Parkour!: Variety Magazine Slanguage

Above the Line — Industry term for movies and TV budgets. The line refers to money budgeted for creative talent, such as actors, writers, directors, and producers.

Ad-Pub — relating to the advertising and publicity department of a motion picture studio; "Alan Smithee has been elevated to ad-pub VP at Paramount."

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."

Anni — Anniversary; "American Movie Classics scheduled a night of Elvis Presley pics in observance of the 20th anni of his death."

Arthouse — Motion picture theater that shows foreign or non-mainstream independent films, often considered high-brow or "art" films; " 'La Cage Aux Folles' was one of the biggest hits ever on the arthouse circuit."

Aud — Audience; "Liza Minnelli has always had a special rapport with her aud."

Aussie — Australian; "The Aussie government will vote next week on budget allocations for indigenous film production." (See also: Oz)

Ayem — A Variety coinage meaning morning (a.m.); "Barbara Walters is producing a new ayem skein for ABC."

B.F. — an abbreviation for boyfriend, usually used in reviews (also g.f.— girlfriend); "The story concerns a woman whose b.f. is on the lam."

Backdoor Pilot — Not a Variety creation, pilot episode filmed as a standalone movie, so it can be broadcast if it is not picked up as a series; Cabler has begun casting its telepic/backdoor pilot "Ichabod and I."

Beantown — Variety slanguage for Boston, Mass.; "The Cars were one of the biggest rock bands from Beantown." (See also: (the) Hub)

Beertown — Variety slanguage for Milwaukee, Wisconsin; "Beertown is the final stop on the current 'Show Boat' tour."

Biopic — A Variety coinage meaning biographical film; " 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' about Loretta Lynn, is one of the most successful biopics ever produced."

Bird — A Variety term for satellite; "The proposed channel would be carried by an Asian bird to be launched next spring."

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."

Blighty — Britain; " 'Bean' is one of the biggest hits to come out of Blighty."

Blurb — TV commercial; "Ridley Scott started his career directing blurbs."

Boff (also boffo, boffola) — Outstanding (usually refers to box office performance); " 'My Best Friend's Wedding' has been boffo at the B.O." (See also, socko, whammo)

Boom — Industry term: Overhead microphone used to record actors' voices

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."

Busted Pilot — Each year, the nets order about 20 pilots a piece (about evenly split, half comedy, half drama), which are then cast and filmed for consideration for the fall skeds. But only about half a dozen pilots are picked up to become the premiere episodes. The other pilots are never heard from again — and are rarely ever seen beyond network boardrooms. "Idea for pic originated from last year's busted 'MTM' reunion pilot."

(the) Coast — Hollywood, Los Angeles; "NBC's New York-based Robert Wright will fly to the Coast for meetings next week."

Cabler — Cable network or cable system operator; "Cablers were up in arms over Rupert Murdoch's plans to launch a satellite channel."

Certs — Recorded music album and single sales certifications issued by the Recording Industry Assn. of America; gold albums signify sales upwards of 500,000 copies, platinum is at least 1,000,000 copies. "In the latest round of certs, LeAnn Rimes' 'Blue' went platinum."

Chantoosie — Female singer (chanteuse); "Chantoosie Barbra Streisand has a warm and sharp set of pipes." (See also, thrush)

Chi (also Chitown) — Chicago; "The Goodman Theatre in Chi has spawned a number of today's more accomplished actors."

Chirp — To sing; "Cybill Shepherd chirped a few showtunes during her new nightclub act."

Cincy — Cincinnati; "The touring 'Phantom of the Opera' company did strong biz in Cincy before moving to Chi."

Cleffer — A songwriter; "Jay Livingston was the cleffer on many Bob Hope films." (See also, tunesmith)

Click — A hit; " Disney click 'The Lion King' is slated to air on ABC this season."

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."

Coin — Money, financing; "Coin for the production was raised through pre-sales to foreign territories."

Commish — Commissioner, commission; "The director lauded the local film commish for helping find locations."

Competish — Competition; " 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' outdistanced the competish at the weekend B.O."

Confab — Convention or professional gathering; "TV programming execs gather annually at the NATPE confab."

