About MovieMaker

MovieMaker

MovieMaker is an American publication focused on the art and business of filmmaking, with a special emphasis on independent film. Founded by Timothy Rhys in 1993 as a small, regional publication based in Seattle, the magazine is published quarterly (with a companion annual, The Complete Guide to Making Movies) by MovieMaker Media, LLC. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California — the magazine is based in Hollywood, with an address at 2265 Westwood Blvd. #479, Los Angeles, CA 90064. The official website is moviemaker.com.

MovieMaker describes itself as the nation's leading magazine on the art and business of making movies and the world's most widely read independent movie magazine. Its content is directed at the audience as well as the artist: a lively mix of interviews, trend-setting criticism, DIY techniques, festival coverage, distribution and financing tips, behind-the-scenes indie "war stories," and appreciations of classic Hollywood actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, screenwriters, and editors.

Publication at a Glance

MovieMaker is a quarterly English-language magazine with national scope, based in Los Angeles, California, and published by the privately held MovieMaker Media, LLC. It was founded in 1993 as a small regional publication in Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest. The company employs between 2 and 10 people according to its corporate profile. The magazine's award-winning website, moviemaker.com, receives more than one million visitors per year.

Founding in Seattle, 1993

Timothy Rhys founded MovieMaker in Seattle, Washington, in 1993 as a small regional publication. Rhys continued to serve as the magazine's publisher and editor-in-chief — described by the magazine as its "resident auteur" — and also worked on MovieMaker Production Services, which helped filmmakers stretch their budgets. The magazine grew from its Pacific Northwest roots into a national publication, relocating its headquarters to Southern California; its headquarters have been variously reported as Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and Burbank, California.

Readership and Reach

The magazine has reported an international distribution of 54,000, a readership of more than 160,000, and a direct subscribership of more than 14,000 and growing. MovieMaker's readers, as the magazine describes them, "make movies, buy tickets, and vote for awards. They are decisionmakers looking to us for inspiration, community and actionable information." The magazine offers profiles, advice, insider tips, and product reviews that readers use to make decisions about what they watch — and what they create.

Editorial Content

The magazine's content mix is directed at both the audience and the artist. Regular coverage includes interviews with leading filmmakers — the magazine has featured virtually every leading filmmaker on its cover — trend-setting criticism, DIY filmmaking techniques, festival coverage, distribution and financing tips, behind-the-scenes indie "war stories," and appreciations of classic Hollywood actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, screenwriters, and editors. Signature annual features include the ranking of the best places to live and work as a filmmaker in the United States, in "Big Cities" and "Small Cities and Towns" categories — Ashland, Oregon, was named to the list for six consecutive years, placing sixth in the Small Cities and Towns category in one ranking, chosen for its picturesque filming locations such as Lithia Park and Mt. Ashland and its welcoming community for filmmakers.

The MovieMaker Manifesto

In March 2013, the magazine published "The MovieMaker Manifesto: A Document for an Oppressed Majority," addressed to "men and women of contemporary independent film, auteurs and fans alike, you downtrodden and enraged creators of beauty" — a statement of the magazine's advocacy for independent creators. The magazine has also been a consistent investigator of industry economics: in May 2021, it published an investigation asking "Is Self-Distribution a Viable Route for Your Indie?" — noting that indies around the country had taken notice of self-distribution, including the magazine's own publisher.

Festival Coverage

MovieMaker is a fixture of the festival circuit, with dispatches from Sundance and other major festivals. Its annual "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" feature — published for 2014 and in subsequent years — advises filmmakers where to invest their festival-entry budgets for career results. The magazine's festival reporting combines practical guidance with interviews, such as its Sundance dispatches featuring conversations with directors.

Digital Presence

The magazine's website, moviemaker.com, is updated constantly with articles on the art and business of filmmaking. The site carries the magazine's interviews, festival dispatches, DIY technique pieces (such as "DIY Monday" columns), and industry analysis. The tag archives on the site include extensive coverage under the names of founder Timothy Rhys and editor Tim Molloy, reflecting the magazine's hands-on editorial culture — it was published by Deirdre McCarrick and edited by Tim Molloy, described as a married couple in love with film.

Industry Standing

MovieMaker is listed by media databases as a verified national magazine outlet covering film and entertainment, and its LinkedIn profile describes it as "the nation's leading resource on the art and business of making movies and the world's most widely read independent film magazine." Its editorial approach — practical, filmmaker-first, and celebratory of both independent creators and classic Hollywood — has made it, in its own words, "a perennial favorite and trusted brand with cinema artists and discriminating film fans everywhere."

The Complete Guide to Making Movies

Alongside the quarterly magazine, MovieMaker publishes The Complete Guide to Making Movies, an annual special issue serving as a comprehensive reference for filmmakers. The guide complements the magazine's regular coverage of DIY techniques, distribution and financing tips, and festival strategy — a one-stop resource for independent creators navigating the business of film.

Founder Timothy Rhys also continued to work on MovieMaker Production Services, which helped filmmakers stretch their budgets further — extending the magazine's filmmaker-first ethos from editorial into practical production support.

Corporate Profile and Advertising

MovieMaker Media, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, employing between 2 and 10 people. The magazine's LinkedIn presence lists its employees and describes the company as operating in the Movies, Videos, and Sound industry. For advertisers, the magazine offers a media kit and direct contact — its ProductionHUB profile invites businesses to "check out our Media Kit or contact us directly," with the magazine's offices at 2265 Westwood Blvd. #479, Los Angeles, California 90064, reachable at (310) 234-9234.

Southern Oregon University's news service, covering the magazine's annual best-places ranking, summarized the publication as "geared toward the art and business of filmmaking" and noted that it "claims to be the world's most widely read independent film magazine" — founded in 1993 in Seattle and now headquartered in California. The magazine's own corporate self-description is more expansive still: "the nation's leading resource on the art and business of making movies and the world's most widely read independent film magazine."

The magazine's LinkedIn profile describes its content as "a lively mix of interviews, trend-setting criticism, DIY techniques, festival coverage, distribution and financing tips, behind-the-scenes indie 'war stories' and appreciations of classic Hollywood actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, screenwriters and editors." That mix — practical for working filmmakers, pleasurable for film fans — has made MovieMaker, in its own words, "a perennial favorite and trusted brand with cinema artists and discriminating film fans everywhere."

Official Website

The magazine's official website is https://www.moviemaker.com, carrying daily articles on filmmaking, festival coverage, interviews, and industry analysis, alongside print subscription information. Founded in Seattle in 1993 by Timothy Rhys and now headquartered in Los Angeles, MovieMaker continues to serve the art and business of independent filmmaking in print and online.