Film magazines

There are quite a few film magazines out now that regularly have new issues and reviews for the newest films.

Empire :     http://www.empireonline.com/


This is probably the most well known film magazine in Britain. It covers a huge amount of new film releases with reviews both in the magazine itself and on the website. It is consistently the best selling film magazine in Britain always outselling its nearest rival Total film.
Like most British magazines Empire is populist in its coverage and approach. It will review art films as well as mainstream things but of course mainly features and focuses on the blockbusters as they will often attract a larger reader audience.

Here is a nice article from Wikipedia which gives a good overview of the magazine and what it includes:

As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features. Each issue (with the exception of issues 108 - 113) features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene. The first such classic scene to be featured was the "I could have been a contender" scene from On the Waterfront.

The regular Top 10 feature lists Empire's choice of the top ten examples of something film-related. For example 10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with the choices made.

The At Home section covers DVD news and releases; Empire's editors consider this section to be of sufficient quality to term it a magazine in itself, which is also relevant to the growth and importance of the DVD market, where sales can often outstrip that of box-office.

Pint of Milk presents celebrities' answers to silly or unusual questions, including the question "How much is a pint of milk?" This is intended as a guide to the Chosen Celebrity's contact with reality, and as such can be more informative than a direct interview, often reporting some surprising responses.

Each magazine includes a "Spine Quote", in which a relatively challenging quote is printed on the spine of the magazine. There are usually some obvious and obscure links from the quote to the main features of that month's edition. Readers are invited to identify the film source and the links to win a prize.

Kim Newman's DVD Dungeon is a regular feature in the At Home section, in which critic Kim Newman reviews the most obscure releases, mostly low budget horror movies.

Celebrity Mastermind is another regular in which a celebrity is given questions about the films they were in or they directed. Celebrities range from Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Lee (who are at the top of the scoreboard) to John Carpenter and Michael Keaton (who are at the bottom of the scoreboard).

Total Film : http://totalfilm.com

Total film is a British magazine first published in 1997 and it releases a new issue every four weeks.
It offers news, reviews and features on the latest film releases, DVDs and Blu-rays. It is one of the largest English circulating film magazines in the world as well as also running a thriving website which has constant updates, news and reviews.

Here is the description from Wikipedia describing the features of the magazine and the key sections it includes :

Each month, TF provides a range of features, from full-length interviews and photo shoots with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews and retrospective pieces. All issues contain the Total Film Interview — an in-depth chat with a celebrated actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work; the Abridged Script - a one-page parody of a recent release and Total Film loves..., a one-page celebration of a film, a scene or a performance.

Dialogue 

The section where readers can interact with the magazine, this contains readers' letters, emails and feedback from the magazine's social media followers (Total films Forum, Facebook and Twitter). Each month, Total Film offers a DVD for each published missive. Regular features within Dialogue include Office Spaced where snippets of conversation from the Total Film office are shared,Still Out, Still Good - a pick of the movies that are already out and Listen up, Hollywood! where Total Film readers declare what they want from specific future releases.

Buzz 

The news section, providing details on upcoming films, includes first look photos, on-set visits and exclusive "sneak peeks". Regular Buzz features include: Ever met Tom Cruise? where a behind the scenes person is interviewed, eg a stuntwoman or a casting director; The 100 Club where stars with over a 100 film credits to their name are interviewed; Red Light, Green Light for what's stopping and what's starting in movieland and Movie Stock for who's up and who's not.

Agenda 

Billed as being for the sharper movie fan, this section often previews more eclectic and less mainstream releases and players. Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd writes a column for Agenda.

Screen 

The main cinema reviews section, with every new movie for that month reviewed and rated. Major releases receive comprehensive coverage, with a star rating out of five, the magazine's own Predicted Interest Curve — a graph that demonstrates which moments of a film are likely to hold the viewer's attention and a short Verdict. Also briefly listed are similar recommendations under See this if you liked... Smaller films receive a concise review and rating. The end of the section is devoted to the current U.S. and UK box office charts, an irreverent flashback to an old issue and summaries of any films that were not shown to journalists in time for that month's print deadline.

Lounge 

Total Films home entertainment guide, including reviews of the latest DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as Games, CD Soundtracks and movie-related books. There is also a regular Lounge feature called Is it just me? where a Total Film writer gets to rant about a particular (often controversial) film-related point of view, as well as other large-scale features that are DVD or Blu-ray-related.

The Total Film Quiz 

A two-page section which includes the following rounds: Now And Then, Spot The Difference, Missing Link, Crossword and Status Seeking. Answers are readable with a mirror. Additionally, Total Film features a Monthly Competition, which can be entered by post, text message or online. Prizes are usually hardware or a film-related activity/experience.

These are probably the two most well known film magazines in Britain. While it would be ideal to have my short film marketed in one of these I highly doubt they would as they tend to cover large blockbuster releases as they are what attract the majority of the readers. How ever i was surprised to learn that both of  the magazines did have a section dedicated to more obscure less mainstream audiences with Empire having "Kim Newman's DVD dungeon" and Total Film having "Agenda". If my short film did get marketed in one of these magazines I would assume it would be in one of these sections.

After researching in to these two massive film magazines I think I would probably have to look towards a more localized less well known magazine to be realistic on where it would be reviewed.