Conglom — Conglomerate; "Miramax was a privately owned company until it was acquired by the Disney conglom."

Corny

Crix — Critics; "While the director's last film was a flop with auds, the crix were in his corner."

Deejay (also d.j.) — Commonly used term originally coined by Variety meaning disc jockey; "The station is changing its drivetime deejay."

Diskery — Record company; "The artist signed a five-album deal with the diskery last year."

Distrib — Distributor; "Paramount is the distrib on the project, which will begin lensing in May."

Distribbery — Distribution company; "Two former studio execs are forming a new distribbery based in New York."

Doc, Docu — Documentary; "The new Neil Young doc has scored well with the critics."

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."

Ducats — Tickets; "Scalpers were selling Rolling Stones ducats for as much as $500 apiece."

Emcee — Master of ceremonies; "Billy Crystal is being courted to emcee the Oscars again."

Exec, Exex — Executive, executives; "Fox execs declined to comment about the recent shakeup."

Exhib — Exhibitor (movie theater owner); "Warner Bros. execs trimmed a half-hour from the picture after exhibs complained about the long running time."

Feature — Motion picture over an hour in length; "The director helmed TV commercials before getting into features."

Feevee — Pay TV; "The film will play feevee before going to the broadcast webs."

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."

Flop (also floppola) — Failure at the box office; " 'Heaven's Gate' and 'Ishtar' were two of the biggest flops of the 1980s."

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)

Frog Web — The WB television network, named for its mascot, a dancing frog from a Looney Tunes cartoon. "The Frog features all the hottest new shows, like 'Gilmore Girls.'"

Gotham — New York City; "Film production in Gotham has been on the rise for the past several years."

Green Lit — Industry term: Process that follows after a script has been developed and moves into production

Greenlight — The go-ahead for a film to be made; "The Bruce Willis project was given the greenlight last week."

(the) Hub — Boston, Massachusetts; "The production tired out in the Hub before moving to Broadway." (See also: Beantown)

H'w'd — Hollywood; "France B.O. goes H'w'd"

Hardtop — Indoor movie theater; "The film is playing in Tampa at seven hardtops and two ozoners." (See also: ozoner, passion pit)

Headliner — The top act or performer on a vaudeville or revue bill; "Judy Garland was the headliner at the Palace on three occasions."

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."

Hike — To increase, raise or promote; "CBS enjoyed a ratings hike Saturday night" or "Alan Smithee has be hiked to marketing VP at Par."

History Play — Industry term: Play dealing with a historical subject

Hold over — Industry term: When a director decides to use an actor for an extra day not originally scheduled

Hoofer — Dancer; "Mary Tyler Moore was a hoofer before she got into acting."

Horse Opera — Western film; "John Carradine appeared in a numerous horse operas throughout his career."

Hotsy — Strong performance at the box office; "The Devil's Advocate" made a hotsy bow last weekend."

HQ — Headquarters; "The meeting was held at the network's HQ in New York."

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."

Hype — Manufactured promotional buzz; hyperbole; "The picture did not live up to the hype surrounding its bow."

Hypo — To increase or boost; "Producers are offering discounted tickets to hypo the show's word of mouth."

Icer — Ice show; "The arena has presented a variety of icers over the years."

Impresario — Industry term: Entertainment entrepreneur

In the Can — Industry term: Phrase meaning the director has the take he wants

In-the-round — Industry term: A theater in which the audience is seated on all four sides of a central stage.

Indie — Independent film, filmmaker, producer or TV station; "The new film festival will showcase indies."

Infopike — Information superhighway (Internet); "The studio has formed a new division to develop projects for the infopike."

Ink — To sign a contract; "Alan Smithee inked a deal to produce and star in three pics for U."

Insert — Industry term: Pick-up where a short segment of script is reread from one point to another

Italo — Italian; " 'Fireworks' is a big click at the Italo B.O."

Jingle — Industry term: Short phrase of music usually with lyrics used in commercials

Kidvid — children's television; "New legislation in being considered that would increase the number of hours broadcasters devote to kidvid."

Kiwi — New Zealander; "Kiwi director Jane Campion is in talks to helm the project."

Kudocast — Variety term for an awards show; "The Academy Awards is typically the highest-rated kudocast of the year."

