https://cinefex.com/media/Message_fr..._022232021.htm

I had no idea they were still around. I never had a sub, but I'd grab the occasional issue back in the day. It was always a quality publication. Sorry to see them fold.

It was a quality publication mag but sadly the newsstand market has been dying. Other than seeing the magazine at the B&N and airport newsstands, I don't know where else was it available.

Magazines were in trouble before the pandemic.

It's been a slow death spiral since the rise of the internet. Websites can now publish the same content that was once exclusive to magazines (and newspapers) with no lead time. "Old news for $5.95 a month" now had to compete with instant and free.

I like print/physical media.

I still collect those "Art of/Making of" books for a variety of films (I think I have the entire Marvel collection, with some still on preorder). This publication was a nice alternative, when certain films didn't release any extensive behind-the-scenes material.

I still have a few issues from the olden days when the production methods involved far more hands-on craftsmanship, but whenever I'd visit a B&N during trips to the states, I'd always skim through the latest issue but never felt compelled to buy one because I basically knew how the vast majority of the special effects were achieved today: CGI. One could only view so many 'before' shots of actors posed in front of green screens beside 'after shots' of elaborate, ultra-photorealistic final composites (something I'd already watched in the films themselves and knew how they did it) to realize I wasn't going to learn anything revelatory because the majority of modern effects work involves people sitting motionless at computer desks, which isn't very exciting. I think regarding the special effects industry in particular, the genie really came out of the bottle in the era of exhaustive DVD supplements (and certain LD supplements before that), and even moreso in the era of YouTube, where everyone and their mother could not only deconstruct the "magic" of any new film, but also create digital effects sequences of near-equal quality with off-the-shelf or cloud software accessible to all. Nothing surprises me anymore, but as long as the digital trickery is in the service of a compelling story backed up by confident technique (which is also easier with today's limitless tech), I'm fine with that. You kinda know the era of 'discovery' for this kind of stuff is over when it's practically second nature to public school kids.

Sad to hear, I collected them from 97-2008.

I echo Brian's thoughts 100% - behind the scenes making of films isn't nearly as interesting at it was before CG became commonplace. I was actually considering unloading my collection, other than my favs... maybe I'll pause that for now. Wish they were available to purchase digitally!

I hung onto one that had the Millenium Falcon on the cover (probably late 90s) for the longest time. It's probably still in a box here somewhere.

I was always impressed how they even covered flicks I wasn't a fan of but still made it interesting.

Only time I truly had credits listed (company thank you splash pages) because of contractual limitations in features. I have a handful of issues during the 95-98 years because of the effects houses I worked in.

What I miss was the old Movie Magic/Mega Movie Magic tv show which was a great companion to Cinefex.

I use to buy it back in the days when practical effects were still being done, but I lost interest when CGI came around. I have no interest in reading about that, nor watching special features on Blu-rays that talk about CGI.