To win an Oscar is everyone’s secret dream. So if you ever do get the chance to win an Academy Award, allow us to help you perfect your acceptance speech for when you receive your Oscar.

Paint your face, put on your glad rags, and borrow a million dollars’ worth of diamonds. Oscar’s here! And you can learn a lot about the do’s and don’ts of speech making just by looking at him: he’s short, he’s shiny and he has no naughty bits. VideoJug has sifted through 79 years of Oscar history to bring you the dos and don’ts of Oscar etiquette so that when you have to make an impromptu speech, you’ll look like a star.

Step 1: And the winner is….

The first thing to get right is your reaction to the result.
“And the winner for Best Supporting Actor Oscar goes to…”
It is critical that if you lose you don’t do what Samuel L Jackson did at the 1994 Oscars.
Whatever your studio executives have told you, expect to lose, and when you win your delight will be beamed across the world … it’ll be the first really honest performance of your career.

Step 2: Small ones are more juicy

In the 1940s, Greer Garson managed a speech that seemed to go on for about three days. Now there is a long standing rule at the Academy Awards that no speech should be longer than 45 seconds. So none of this:
“I would really like to thank my ancestors, because if it wasn’t for my ancestors they wouldn’t have given birth to my great-great grandparents, who wouldn’t have given birth to my grandparents”
Be clear and structured, so the audience know where they are. This doesn’t mean you can’t tell a joke, but do it fast enough to ensure the whole world has not switched off and gone to bed by the time you get to the punchline.
“I wanted to thank them because without them, I would not be stood in front of y’all today, so I want to say thanks and God Bless America – this is for you Cleetus!”

Step 3: Fight the power

The political speech is a fine art. If you really want to get people talking about your speech then you can’t do better than bringing up on stage a small indigenous character in traditional garb, whose home is under threat from a war, chemical spill or multinational plastic toy manufacturer.
“This is Takawana. His entire village has just been bought by Disney- this is an outrage!”
Remember to only accept your Oscar on behalf of his entire tribe, and finish with a clenched fist that suggests solidarity with all other troubled tribes everywhere. This is well worth doing for the massive DVD market that will open up for your subsequent films.

Step 4: Crying a river

When Gwyneth Paltrow dissolved into floods of tears for her best actress win for Shakespeare in Love, she tapped into something that had been irritating Oscar lovers for years: the excess of emotion.
“You know what. When I was little- all we had to eat was wild turkey, and when there was no more wild turkey, we ate squirrel! And when there was no more squirrel, we ate dust! We just had to put our faces in the dust and suck and lick it up! Oh god!
You’re a professional! Keep those emotions in check! Dry your eyes, get it together and smile for the cameras, sweetheart, you’re ruining your own big moment.

Step 5: Make your clothes work for you

Although lots of people win Oscars each year, only one actor really “wins” – and that’s the one that gets written about most afterwards. One of the best ways to make sure you get more column inches than anyone else is to wear something truly astonishing like Bjork did in 2001 when she turned up as a swan. Be super super glamorous, and if you are going to go to all this trouble, make sure your clothes stay on.

Step 6: Make ’em laugh

When the English Patient won nine Oscars in 1997, director Anthony Minghella remarked that “this is a great day for the Isle of Wight.”
A single good joke can stay in the audience’s minds far more than a parade of poor ones. So if you think you might win something, work hard on a good gag. And if you can’t think of one, ask your funniest friend.

acceptance speech – átvevő beszéd
glad rags – a legpuccosabb ruha
the do’s and don’ts – mit szabad és mit nem
naughty bits – csintalan, pajzán rész
impromptu – rögtönzött
to expect to – számítani valamire
delight – öröm
long-standing rule – régóta fennálló szabály
ancestor – ős
structured – jól szerkesztett
punchline – poén
cleetus – paraszt
indigenous – bennszülött
traditional garb – népviselet, hagyományos öltözék
outrage – felháborodás, felháborító dolog
clenched fist – ökölbe szorított kéz
subsequent – következő
to dissolve in tears – könnyekben tör ki
to keep something in check – kordában tartani
to ruin – tönkretenni
column – újság hasábja
astonishing – döbbenetes
to go to trouble – veszi a fáradságot
single – egyetlen
to stay in someone’s mind – megmarad a fejében
gag – poén

More than half a century after it hit theaters, Mary Poppins is still one of the most beloved films ever. Here are some of the most interesting facts about Mary and the people who brought her to the silver screen.

1. IT TOOK MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO CONVINCE THE AUTHOR OF MARY POPPINS TO SELL THE MOVIE RIGHTS.

It all started in the early 1940s, when Walt Disney told his daughter Diane that he would make her favorite book into a movie. He was probably assuming that any author would be thrilled to hitch her name up to the Disney wagon, but quickly discovered that P.L. Travers was not just any author. For more than 20 years, Travers refused to deal with Disney. It was only in 1961 that she finally relented, mostly because she needed the money.