Laugh Track — Industry term: Audience laughter that is recorded to be played back when a TV show is aired

Legit — 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."

Legs — Stamina at the box office; "The film opened big but rival distribs are dubious about its legs."

Lense — To film a motion picture; "The project will lense in Rome and New York."

Longform, Long-form — TV programming that is longer than an hour in duration; a TV movie or miniseries; "The company specializes in longform production."

Made-for — A TV movie (made-for-television movie); "The producer has three feature films and two made-fors on his slate." (See also, telepic)

Major — One of the eight major film studios (Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks, Universal, Warner Brothers).

Megaplex — A movie theater with more than 16 screens; "Cineplex Odeon's Universal City megaplex has 18 screens." (See also: multiplex)

Meller — Melodrama; "The company is in pre-production on a meller about a blind woman held hostage on a New York City subway."

Mini — A television miniseries; "John Adams mini is planned to span between 10 and 13 episodes."

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."

Mitting — Applause; "Bob Dylan's surprise appearance at the benefit provoked heavy mitting from the crowd."

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."

Moppet — Child, especially child actor; "Elizabeth Taylor is one of the few moppets who made the transition to adult star."

Mouse (also Mouse House) — The Walt Disney Co. or any division thereof, a reference to the company's most famous animated character, Mickey Mouse; "The Mouse's music division is reuniting with talent manager Alan Smithee on a joint-venture label."

Multiplex — A movie theater comprising more than two screens but less than 16; "AMC is planning to build four new multiplexes — an eight-screener and three 12-plexes ï in the Dallas area next year." (See also: megaplex)

Nabe — A neighborhood theater; "The film has had a long midnight run at the Vista, a Los Angeles nabe."

Narrowcast — Network or programming aimed at a specialized audience; the opposite of a broadcast; "Speedvision, which narrowcasts automobile programming, is carried by most Media One systems."

Net — Network; "Many ABC stations were concerned about the viability of the net's fall schedule." (See also: Web)

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." (See also, weblet)

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."

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.

Nut — Operating expenses to be recovered; "On Broadway, most shows need to operate at 60% of audience capacity to cover their nuts."

O.T.T. — Over the top; "An o.t.t. performance by newcomer Alan Smithee marred the otherwise riveting film."

Oater — Western film, referring to the preferred meal of horses; "The Golden Boot Awards are presented annually in recognition of the work of oater stars."

Off-net — Network TV series repeats sold into syndication; " 'Seinfeld' is currently enjoying big success in its off-net run."

One-hander — A play or movie with one character; "One-hander 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' is one of the defining films for children of the '70s." (See also, two-hander)

Oz — Australia; "The film has performed well in Oz and New Zealand." (See also: Aussie)

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." (See also: hardtop, passion pit)

P.A. — Personal appearance; "Harrison Ford will make a p.a. at the premiere to promote the pic."

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."

Passion Pit — Drive-in theater, so called owing to their privacy factor and romantic allure for teenagers; "The pic is playing at two passion pits in Miami." (See also: ozoner)

Payola — Bribery or under-the-table payments; "The proliferation of payola rocked the music industry in the 1950s."

Pen — (v.) To write; "Alan Smithee has been inked to pen the biopic about Abraham Lincoln."

Percenter (also tenpercenter) — Sgent; "Mike Ovitz was a percenter before becoming a talent manager."

Percentery (also tenpercentery) — Talent agency; "The director's previous percentery was the William Morris Agency."

Perf — Performance; "Martin Landau was much lauded for his perf in 'Ed Wood.'"

Pic(s) (also pix) — Motion picture(s); "The studio plans to release four pics this summer."

Pinkslip — To lay off or fire from a job; "The company pinkslipped 60 staffers in its New York office Monday."

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!"

Plex — Multiplex theater or cable channel; "The company plans to build three plexes comprising 30 screens in the Dallas area" or "HBO has plexed its programming for the convenience of subscribers."

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."

Pour — Cocktail party; "Universal held a pour for the press in New York to promote its upcoming release."

Powwow — A meeting or gathering; "NBC held a powwow with its affiliates last month."

Praiser — Publicist; "A praiser for the star had no comment on the deal."

