Variety speak: The bizarre Hollywood terminology you'll need to clinch a movie deal

If you thought you had to know your Bertolucci from your Brad Pitt just to get a job polishing Harvey Weinstein's golf shoes, you're only halfway there. Movie insiders actually converse in their own "slanguage", a rich, and often very funny, collection of invented terms popularised by the industry magazine Variety over more than a century of reporting on the world of film. Some of these terms, such as "mogul" and "blighty", have made the jump into standard usage. Many others, like "preem" (premiere) and "moppet" (child actor) remain strictly within the world of movie jargon.

The festival starts on Wednesday, and if you want to make some deals while you're there, or at least seem like you're running with the pack, you could do worse than pick up some of this lingo. Now Variety has put its 2005 book "The Hollywood Dictionary", a collection of some of the most popular slanguage terms, online for the first time (go to www.variety.com and type in "slanguage" in the search box).

Variety's executive editor, Steven Gaydos, says that while not all the terms were coined by the magazine, they gained currency through appearing in its pages: "We are not necessarily inventing things with slanguage, but reflecting things which are very much inside showbusiness". Some words have achieved mass appeal, such as "Gotham", which Variety and various US newspapers were using to refer to New York City long before Batman made his home there. Others, such as "horse opera" and "oater", both meaning Western, are on their way out, coinciding with the decline of the genre.

At present, Variety is caught between continuing to use slanguage heavily, which might deter "civilians" from using its website, and pushing on with the unique, cliquey lexicon. "The purpose of having your own words means that unless you're in the gang and know the words, you don't know what's going on," explains Gaydos. "We've always been an inside-the-industry business publication so having our own language gave it the insider, cultish feel. Now we're online we're a bit apprehensive about how much we use slanguage."

Gaydos likens working in the movie industry to being in the military. "There is such an insular mentality in this business." That insular mentality runs to marriage announcements, where the partner who works in the industry will have their job title printed, while their partner will be described as a "non-pro".

This week, the magazine will have a 50-strong presence at the festival. "There's nothing in the entertainment business that we haven't recorded," says Gaydos. "We were at the first Cannes film festival. The fun thing about it is that it's very artsy and creative and high-minded, but the reason it has endured is that it's a huge bazaar of film sales and deals. The people who are rockin' and rollin' in the real business of financing films are the lifeblood of the industry."

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

Tubthump: to promote or draw attention to; from the ancient showbusiness 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."

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

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

Sprocket opera: film festival; "The actor plans to attend the annual Sundance sprocket opera next year."

Whammo: a sensation; "Men in Black has done whammo biz internationally." (See also boffo)

Hoofer: dancer; "Mary Tyler Moore was a hoofer before she got into acting."

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."

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 1980s." (See also two-hander)

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

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."

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 whammo)

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.

Two-hander: a play or movie with two characters; "Love Letters has been one of the most popular two-handers of the Nineties." (See also one-hander)

Chopsocky: a martial arts film; "Chopsocky star Chuck Norris will make a guest appearance on Seinfeld this season."

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."

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."

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

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

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

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

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

Dramedy: a TV show that could be labeled both a comedy and a drama, usually an hour long. Also, a film or theatre show that could be labeled as either – or perhaps fails at both; "Fox Family Channel series State of Grace, a dramedy about two 12-year-old girls growing up in Sixties North Carolina, targets the female tweens demographic with hope of generating a tag-along parental audience."

Interesting? Click here to explore further