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Almost from its launch in 1905, Variety used its own distinctive slanguage in headlines and stories in part to fit long words into small headlines, but also to create a clubby feel among the paper's entertainment industry readers. But you don't have to be an industry insider to enjoy the Slanguage Dictionary! |
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| ankle -- A classic (and enduring) Variety term meaning to quit or be dismissed from a job, without necessarily specifying which; instead, it suggests walking; "Alan Smithee has ankled his post as production prexy at U." |
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| B.O. -- box office or box office receipts; " 'Boogie Nights' did brisk biz at the B.O." or "The B.O. for 'Men in Black' is whammo overseas." |
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| BevHills -- Beverly Hills; "The Museum of Radio & Television held a gala fundraiser at its BevHills branch." |
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| biopic -- A Variety coinage meaning biographical film; " 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' about Loretta Lynn, is one of the most successful biopics ever produced." |
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| biz -- shorthand for business or "the business" -- show business; "Alan Smithee started out in the
biz as a grip" or "Alan Smithee was promoted to VP of biz affairs at Par." |
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| blurb -- TV commercial; "Ridley Scott started his career directing blurbs." |
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| boff (also boffo, boffola) -- outstanding (usually refers to box office performance); " 'My Best
Friend's Wedding' has been boffo at the B.O." |
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| bow -- (n.) opening or premiere; (v.) to debut a production; "The pic's bow was in January"; "The
Nederlander Organization will bow its revival of 'Wonderful Town' next year."
(the) Coast -- Hollywood, Los Angeles; "NBC's New York-based Robert Wright will fly to the
Coast for meetings next week." |
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| chantoosie -- female singer (chanteuse); "Chantoosie Barbra Streisand has a warm and sharp
set of pipes." |
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| chopsocky -- a martial arts film; "Chopsocky star Chuck Norris will make a guest appearance on
'Seinfeld' this season." |
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| cliffhanger -- a melodramatic adventure or suspense film or TV show; usually a serial with a to-
be-continued ending; "The 'Who Shot J.R.?' episode of 'Dallas' is one of the most famous
cliffhangers of all time." |
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| competish -- competition; " 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' outdistanced the competish at
the weekend B.O." |
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| confab -- convention or professional gathering; "TV programming execs gather annually at the
NATPE confab." |
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| conglom -- conglomerate; "Miramax was a privately owned company until it was acquired by the
Disney conglom." |
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| distribbery -- distribution company; "Two former studio execs are forming a new distribbery
based in New York." |
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| dramedy -- A TV show that could be labeled both a comedy and a drama, usually an hour long.
Also, a film or theater show that could be labeled as either -- or perhaps fails at both; "Fox Family
Channel series 'State of Grace,' a single-camera dramedy about two 12-year-old girls growing up
in '60s North Carolina, targets the underserved female tweens demographic with hope of
generating a tag-along parental audience." |
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| ducats -- tickets; "Scalpers were selling Rolling Stones ducats for as much as $500 apiece."
exhib -- exhibitor (movie theater owner); "Warner Bros. execs trimmed a half-hour from the
picture after exhibs complained about the long running time." |
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| f/x -- special visual effects; "The film with have a big budget owing mainly to extensive f/x
requirements." |
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| fest -- film or TV festival; "Alan Smithee's new film will bow at the fest."
first-look -- a deal wherein a particular studio has the first option on a filmmaker's projects; "Alan
Smithee has a first-look deal with Par." |
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| flop -- (also floppola) -- failure at the box office; " 'Heaven's Gate' and 'Ishtar' were two of the
biggest flops of the 1980s." |
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| four-wall -- a theater rental contract where the producer assumes responsibility for all of the
expenses of a show and gets all of the revenue, especially used in Las Vegas; "Many hotels are
no longer willing to financially back their production shows, so four-wall deals are becoming
commonplace." (See also, two-wall) |
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| Gotham -- New York City; "Film production in Gotham has been on the rise for the past several
years." |
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| greenlight -- the go-ahead for a film to be made; "The Bruce Willis project was given the
greenlight last week." |
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| headliner -- the top act or performer on a vaudeville or revue bill; "Judy Garland was the
headliner at the Palace on three occasions." |
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| helm -- (v.) to direct a film or TV program; helmer(n.) a director; "Alan Smithee is the DGA-
approved pseudonym for a helmer who wants to remove his or her name from the project."