Praisery — Public relations firm; "The studio is retaining an outside praisery to augment its p.r. chores on the film."

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."

Pre-sales — Territorial sales of planned motion pictures to distributors worldwide; usually conducted to raise funding for lower budget, independent pictures; "The producers conducted pre-sales to Australia, the U.K. and the Far East at the recent film market."

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."

Prep — To prepare; "The studio is prepping for the premiere of its new pic."

Prexy (also prez) — President; "The studio has no plans to fill the prexy post in the wake of the exec's resignation."

Product — Completed film or TV productions; "TV series usually are not sold into syndication until the producers have at least three years' worth of product."

Production — Industry term: This involves building sets, designing costumes, measuring and fitting actors for costumes, and rehearsals.

Promo — Sales promotion; "The pic has promo tie-ins with Burger King and Nike."

Pubcaster — Government-owned broadcaster; "The PBS exec declined to comment on the pubcaster's plans for fall."

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."

Q Rating — Ad research rating that gauges how easily a celebrity is recognized — and how well the celebrity is liked

Reissue (also re-release) — a film released again by a studio after its initial release; "The reissue of 'Star Wars' catapulted the pic back to the top of Variety's All-Time Rental Champs chart."

Rentals — Portion of film grosses that goes to film distributors; also refers to videocassette rentals; "The film has returned over $60 million in rentals to the studio" or "Video retailers report rentals on the title have been strong."

Rep — (n.) A representative; (v.) to represent; "A rep for the actress had no comment on the deal" or "The actress is repped by the William Morris Agency."

Retro — Retrospective; "The film festival is unspooling a retro of Julie Andrews films."

Reup — To renew an employment contract; "The exec is not expected to reup when his contract expires in June."

Scatter — The TV network commercial time left over after upfront (before season) sales are made; "The network source said scatter sales have been so-so to this point."

Scribbler — Writer; "Neil Simon was a TV scribbler before becoming a playwright." Also "scribe."

Scripter — Screenwriter; "Joe Eszterhaus was the scripter on the project." Also "scribe."

Seg — Segment or episode of a TV series; " 'ER' made its season debut with a live seg."

Sell-through — Prerecorded videocassettes priced lower to be sold rather than rented; "The next batch of Disney releases will be priced for sell-through."

Sellout — Sold-out performance; "The U2 tour was a sellout the day tickets went on sale."

Sesh — session or meeting; also a time frame, such as a weekend; "The convention will hold a sesh on film financing Tuesday afternoon" or "The film was down 36% at the B.O. this sesh."

Sex Appeal — a term coined by Variety now in common usage meaning to be attractive to audiences owing to sexual aura; "Jean Harlow's sex appeal put the picture over."

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."

Showbiz — Show business; "The annual Oscar ceremony is one of the biggest events on the showbiz calendar."

Showrunner — Executive producer of a television series.

Shutter — To close a legitimate play or musical; "Moose Murders" shuttered on Broadway the night it opened."

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."

Sitcom — A term now in common usage originally coined by Variety, shorthand for situation comedy TV series; "A new Tom Selleck sitcom is in the works."

Sked — Schedule; "Alan Smithee's new sitcom is expected to be added to NBC's fall sked."

Skein — A TV series; "It is not known whether ABC will renew the skein for next season."

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."

Soap Opera — Radio (now TV) serial originally sponsored by soap companies; "The networks still rely heavily on soap operas to anchor their daytime schedules." (See also sudser)

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)

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."

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."

Spesh — A television special; "HBO has pacted with Britney Spears to do a live concert spesh."

Sprocket Opera — Film festival; "The actor plans to attend the annual Sundance sprocket opera next year."

Strip — A five- or six-day-per-week TV series, usually in syndication; "Roseanne will return to TV in a talkshow strip next fall."

Sudser — Soap opera; "Sudser star Susan Lucci was nominated for an Emmy again this year."

Suspenser — Suspense film; "The studio is planning a remake of the Audrey Hepburn suspenser 'Wait Until Dark.' "

Syndie — Syndicated television programming, those sold to stations, rather than provided by one of the networks or netlets; " 'Xena: Warrior Princess' was at the top of the syndie ratings last week."

