The famed Moviefone hotline, 777-FILM, shut down over the weekend. Callers now hear a message: “To buy tickets and for all your showtime information, please download the free Moviefone app on your smartphone or iPad.”
“The call-in service has been in pretty steady decline,” BermanBraun president Jeff Berman told “The New York Times.” BermanBraun, Web and television company that owns Moviefone, was bought by AOL in 1999 for $388 million in stock.
AOL and BermanBraun are planning a rebrand of Moviefone.
Russ Leatherman, who voiced the cheerful “Welcome to Moviefone!” and all the listings, left the company last November.
In 1995, the brand was so well-known that “Seinfeld” centered an episode around it.
If you’re having trouble letting go, you can do what you did after your last break-up and called your ex’s voicemail just to hear his voice. As in, you can still call and hear Leatherman say “Welcome to Moviefone!” when you dial 777-FILM. The line will be disconnected in about a month.
