We’ve just gotten out of the dark tunnel of Corona-19, which attacked most of the people in the world for several years. Happy to say, it’s time to get out of the house and office and to enjoy our favorite activities and social gatherings. The pandemic deprived us of many good things, as we had to spend much time alone at home, trapped in the chaos of non-face-to-face social situations. What were you doing alone at home, in particular? Did you do physical training? Did you enjoy online games through the nights? Did you cook your own meals for yourself? Or, did you enjoy movies and dramas on Netflix and Watcha? Maybe you enjoyed all these things. And now, are you missing a big screen, ear-piercing sound, and the tempting smell of popcorn in the dark space of the cinemas?
Proud to say, this is the century of Korean influential power thanks to its culture industry. Korean movies and dramas have swept cinemas, online platforms, and social media platforms during the pandemic era. We remember that Korean cultural contents – Parasite, Minari, Squid Game etc. - have won prestigious awards just recently. Now Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival are also our festivals. These prestigious ceremonies have become promising showcases for Korean pop culture.
Now, let’s learn some English idiomatic expressions about movies and movie awards.
1. Useful expressions about movies and the movie industry
(1) Film franchise (or movie franchise) – is a film series of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe. It usually includes a sequel and a prequel of each movie story, such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Iron Man, Black Panther, etc.
(2) Cinema multiplex – is a large cinema complex with many screens. It is usually called cineplex. A cinema multiplex has many convenience facilities for moviegoers, such as a cafeteria, a stand or a stall selling popcorn, soft drinks, and goods.
(3) Box office – the expression is said to come from Elizabethan theater, where admission was collected in a box which was passed around the audience. Now it is used to show the total amount of money paid by movie-goers. If a film attracts 10 million moviegoers, we can say, “The movie had amazingly high box-office profits,” or “The movie was a huge box-office success.”
(4) Closing credits – a more familiar expression for us is ‘ending credits’ but a more exact one is closing credits. It includes the name of all the staff who participated in making the film and helped or were concerned with presenting it. Sometimes, the list of the names is presented at the beginning of the film, which is called opening credits.
(5) Film piracy – One of the major issues in the movie industry is pirating movies, that is, the illegal downloading and streaming of movies. With the development of high technology, piracy is currently widespread as people attempt to use online contents and images without paying for them. This kind of illegal downloading can be punished under the law of copyrights.
2. Useful expressions about movie awards
We are able to enjoy the awards ceremony live! We notice the English title of the awards when we watch popular awards ceremonies, such as the Academy Awards (also called Oscar Awards), the Golden Globe Awards, and the Emmy Awards. We hear the expression, “The Oscar goes to …” over and over again during the Academy Awards ceremony. That refers to who the Oscar winner is among the nominees . The winner gets the trophy with a standing ovation from the audience. Then, what are the titles of the awards given to each winner? Here are some major titles.
(1) Best Picture: It goes to the producers of the film which gets the most votes by every member of the Oscars, so it is considered the greatest honor of the ceremony.
(2) Best Director: It is given in honor of a film director who has given the best directing performance of the year. By the way, Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite received four major titles including best picture and the best director for the 92nd Academy Awards.
(3) Best Actor/Actress in a Leading Role: The actor/actress who has performed the most outstandingly in a film from that year gets this trophy. The award is traditionally given by the previous year’s winner.
(4) Best Actor/Actress in a Supporting Role: It goes to the actor/actress who has delivered a brilliant supporting performance in a film. Korean actress Yoon Yuhjung is the first Korean to win it for her role in the film, Minari .
(5) Some of the Others: Best Writing – Original/Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, Best International Feature Film.
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