Movieline gets a new look, name in Hollywood Life. (Media & Technology).

After a six-month stretch in which it cut its publishing cycle in half to focus on an editorial and design makeover, the former Movieline magazine will return to monthly issues in September under its new moniker, Hollywood Life.

The title change, which went into effect in May, is a nod to an ongoing evolution at the independently owned magazine, which was founded in 1989.

Over the past year, Movieline--and now Hollywood Life--has been expanding its coverage to include more lifestyle features and branching out beyond film into other areas of entertainment.

"No one should be so stagnant not to consider changes," said Anne Volokh, co-owner of Hollywood Life's parent company, Line Publications, and the magazine's editorial director.

With commitments from new national advertisers, Volokh said the first two issues of Hollywood Life have been moneymakers. But she acknowledged that the past few years had been tough for Movieline.

"The ad climate has not been very abundant," she said. "On the other hand, Hollywood Life is opening up a lot of new doors for us."

Despite mushrooming interest in celebrities and just about anything having to do with the Hollywood lifestyle, traditional film magazines like Premiere have been under pressure from larger, more general interest titles like People and Us Weekly. And with more celebrity and film coverage on broadcast television, cable and in the national tabloids, it's become harder to get fans' attention.

Movieline began shifting away from pure film coverage and juicy celebrity dirt to L.A.-centric lifestyle stories. The shift has brought it closer to In Style, the successful Time Inc. title.

Despite the changes, Volokh said there is much continuity between Movielink and Hollywood Life, including continued contributions by a stable of longtime writers like Stephen Rebello and Joe Queenan.

Hollywood Life is slightly larger in size and bulk than its predecessor. It's also considerably slicker.

Higher quality paper stock and bolder design elements support a lineup that features more celebrity profiles, expanded DVD coverage, fashion spreads and articles the old Movieline wouldn't have written, such as a recent piece on dating in Los Angeles.

Hollywood Life has paid circulation of 251,000, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, down from a high of more than 300,000 in the 1990s.

Volokh said year-to-year ad sales have increased starting with the first issue of Hollywood Life in May. For the September issue, advertising pages are up 22 percent over 2002, Volokh said.

That's well ahead of the magazine market as a whole, which experienced a marginal 1.8 percent gain in ad pages in the first six months of the year compared to the fast six months of 2002.