Before smartphones and Fandango , one friendly , boom voice was call flick time into auricle across America . Now , after 25 geezerhood , that voice and the cultural catchphrase it wrought — Hello , and welcome to Moviefone — are about to enter an eternity of radio set silence . But as it turns out , the human race behind the vocalization still has plenty left to say .
Russ Leatherman — Mr. Moviefone himself — may have just been one of several Mr. Moviefone cofounders back in 1989 , but it was his spokesperson that narrate every title , showtime , dramaturgy , and street direction to each and every one of 777 - FILM ’s company over the years . And for someone with such famous outspoken chords , other than some top 40 radio DJ - ing back in college , he barely had any voice experience at all . Speaking to Gizmodo , Leatherman noted , “ I just happened to be the guy at the meter who could sit in front of a mic and do the recording . ”
Setting the Tone
Before Moviefone inscribe the world , there were precisely two ways to hunt down movie multiplication . You could either forage through newspapers , or go straight to the box office and hopef or the sound . Both were a infliction in the ass . barrack by this universal defeat , Leatherman and co. decided to do something that had never been done before ; they were going to spoon - feed film times to anyone with a phone line — whole for free .
As we all roll in the hay , it was a collision , and it was n’t long before Moviefone expanded from its initial location in New York and LA to nearly every major metropolis in the land . Creating what was the first of its kind , Leatherman take particular pride in the milestones they gain along the way of life :
After the first class or so , we were already in the top 10 metropolis in the country . Of naturally , we finally deal the fellowship to AOL in 1999 , but we had a batch of firsts along the direction . We introduced credit cards to picture show . We were the first on-line motion picture template . We introduced reserve seats to the pic . Truthfully , much of how you get to the movies today is because Moviefone repose that out for you .
As with any innovation , theaters were boring to embrace the stain new ticketing system of rules , but all it have was one to fall before the rest came tumble after—”tumbling ” being a somewhat accurate description here . Moviefone certainly did n’t take off without its hiccups .
Just the Fax
Back in the tardy eighty / other 90s when Moviefone first started , sending just the ticket orders over the cyberspace was nearly abysmal . So what ’d they use instead ? Good , ol’ fashioned fax machines . As Leatherman recite Gizmodo , “ When new tech became available , we ’d jump on it pretty quickly . But if it did n’t survive yet , we just had to endeavor to make it ourselves . ”
fundamentally , Moviefone ’s first system was based entirely around manpower and some killer organizational acquirement . make it up mostly as they went along , the team would have to publish out a client ’s order themselves and fax it to the appropriate theater . The theaters had been teach to maintain an alphabetically organized folder , so as ticket orders came pouring in as tight as the facsimile machine political machine could spue ’em out , the box spot attendant would need to physically file each individual lodge . Occasionally , though , the facsimile spat orders out a little too fast . Leatherman come back one instance in especial in 1991 when Moviefone only had a couplet theaters under its belted ammunition , one of which was the El Capitan in Hollywood :
When Beauty and the Beast first came out , we ’d put a facsimile political machine in the boxful spot that just spit out these cards , but the arrangement had broken — stand for we oversold the theater by about three or four times . This was a totally new engineering science , so the studio were mentioning it in their newspaper ads . And since it was a family movie , people were enraptured about being able to reserve in feeler .
We got a call from the theatre coach that morning , and their little box role was about half - path full — just about waist thick — in reservation cards . We had to in person go down to that theater and excuse to the house in minivans take up with their kids that they were n’t going to get to see Beauty and the Beast that day . It was a engineering glitch ; anytime you try anything new its almost inevitable .
Moviefone , ruiner of childrens ’ afternoon .
The fax system was windy , certain , but at the clock time , it seemed like the only agency . As skilful credit card processing technology became uncommitted , though , Moviefone could take up post the transactions themselves to the theaters — as soon as the theatre agreed to add the necessary equipment , that is . So in this way , Moviefone really did pave the way for the many ticketing Robert William Service that would come after it .
Dialing In
As Moviefone perfected its operation and dug its way into the country ’s cultural consciousness , the hotline start popping up in more and more metropolis . And at least for Leatherman , that meant a whole stack more work than you ’ve probably ever realized . Each raw city mean new theaters , new address , and a whole new system of route and cross streets . For Mr. Moviefone , that mean put in some heavy studio metre :
In the rootage , I spent solar day and weeks and months in a small recording booth . I ’d just be recording every theater in the nation and every possible telephone scenario . Then as cities started getting recorded , within a few years , I was spending just two or three hour a week in a recording kiosk , but no more than that . finally it was mostly just movie titles and thing like that . It became accomplishable .
Nothing was more of a testament to how widespread Moviefone had become than its abbreviated least sandpiper on Seinfeld in 1995 . The episode ’s Italian sandwich - plot revolved around the fact that Kramer ’s new phone line closely resembled the telephone number for Moviefone , so rather than continuing to inform hoi polloi they had the amiss issue , he just decides to go with the flow .
As popular as Moviefone had already been , after the Seinfeld sequence , a pair hundred thousand calls a calendar week cursorily turn into about a million a week . It ’s the kind of advertising money ca n’t purchase .
Hanging Up
But a few years later , the internet find . sure as shooting , it had always been there , hulk in the backcloth , but as that grating telephone dial - up tone of voice start sound off in more and more home across the body politic , the Moviefone calls start up to decline . Adapting , again , Leatherman and his coworkers position up store at Moviefone.com and its subsequent smartphone app . So it was no surprise when AOL come a - knockin ’ in 1999 .
While Moviefone.com provided schedule , synopses , reviews , etc . , it still relied on out-of-door partners to power the site ’s ticketing function . And under the ( former ) internet giant ’s reign , Moviefone ’s online arm cover - linked with MovieTickets.com before being instantly evolve by the ticketing site . Just a few years ago in 2012 , though , Moviefone team up with Fandango , its current ticketing partner . While all these change were get on in Moviefone ’s virtual realm , Leatherman remained the heart and soul of the phone line — until just last yr , that is .
After Leatherman left the caller in November of last class to pursue other labor ( like his heavy syndicatedSix Second Reviews ) , the fate of the telephone line became more or less sealed . With the founder , facial expression , and voice of the companionship gone , hiring a replacement would n’t only not seem right — it really would n’t have made much sense . Some may still hold onto the old method , but the telephony line had been falling steady out of favour . And it ’s for this reason that Leatherman believes AOL , unfortunately , really did n’t have much of a choice in shuttering the service , telling Gizmodo , “ When was the last time you saw a 16 - year - quondam talking to — well , anybody ? Literally just let a conversation with anyone . It does n’t happen like it used to . ”
Twenty - five years is a long time for anything . Nearly a Bieber and a half . And much like dog years , tech ages at an exponentially faster charge per unit than everything else surrounding it . So it ’s with intellect - yet - grueling warmheartedness that we hang up on Leatherman ’s iconic , informative tones for the concluding time .
Goodbye , and so long to Moviefone .
picture : Getty Images / Evan Agostini
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