Immediate Release

The Non-thinking Man's (and Woman's) Guide to the Oscars


yourDictionary.com tongue-in cheek glossary contains everything you need to better understand the language of the Academy Awards

DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA. March 21, 2002. yourDictionary.com, the leading global language portal, sent its linguistic specialists into the heart of 'the Industry' to compile this glossary of terms and background information needed to understand the Academy Award ceremonies. "The Non-thinking Man's (and Woman's) Guide to the Oscars" is an indispensable aid for both casual and seasoned observers to better understand the film industry and the Oscar Ceremonies.

According to Paul J.J. Payack, president and CEO of yourDictionary.com, "The purpose of creating the Non-thinking Guide is to help the casual observer better understand the Hollywood culture. Buckminster Fuller once famously observed that 'the entire continent is tilted and everything loose slides into Southern California'. In terms of language, we've noticed quite the opposite to be true; there seems to be an unceasing flow of new lingo emanating outward from the vicinity of Hollywood and Vine."

Non-thinking Man's (and Woman's) Guide to the Oscars by yourDictionary.com
Commentary by Paul J.J. Payack, Robert Beard, Peter Payack, Joseph Marcello, and Lou Lorenzo.
Movie Term Comment
1. The Academy Actually, AMPAS, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Easily confused with 'Police Academy'. Look out.
2. Action What takes place in LA before, during and after the Academy Awards.
3. Animation (1) A brand new Oscar category. (2) An actor's response to winning an Oscar (case in point Roberto Benigni '99).
4. "And the award goes to?" Both Canadian and Russian nominees are featured in the Foreign Film category. (Don't look for two golds this time.)
5. "A Beautiful Mind" (1) Best Picture nominee where the audience experiences schizophrenia along with Russell Crowe. (2) What Austin Powers considers his most salient characteristic.
6. Biopic Insider jargon for a film with biographical content. (Not to be confused with 'myopic,' an affliction of critics and producers.)
7. "Black Hawk Down" The gritty re-creation of a 'failed' mission in Somalia.
8. Blockbuster Formerly, a film that earns the GNP of Liechtenstein. (The country changes with the inflation rate.) Now more often a movie that busts the blockhead who bankrolled it.
9. Body Double (1) A stand-in for a star in certain scenes, who has a better body. (2) What the laughter does to our bodies when we see who actually gets the Oscars.
10. "Bridget Jones Diary" Often overlooked in the Best Picture category. Renée Zellweger decides to change her fate and record it too.
11. Bomb A film without legs, that explodes the producers hopes for big bucks and the studio's hope for Oscars, e.g. "Pearl Harbor."
12. B.O. (1) Box Office. The receipts (take) for a film. (2) Body odor. It builds up waiting for the envelope to open.
13. The Buzz (Word-of-mouth). The audience positively talking up the film and causing excitement among those who have not seen the film, resulting in 'legs'.
14. Cameo (1) Small role for a star in a movie. (2) Jewelry last worn to the Academy Awards ceremonies in 1938.
15. Casting Couch Where the casting director casts each actress trying out for a role in his latest movie. Usually the actress' best skills are demonstrated during this audition.
16. Cleavage The showcase for your Golden Globes on the 'red carpet'.
17. Cliff Hanger (1) A movie that uses suspense to raise the adrenaline level of the audience. (2) A race for an Oscar that requires a campaign manager (see Grip).
18. Critic Someone who effectively uses his or her biases to spoil the pleasures of others. (See also 'biopic'.)
19. Cutting Room Where you find the cutting room floor and the final cut for many actors.
20. Envelope Of course, the attire of some actresses will be pushing the envelope of good taste!
21. Gaffer (1) The chief lighting technician. (2) An actor who frequently muffs his lines.
22. "Gosford Park" Robert Altman's masterpiece about manners in English manors. (Not to be confused with Richie Cunningham's make-out spot on 'Happy Days'.)
23. Grip (1) A technician who tracks the dollies around a set. (2) What the Academy is losing as the studios hire campaign managers to smear rival nominees.
24. Gross (1) The total amount of money a movie makes. (2) Jack Nicholson's smile in "The Shining."
25. Halley's Comet See "Monster's Ball".
26. Hollywood Bowl A concert venue set in a wonderful, natural amphitheater, and a good alternative to the Oscar ceremonies, weather permitting.
