[Ads-l] tentpole

[Ben Zimmer]

The latest OED quarterly update includes a raft of new movie-related terms:

https://public.oed.com/blog/oed-3-the-revisioning-or-how-we-added-film-terms-in-the-september-2018-release/

...including "tentpole," with early cites quoting Paramount chief Frank
Mancuso, which I first shared here in 2005.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-July/051528.html

----
  tentpole adj. and n. Film  (a) adj. designating a big-budget film which
is expected to generate sufficient revenue to support a range of other
projects by the same studio; of or relating to such a film;  (b) n. a film
of this kind.

1987   N.Y. Times 4 June. c21/6   Mr. Mancuso describes ‘Beverly Hills Cop
II’ as a ‘tent pole’ movie. Each year Paramount makes several high-budget
films ‘that..are strong enough to support your entire schedule,’ he said.
1987   N.Y. Times 5 Sept. c15/3   He [sc. Mancuso] rescued ‘Top Gun’ from
the discard pile because he thought the combination of aerial photography,
Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis..might make a tent pole.
1991   Premiere Nov. 31/2   Tartikoff..was so eager to make Patriot Games
part of a new ‘tent pole’ series that he'd already upped its budget from
$28 million to $35 million.
2006   Y. Tzioumakis Amer. Independent Cinema Introd. 11   Tent pole films
with potential for stratospheric profits.
2012   Variety 27 Feb. 9/3   Studios [were] less likely to take risks on
unproven projects, and instead turned their attention to big-budget
tentpoles.
----


On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 2:40 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Thanks, Ben.
>
> Diabolical.
>
> JL
>
>
> On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 2:08 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 1:58 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Huh?:
> > >
> > > "There’s so much to like about the picture *in theory*: a sophisticated
> > > literary adaptation with a distinguished cast, geared toward grown-ups,
> > > only gently suggesting itself as a tentpole. But Branagh just can’t
> find
> > a
> > > tone that works, ...."
> > >
> > > http://flavorwire.com/611271/messy-new-murder-on-the-
> > > orient-express-adaptation-is-a-missed-opportunity
> >
> >
> > I wrote about the use of "tentpole" in the movie industry in this 2015
> WSJ
> > column:
> >
> > -----
> >
> >
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-stage-to-tv-to-screen-the-rise-of-tentpoles-1431713515
> > At this time of year, the major Hollywood studios roll out the franchise
> > movies that they hope will hit it big. This week sees the release of "Mad
> > Max: Fury Road" from Warner Bros. and "Pitch Perfect 2" from Universal,
> > competing against Disney-Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron," already in
> > theaters.
> > All these movies carry the label of "tentpoles": known quantities that
> > studio executives have strategically timed so that their gross revenues
> can
> > financially prop up an entire year's worth of releases, offsetting any
> > flops.
> > The "tentpole" analogy for blockbuster movies goes back to the mid-1980s,
> > when Paramount Pictures was lining up the high-budget "Star Trek" and
> > "Indiana Jones" franchises, as well as star vehicles for the likes of Tom
> > Cruise and Eddie Murphy.
> > Paramount chairman Frank Mancuso Sr. laid out his "tentpole philosophy"
> to
> > reporters from Newsweek and the New York Times in the summer of 1987,
> when
> > "The Untouchables" and Mr. Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop II" were
> dominating
> > the box office. "Tentpoles," Mr. Mancuso explained at the time, were
> movies
> > "that because of content, star value or story line have immediate
> > want-to-see."
> > [etc.]
> > -----
>
>

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