science

Moviefone

Moviefone is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Moviefone rather than just read about it. In short: Moviefone is an American-based movie listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, cinema information, film reviews, and advance tickets, as well as TV content and a comprehensive search tool that allows users to find theaters, channels, and streaming services offering movies and television shows.

Key takeaways

Moviefone belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Moviefone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Moviefone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Moviefone is an American-based movie listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, cinema information, film reviews, and advance tickets, as well as TV content and a comprehensive search tool that allows users to find theaters, channels, and streaming services offering movies and television shows. The service is owned by Born in Cleveland LLC, Cleveland O'Neal III's holding company. O'Neal is creator and producer of Made in Hollywood syndicated daytime entertainment show.

History In 1987, in Manhattan Beach, CA, Doug Hoitenga conceived the idea and business model for moviefone, and shortly thereafter compiled a founding team. In 1989, Doug Hoitenga, along with Russ Leatherman, Rob Gukeisen, Andrew Jarecki, Pat Cardamone, and Adam Slutsky launched the interactive telephone service, with initial service in Los Angeles and New York City. Leatherman provided the voice of "Mr. Moviefone" for the automated phone service. After gaining popularity, the service later expanded across the United States and eventually adopted an online presence as Moviefone.com. In 1999, AOL purchased Moviefone for $388 million. The acquisition was completed on May 21, 1999. In 2001, Moviefone entered into a partnership with MovieTickets.com that crosslinked their ticketing offerings; by 2004, Moviefone's online arm was acquired outright by MovieTickets.com. However, in 2012, Moviefone announced a partnership with MovieTickets.com's rival Fandango. On February 23, 2014, it was reported that Moviefone would be shutting down its call-in service and its "777-FILM" phone number, but would maintain its mobile app services. On May 5, 2014, Moviefone was relaunched with a new look, an expansion into TV content, and a comprehensive search tool that allows users to find theaters, channels, and streaming services offering movies and television shows. On April 5, 2018, Helios and Matheson Analytics, the majority owner of the movie ticketing service MoviePass, announced the acquisition of Moviefone from Oath Inc. for $1 million in cash and $8 million in stock. In early 2020, Helios and Matheson went bankrupt in deep controversy over multiple changes to the MoviePass service, and at that point had one employee, Matt Atchity, handling Moviefone. The company was worth just $4,379,504, or about 1% of the 388 million when it was purchased by AOL. Made in Hollywood Producer Cleveland O’Neal III purchased Moviefone out of bankruptcy in March 2020 via his holding company, Born in Cleveland LLC.

In popular culture In the Seinfeld episode, "The Pool Guy" (season 7, episode 8), the character Cosmo Kramer receives misdialed calls meant for a parodied Moviefone after getting a new phone number. In an episode of the TV series of Dilbert, the Pointy-haired Boss confuses Moviefone with an automated hotline for checking his stocks, being frustrated that trying to check his IBM stock leads to buying tickets to a horror movie. In the Family Guy episode "I Dream of Jesus", Marlee Matlin attempts to call Moviefone in order to hear showtimes for The Last Mimzy, but ends up purchasing tickets to 300 because of her impaired speech. In the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats, Mr. Moviefone is the voice of subliminal advertising messages planted into pop music by an ominous record agency. In the 2023 film Beau Is Afraid, Moviefone can be seen in a shot of Beau's recently called contacts.

References

External links Official website "777-FILM". Moviefone.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-07. List of U.S. states with Moviefone local numbers.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Moviefone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Moviefone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Moviefone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Moviefone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Moviefone

In research: Moviefone appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Moviefone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Moviefone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2018 mergers and acquisitions, 2020 mergers and acquisitions, American companies established in 1989, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Moviefone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Moviefone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Moviefone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Moviefone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Moviefone in simple terms?

Why does Moviefone matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Moviefone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Moviefone.