horse opera -- Western film; "John Carradine appeared in a numerous horse operas throughout
his career." |
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| huddle -- (v.) to have a meeting; (n.) a meeting; "CBS execs plan to huddle with their affiliates in
May" or "The exec was in a huddle and was not available for comment." |
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| hype -- manufactured promotional buzz; hyperbole; "The picture did not live up to the hype
surrounding its bow." |
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| impresario -- Industry term: Entertainment entrepreneur |
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| in the can -- Industry term: Phrase meaning the director has the take he wants
indie -- independent film, filmmaker, producer or TV station; "The new film festival will showcase
indies." |
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| ink -- to sign a contract; "Alan Smithee inked a deal to produce and star in three pics for U."
jingle -- Industry term: Short phrase of music usually with lyrics used in commercials |
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| kidvid -- children's television; "New legislation in being considered that would increase the
number of hours broadcasters devote to kidvid." |
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| kudocast -- Variety term for an awards show; "The Academy Awards is typically the highest-
rated kudocast of the year." |
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| legitimate -- (live) theater. The term seeks to differentiate serious theater (think
Shakespeare, think O'Neill) from vaudeville or burlesque; "Choreographer Michael Kidd
distinguished himself in legit before working in pictures." |
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| legs -- stamina at the box office; "The film opened big but rival distribs are dubious about its
legs." |
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| lense -- to film a motion picture; "The project will lense in Rome and New York."
major -- one of the eight major film studios (Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox,
Dreamworks, Universal, Warner Brothers). |
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| mini-major -- Big film production companies that are supposedly smaller than the majors
although such companies as Miramax, Polygram and New Line compete directly with the big
studios; "The producers are in talks with several studios, including the mini-major New Line." |
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| mogul -- the head of a major studio or communications company; from the title of the all-powerful
emperors of India; "Media moguls Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner have engaged in some
heated verbal sparring of late." |
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| n.s.g. -- not so good; "While the film opened well, the outlook for long-term B.O. is n.s.g." |
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| netlet -- fledgling networks UPN and the WB; any network with less than a full weekly schedule of
programming; "With the advent of cable and the netlets, the Big Three networks have seen their
audience share erode." |
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| niche programming -- TV programming or channels targeting particular demographics or
interests; "The History Channel offers niche programming aimed at history buffs."
nitery -- a nightclub; "Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick recently reunited for a nitery gig in
New York." |
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| nix -- reject, say no to; as in the famous Variety headline "Sticks Nix Hick Pix," meaning that
audiences in rural areas were not interested in attending films about rural life. |
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| nut -- operating expenses to be recovered; "On Broadway, most shows need to operate at 60%
of audience capacity to cover their nuts." |
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| (the) o.o. -- the once-over; to examine something; "Sylvester Stallone gave the script the o.o.
before passing on it." |
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| ozoner -- drive-in movie theater; "The few ozoners that remain operational in the U.S. are in most
cases doing double-duty as flea markets." (aka: hardtop, passion pit) |
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| pact -- (n.) a contract; (v.) to sign a contract; "The new pact calls for 6% pay raises across the
board" or "The actress is expected to pact with the studio by the end of the week." |
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| payola -- bribery or under-the-table payments; "The proliferation of payola rocked the music
industry in the 1950s." |
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| percenter (also tenpercenter) -- agent; "Mike Ovitz was a percenter before becoming a talent
manager." |
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| pitch -- Not a Variety creation, anything from a one-line description to a two- to three-page
treatment of an idea, and as such, is not yet a script, nor is it a "spec;" "Felines of Death -- "It's
'JAWS' with paws!" |
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| post-production -- stage at which editing, scoring and effects are executed on a motion picture
or TV production; "Post-production on 'Titanic' was escalated to meet the release date." |
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| powwow -- a meeting or gathering; "NBC held a powwow with its affiliates last month."
praisery -- public relations firm; "The studio is retaining an outside praisery to augment its p.r.
