''Femme Fatales'' was an American

men's magazine This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as Adult magazine, adult ones. Not include ...

focusing on film and television actresses. It was in circulation between 1992 and 2008.

History and profile

''Femme Fatales'' was founded by Frederick S. Clarke in the summer of 1992, as the sister publication to his

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstel ...

magazine ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...

''. Published by Clarke, it was originally edited by

pin-up A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

photography collector and expert Bill George. ''Cinefantastique'' contributor Dan Cziraky joined the staff as Associate Editor several months prior to its launch. It focused on science-fiction, fantasy, and horror actresses, from

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winners, featuring provocative

non-nude photography Erotic photography is a style of art photography of an erotic, sexually suggestive or sexually provocative nature. Erotic photography is often distinguished from nude photography, which contains nude subjects not necessarily in an erotic situation ...

pictorials, alongside extensive career interviews. It was unique in that it encouraged contributions from the actresses themselves, and featured articles penned by " scream queens"

Brinke Stevens Brinke Stevens (born Charlene Elizabeth Brinkman, September 20, 1954) is an American actress, model, and writer. A native of San Diego, Stevens initially pursued a career as a marine biologist prior to becoming an actress, earning an undergrad ...

, Tina-Desiree Berg and

Debbie Rochon Debbie Ann Rochon (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films. Early life When Rochon was ten years old, her parents were deemed unfit ...

, amongst others. Interviews with filmmakers that helped bolster the "scream queen" market, such as

Andy Sidaris Andrew W. Sidaris (February 20, 1931 – March 7, 2007) was an American television and film director, film producer, screenwriter, and actor. Early life Sidaris was born in Chicago, Illinois, to first-generation Greek immigrants. He grew up ...

and

Fred Olen Ray Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter of more than 200 low-to-medium-budget feature films in many genres, including horror, science fiction, action/adventure, erotic thrillers, crime ...

, were also featured. It was a publishing success, at one time producing an issue every three weeks. Cziraky left the magazine in 1994 over creative differences with George, and was replaced as Associate Editor by Rochon. Clarke committed suicide in 2000, and for two years, both magazines were published by his widow, Celeste Casey Clarke. At the end of 2002, ''Femme Fatales'' was published bi-monthly, and had an unaudited circulation of 70,000. In 2002, Clarke contacted

Mark A. Altman Mark A. Altman is a writer, producer and actor. He is a former Los Angeles bureau chief for Cinefantastique magazine and was also a previous editor in chief of Sci-Fi Universe magazine. He has also been a writer for comic books. Credits Film ...

, the president and chief operating officer of Mindfire Entertainment, a film/TV writer and producer, the former editor-in-chief of ''Sci-Fi Universe'' and a regular contributor to both ''Cinefantastique'' and ''Femme Fatales'', allowing Mindfire to take over their publication. David E. Williams, a former executive features editor at ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'', became editor-in-chief of both publications. Both magazines' operations were moved from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

. Williams planned the 2003 revamp of ''Femme Fatales'' as a version of the men's magazine ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' focusing on actresses in science fiction and horror films. After a brief hiatus, Mark Gottwald took over publication and ''Femme Fatales'' began printing again at the end of 2007 as a bi-monthly magazine. The final issue of ''Femme Fatales'' was printed in September 2008 and featured Jolene Blalock on the cover. ''Femme Fatales'' was purchased by Williams in 2010. The magazine became the basis of the

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

-inspired TV series '' Femme Fatales'', which aired on

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

from May 13, 2011 to August 10, 2012.

was the co-creator and executive producer of the show while Williams was credited as co-executive producer.

References

{{Reflist Film magazines published in the United States Men's magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1992 Magazines disestablished in 2008 Magazines published in California Magazines published in Chicago