Premiere (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Premiere was an American
and New York City
-based film magazine
published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
, published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première (Première site), was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.
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." 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.
, Australia
, Britain and France
, among others.
Each issue of Premiere included regular features, such as:
, 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
.
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-like 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based film magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. , orgin ally known as CBS Publications, was a subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Médias , and was based in New York City.-History:...
, published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première (Première site), was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.
History
The magazine originally had offices in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and New York and was published by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. The founding editor was Susan Lyne and many notable people worked under her, including Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind is a journalist, former executive editor of Premiere magazine, and the author of numerous books depicting life in Hollywood, including Seeing Is Believing, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Down and Dirty Pictures, and Gods and Monsters...
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." Chris Connelly is another former editor who went on to work as a correspondent for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and contributing correspondent for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 20/20 and a commentator backstage at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
.
News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
sold the magazine to K-III (later Primedia) in 1991, and Hachette
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. , orgin ally known as CBS Publications, was a subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Médias , and was based in New York City.-History:...
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
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
because of its ties to billionaire Revlon
Revlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
owner Ronald Perelman, who was also half owner of Premiere.
Regular features
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 US, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Britain and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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 actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
-of-the-month's career - YES, It's True - News You're Not Supposed to Know - Tidbits on HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, CaliforniaHollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
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 greenlitGreenlightTo green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
projects - David Strick's Hollywood - A candid black-and-whiteBlack-and-whiteBlack-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
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 satiricalSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
look at Hollywood movies and moviemaking by Libby Gelman-WaxnerPaul RudnickPaul M. Rudnick is an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His plays include I Hate Hamlet, Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla and The New Century. He also wrote for Premiere magazine under the pseudonym Libby Gelman-Waxner, and for Spy.Rudnick grew up in Piscataway...
(Nom de plumePen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of Paul RudnickPaul RudnickPaul M. Rudnick is an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His plays include I Hate Hamlet, Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla and The New Century. He also wrote for Premiere magazine under the pseudonym Libby Gelman-Waxner, and for Spy.Rudnick grew up in Piscataway...
), 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). - Home Guide - information for the movie lovers, covering:
- DVD reviews - Stars for the movie and the DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s - 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 cinemaHome cinemaHome cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
equipment - Idol Chatter - A quick question-and-answer session with actors and actresses by Brantley Bardin
- DVD reviews - Stars for the movie and the DVD
Annual features
- 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
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 DriverCar and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
, Road & Track
Road & Track
Road & Track is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, and is published monthly. The editorial offices are located in Newport Beach, California.-History:...
, Cycle World
Cycle World
Cycle World is a motorcycling magazine in the United States. It was founded in 1962 by Joe Parkhurst, who was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame as "the person responsible for bringing a new era of objective journalism" to the U.S. and is now the largest motorcycling magazine in the 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
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, New York magazine, the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
Cancellation
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 and will continue. The Portuguese edition was canceled in October 2007. Czech Republic edition last issue is June 2009.The last published issue was the April 2007 (featuring Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
promoting Blades of Glory
Blades of Glory
Blades of Glory is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, and starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. The movie was released on March 29, 2007 by DreamWorks and MTV Films...
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-like Us Weekly
Us Weekly
Us Weekly is a celebrity gossip magazine, founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986. The publication covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment...
. 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.
External links
- The Site of Movie Magazines Covers for all 230+ issues.