30-mile Zone — Within a union-defined 30-mile radius (often measured from the Beverly Center in West Hollywood), a production company can shoot without paying travel expenses or a per-diem. Not coined by Variety.

Tabmag — Tabloid-style TV magazine show, e.g., "Hard Copy"; "George Clooney has come down hard on the tabmags over the past year."

Tap — To select or name; "Alan Smithee has been tapped senior VP of production for Warner Bros."

Telefilm (also telepic, telepix) — Feature-length motion picture made for TV; "CBS' Cicely Tyson telefilm did well in the overnight ratings." (See also, made-for)

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."

Terp — To dance (as in Terpsichore); "Suzanne Sommers' nitery act consists of some singing and a little terping."

Terper — Dancer; "John Travolta was a terper on Broadway early in his career."

Theatrical — Feature-length motion picture; "The actress has plans to make a theatrical while her TV series is on hiatus."

Thrush — Female singer; "The cabaret scene in New York is dominated by thrushes Barbara Cook and Julie Wilson." (See also, chantoosie)

Title Role — Not a Variety creation, the lead part in a movie or other production for an actor that is named after the title of the film; Angelina Jolie was played the title role in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider."

Tix — tickets; "Tix for the new musical are priced at a $75 top."

Toon — Cartoon; "CBS has ordered a toon version of 'Men in Black' for its Saturday-morning schedule."

Topline — To star; to be billed above the title of a show or film; "Julia Roberts will topline the director's next pic."

Topliner — A star of a particular show or film; "Harrison Ford is the topliner of 'Air Force One.'"

Topper — The head of a company or organization; "The company topper was unavailable for comment."

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."

Tuner — A legitimate musical; "David Merrick produced numerous Broadway tuners."

Tunesmith — Songwriter; "Tunesmith Burt Bacharach will be given a special award at the ceremony." (See also, cleffer)

Turnaround — No longer active; a project put into "turnaround" has been abandoned by one studio and may be shopped to another.

Two-hander — A play or movie with two characters; " 'Love Letters' has been one of the most popular two-handers of the '90s." (See also: one-hander)

Two-wall — A theater rental contract where the host property and artist share expenses and share revenue, expecting to recoup from the success of the show; (See also, four-wall)

Twofers — Coupons that discount admission price to "two for" the price of one; "The play has been on twofers for the past three months."

Tyro — In general, someone new to a field or activity; in Variety, a first-time director, writer, etc.; "Written by tyro scribes Dan Wilson and David Gilbreth, pic is the story of two genius brothers."

Unspool — To screen a film; "More than 30 films are set to unspool at the upcoming festival."

Upfront — Commercial time sold in advance of the TV season; "A CBS source said the upfront market has been unusually strong this year." (See also, scatter)

Veep (also veepee, VP) — Vice president; "Alan Smithee has been named marketing veep at TriStar."

Vid — Video; "The film will not go to vid until it completes its overseas theatrical runs."

VOD — Video on demand; "Home Shopping Network has been developing a VOD division that will allow customers to order specific programming."

Voiceover — Offscreen narration; "Tom Bosley provided voiceover for the animated production."

Warble — To sing; "Margaret Whiting warbled a pair of tunes at Tuesday night's fundraiser."

Warbler — Singer; "Under its new policy, the nitery has booked a string of warblers."

Web — Network; "The webs have instituted a policy of rating their own programming." (See also, net)

Weblet — Fledgling networks UPN and the WB; any network with less than a full weekly schedule of programming; "The weblets are making inroads in the weekly ratings race." (See also, netlet)

Whammo — a sensation (bigger than boffo); " 'Men in Black' has done whammo biz internationally." (See also, boffo, socko)

Whodunit — A mystery film (or show); "The director's next project will be a whodunit for Warner Bros."

Wicket — Box office (usually foreign); "Queues are forming at the wickets for the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical."

Wrap — To finish production; "The picture will wrap in the next two weeks."

Yawner — A boring show; "Despite a stellar cast, the play is a yawner and doesn't look to have a long run."

Zitcom — A television comedy aimed at teenagers.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Variety Magazine Slanguage

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Saturday, August 21, 2010

Variety Magazine Slanguage

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