chores on the film." |
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| pre-production -- stage at which a motion picture or TV project is prepared to go into production;
"The pic has been greenlighted and goes into pre-production Monday." |
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| preem -- (n.) an opening-night or premiere performance; (v.) to show a completed film for the first
time; "Several of the pic's stars were on hand for the preem" or "The pic will preem Dec. 18." |
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| prep -- to prepare; "The studio is prepping for the premiere of its new pic." |
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| prexy (also prez) -- president; "The studio has no plans to fill the prexy post in the wake of the
exec's resignation." |
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| production -- Industry term: This involves building sets, designing costumes, measuring and
fitting actors for costumes, and rehearsals. |
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| put pilot -- A deal to produce a pilot that includes substantial penalties if the pilot is not aired; a
virtual guarantee that a pilot will be picked up; "CBS is getting back into business with Jerry
Bruckheimer, inking a blind put pilot deal with the mega-producer." |
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| Q rating -- ad research rating that gauges how easily a celebrity is recognized -- and how well
the celebrity is liked |
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| retro -- retrospective; "The film festival is unspooling a retro of Julie Andrews films." |
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| reup -- to renew an employment contract; "The exec is not expected to reup when his contract
expires in June." |
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| scripter -- screenwriter; "Joe Eszterhaus was the scripter on the project." Also "scribe." |
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| seg -- segment or episode of a TV series; " 'ER' made its season debut with a live seg." |
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| shingle -- A small business, often set up by an actor or established player at a larger company;
"Tom Green has launched production shingle Bob Green Films." |
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| shutter -- to close a legitimate play or musical; "Moose Murders" shuttered on Broadway the
night it opened." |
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| sideman -- A member of a band or a session musician; "Virtually every member of the 'Tonight
Show' bands --- from Conte Candoli to Kevin Eubanks --- has had his fair share of local gigs as a
leader and sideman." |
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| sked -- schedule; "Alan Smithee's new sitcom is expected to be added to NBC's fall sked." |
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| skein -- a TV series; "It is not known whether ABC will renew the skein for next season." |
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| sleeper -- a film or TV show that lacks pre-release buzz or critical praise, but turns into a success
after it is released, usually due to good word-of-mouth, "Sixth Sense was the surprise sleeper of
the summer of 1999." |
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| sock (also socko) -- very good (usually refers to box office performance); " 'My Best Friend's
Wedding' has done socko B.O." (See also, boff, whammo) |
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| solon -- an authority; someone in the know; from the ancient Greek wise man, Solon; "Solons
say the deal is likely to go down by the end of the week." |
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| spec script -- a script shopped or sold on the open market, as opposed to one commissioned by
a studio or production company; "Alan Smithee sold a spec script to Fox for a mid-six against
high-six-figure sum." |
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| spesh -- -- a television special; "HBO has pacted with Britney Spears to do a live concert spesh." |
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| sprocket opera -- film festival; "The actor plans to attend the annual Sundance sprocket opera
next year." |
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| SRO -- standing room only; a sold out show; " 'Rent' has been SRO since it opened on
Broadway." |
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| strip -- a five- or six-day-per-week TV series, usually in syndication; "Roseanne will return to TV
in a talkshow strip next fall." |
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| sudser -- soap opera; "Sudser star Susan Lucci was nominated for an Emmy again this year." |
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| suspenser -- suspense film; "The studio is planning a remake of the Audrey Hepburn suspenser
'Wait Until Dark.' " |
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| tentpole -- Movie expected by a studio to be its biggest grossing blockbuster of the season,
usually summer. Often the pic is the start of, or an installment in, a franchise; ""Armageddon" was
a successful tentpole in 1998." |
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| terper -- dancer; "John Travolta was a terper on Broadway early in his career." |
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| topliner -- a star of a particular show or film; "Harrison Ford is the topliner of 'Air Force One.'" |
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| tubthump -- to promote or draw attention to; from the ancient show business custom of actors
wandering the streets banging on tubs to drum up business; "Disney is planning a big parade to
tubthump the opening of its new release." |
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| turnaround -- no longer active; a project put into "turnaround" has been abandoned by one
studio and may be shopped to another. |
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| unspool -- to screen a film; "More than 30 films are set to unspool at the upcoming festival." |
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| veep (also veepee, VP) -- vice president; "Alan Smithee has been named marketing veep at
TriStar." |
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| voiceover -- offscreen narration; "Tom Bosley provided voiceover for the animated production." |
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| warbler -- singer; "Under its new policy, the nitery has booked a string of warblers." |
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| whammo -- a sensation (bigger than boffo); " 'Men in Black' has done whammo biz
internationally." |
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| wrap -- to finish production; "The picture will wrap in the next two weeks." |
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| yawner -- a boring show; "Despite a stellar cast, the play is a yawner and doesn't look to have a
long run." |
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| zitcom -- a television comedy aimed at teenagers.
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Slanguage Dictionary courtesy of Variety Online. |
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