27. Indy An independent film. Where some of the real talent and creativity in Hollywood is spot-lighted.
28. Indy 500 A car race in a brickyard.
29. JRRT J.R.R. Tolkien. The first Oxford don to have his creation nominated for 13 Oscars.
30. Erich Segal The last Ivy League don so honored (for Love Story).
31. Don Corleone The last big-league Don so honored.
32. Key Grip (1) The No. 1 grip in a production. (2) Jackie Chan's handshake.
33. Legs What it takes for a movie to make a run for an Oscar. (See also, Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.)
34. "Lord Of the Rings" The re-creation of Middle Earth, the first of the Tolkien trilogy, that garnered 13 nominations.
35. Middle Earth Somewhere between Waco, Texas (not pronounced 'Wacko') and Butte, Montana (pronounced 'beaut').
36. Monster's Ball Not a party by any stretch, though Halley's Comet might be spotted on Oscar Night.
37. "Monsters, Inc." (1) The film battling it out with "Shrek" for the Academy's first Animation Oscar. (2) The older term for what is now called "The Syndicate".
38. "Moulin Rouge" (1) French for a plunging plot with cleavage to match. (2) Boy George's favorite makeup.
39. Oscar Oddly named 'statuette'. Each Oscar is 13-1/2 inches tall, weighs 8-1/2 pounds, consisting of a base metal, then sequentially covered by copper, nickel, silver, and finally finished in 24-karat gold. The name comes from past director of the Academy, Margaret Herrick, who remarked at a critical point that the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar.
40. The Pavilion As in the Dorothy Chandler. The venue of yore, suddenly eclipsed by the Kodak Center.
41. Premier (1) The debut of a film. (2) The Prime Minister of a Western democracy, who often deserves an Oscar for his or her performances on camera.
42. Print Copy of a film distributed to theatres around the world. Despite numbering in the hundreds or thousands, prints of pre-1960 flicks are rare.
43. Producer The person who gambles a fortune on whether or not the director, production company and cast will produce a product that will return more than his investment. As a rule of thumb, the larger the number of producers, the lower the quality of the film.
44. Sparkly As in 'Sparkly . . . very sparkly'. The Rainman's view of Las Vegas, now an appropriate reference to the Kodak Center.
45. "The Royal Tannenbaums" A cute movie with a great cast that 'baums' at the B. O. (which see).
46. Trailer (1) Short pieces shown before [sic] the feature film. (2) A place on the set to hide between takes.
47. SAG Awards (1) Awards presented by actors themselves via the Screen Actors' Guild. (2) Awards for the actors who have grown old gracefully.
48. Score Music accompanying a film. (See also 'casting couch').
49. Shot List (1) The list of scenes or 'shots' logged as they are filmed, to help in the editing. (2) A supposed list of burned-out Industry figures (many of whom were done in by the shot glass).
50. "Shrek" (1) A contender for the new animation Oscar. (2) A term used by last years NY Jets as the team's good luck charm. Lets hope this movie fairs better than they did. (3) Yiddish for "fear."
51. Special effects Or FX. (1) Tricks used to enhance reality or create unreality. (2) An aging star's make-up artist.
52. Stunt Man (or Woman) An "insurance adjuster" used to reduce the enormous liability insurance premiums of a production company.
53. Sundance Now the premier venue for the Indies.
54. Sunset Strip Erstwhile center of the Industry. Usually cited as where the continental U.S. ends and the party begins.
55. Take (Noun) A scene once in the can. (Verb) What producers, distributors, and production companies do to the proceeds generated at the box office.
56. "They Like Me" Well, maybe. Can we take that back?
57. Three-peat Never has been done. Only five actors have won the Oscars back-to-back but never back-to-back-to-back a la Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. (Latest repeat winner: Tom Hanks in '93 and '94.)
58. "Training Day" (1) Denzel Washington's brilliant portrayal of evil. (2) A honeymoon with Liz Taylor.
59. Whoopi Cushion: The Oscars use Whoopi once again to cushion the audience from the boredom of handing out Oscar after Oscar.
60. Wrap (1) The completion of shooting for the day. (2) The method of putting on one's attire for the Oscar ceremonies.
Bonus Term Comment
The Industry The Motion Picture Industry. Always pronounced with a lowering of the voice and always with the definite article, as in 'The Industry.' Run like "The Company" and "The Syndicate."

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