box - Letters from readers, which also often include comments from industry insiders.
• Take One - A series of short features that include:
  • Action - Behind the Scenes & Ahead of the Curve
  • Ask Glenn - Questions posed to film critic Glenn Kenny
  • Scene Stealer - A brief look at three performances from a random actor-of-the-month's career
  • YES, It's True - News You're Not Supposed to Know - Tidbits on Hollywood wheeling and dealing
  • First Look - Dispatches from the Moviemaking Front - Brief visits to films still in production
  • The Slate - Who's Doing What, And With Whom - A quick roundup of greenlit projects
  • David Strick's Hollywood - A candid black-and-white shot from a film set or location
  • Previews - The Movies That Matter This Month - Synopsis and bottom line prediction
  • Reviews - Film analysis and opinion from Glenn Kenny
• If You Ask Me - A satirical look at Hollywood movies and moviemaking by Libby Gelman-Waxner (Nom de plume of Paul Rudnick), and illustrated by Joshua Gorchov. The column offered comical comments on current movies by way of anecdotes about Libby, her Jewish mother Sondra, her gay male friend Andrew, her orthodontist husband Josh, and their "adorable" kids (including teen daughter Jennifer).
• Flavor of the Month - Spotlight on "Hot" Screenwriters
• Home Guide - information for the movie lovers, covering:
  • DVD reviews - Stars for the movie and the DVDs
  • Movies We Love - Classics, forgotten treasures and just other movies just out on DVD
  • DVD Essential Filmography - Covering the best of a random artist's career on the digital versatile disc format
  • DVD Legacy - What great filmmakers leave behind
  • TechKnowledge - Information on home cinema equipment
  • Idol Chatter - A quick question-and-answer session with actors and actresses by Brantley Bardin

Annual features [edit]

• The Power List - Each year (typically in the May or June issue), Premiere publishes its list of Hollywood's most powerful people. The list typically contains prominent actors, directors, producers, agents, and lawyers. Very rarely, a screenwriter will make the list.
• Women in Hollywood - Each year, the magazine's October issue celebrates some of the most prominent women in Hollywood. Actresses are typically the focus, although the magazine has also covered female studio executives and others in non-acting industry professions. A corresponding reception is held in Los Angeles.
• Academy Awards Coverage - Each year the magazine would cover the Oscars very extensively. A book came out of its coverage written by Steve Pond titled The Big Show.

Editor [edit]

Premiere's editor, Peter Herbst, was appointed senior vice president and group editorial director for Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2002. In addition to serving as editor-in-chief of Premiere, Herbst is also heads the editorial direction for magazines such as Car and Driver, Road & Track, Cycle World, Road & Track Road Gear, Road & Track Speed and Sound & Vision. From 1995 to 2000, Herbst was editor-in-chief for Family Life magazine. Prior to his position at Family Life, Herbst worked for People, Marie Claire, New York magazine, the New York Daily News, and Rolling Stone.

Cancellation [edit]

On March 5, 2007, publishers Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. announced that it was shutting down the U.S. print edition of Premiere, and that the magazine will survive as an online-only publication. The print editions in other countries—the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain—were unaffected by this announcement.^[2] The Portuguese edition was canceled in October 2007. The Czech Republic edition last issue was June 2009.

The last published issue was the April 2007 (featuring Will Ferrell promoting Blades of Glory on the cover). The final issue gave readers no warning that it would be the last. In late April subscribers were mailed postcards advising them of the magazine's demise and telling them the balance of their subscriptions would be fulfilled with issues of the tabloid gossip magazine Us Weekly. Negative response to the offer immediately was posted to the magazine website's forum pages by unhappy subscribers, and it was announced a cash refund would be available for those who preferred one.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• The Site of Movie Magazines Covers for all 230+ issues.