2. JULIE ANDREWS AND DICK VAN DYKE WEREN’T THE ONLY OPTIONS FOR THE LEAD ROLES.

Angela Lansbury and Bette Davis were also considered for the role of Mary. Cary Grant was Walt’s favorite for Bert.

3. JULIE ANDREWS ALMOST PASSED ON THE MOVIE.

Because she had originated the role on Broadway, Andrews was hoping to be cast as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, so she didn’t accept Disney’s offer right away. Warner ultimately decided that Audrey Hepburn was their Eliza. Andrews and Hepburn ended up vying for a Golden Globe for their respective roles. When Andrews won, she took the opportunity to cheekily thank Jack Warner during her acceptance speech.

4. DICK VAN DYKE’S COCKNEY ACCENT HAS BEEN NAMED ONE OF THE WORST ACCENT ATTEMPTS IN FILM HISTORY.

Van Dyke has defended himself in recent years, saying that his vocal coach, an Irishman attempting to do a Cockney accent, was just as bad. “I don’t talk to British people because they just make a mess of me,” he told NPR in 2010.

5. THE SHERMAN BROTHERS WROTE 30 SONGS FOR THE MOVIE.

Roughly 20 of them were cut, but some found new homes. “The Beautiful Briny” was later used in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and the melody from “Land of Sand” was eventually recycled as “Trust in Me” from Jungle Book.

6. “A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR” WAS INSPIRED BY THE POLIO VACCINE.

To help woo Andrews to the part, Walt Disney had the Sherman Brothers write a special tune for her. The duo penned a lovely song called “The Eyes of Love.” Andrews hated it. The rewrite (“something catchier,” according to Walt) proved to be a struggle for Robert Sherman—until he went home to see his kids. They had received their polio vaccine that day and informed him that it hadn’t hurt at all; the medicine was simply placed on a sugar cube and they ate it like candy. Voila.

7. WALT DISNEY’S FAVORITE SONG WAS “FEED THE BIRDS.”

Not just his favorite song from the movie—his favorite song ever. Richard Sherman has said on several occasions that Walt would stop by the Sherman Brothers office every Friday and request a private performance.

8. P.L. TRAVERS HATED THE MOVIE WITH A PASSION.

Though Travers was given script approval, she wasn’t given final script approval. She wept when she saw the final result at the movie’s premiere. “I said, ‘Oh God, what have they done?’” she later said. Travers hated the animated sequence. She hated the house the Banks family lived in. She hated that they changed the time period. She hated that Mary Poppins was pretty. She hated the songs. And she loathed Dick Van Dyke. Travers vowed that she would never work with Disney again.

9. SOME OF THE NANNIES LINED UP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE ARE ACTUALLY MEN.

I bet you can tell which ones.

10. THAT’S JULIE ANDREWS WHISTLING THE ROBIN’S PART DURING “A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR.”

An accomplished whistler (who knew?), Andrews recorded the robin’s sweet tune. In order for the bird to move and nod during the scene, by the way, Andrews had to wear a ring that connected to it. Yards of cable ran from the ring, up her arm, and out to engineers who could control the bird’s movements.

11. DISNEY WAS SUED OVER “SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS.”

Though the Sherman Brothers claimed they made the word up themselves, a 1949 song called “Supercalafajaistickespeealadojus” would seem to say otherwise. The writers of the song, Barney Young and Gloria Parker, sued for $12 million. They lost because lawyers were able to present evidence showing that the nonsense word had been around, in some form or another, for decades. Indeed, the Sherman Brothers later claimed that their made-up word was a variation on a similar word they had heard at summer camp back in the 1930s: “super-cadja-flawjalistic-espealedojus.”

12. DAVID TOMLINSON DID DOUBLE DUTY.

Tomlinson, the actor who portrayed the stodgy Mr. Banks, also provided the voice for the talking parrot on the end of Mary Poppins’ umbrella. Tomlinson also did a couple of voices for the “Jolly Holiday” scenes, including a jockey and a parrot.

13. THE CHILDREN WERE ORIGINALLY NANNIED BY THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

The nanny who leaves the Banks family at the beginning of the movie, making way for Mary Poppins, is Elsa Lanchester. Horror movie buffs know her better as the Bride of Frankenstein.

14. THERE WAS ALMOST A MARY POPPINS RIDE.

Due to the popularity of the movie, a Mary Poppins ride was scheduled to be installed at the Magic Kingdom instead of Peter Pan’s Flight, a hit attraction at Disneyland. Roy O. Disney canceled the project, feeling that East Coast guests who had never gotten the chance to visit Disneyland would want to be able to ride the same rides.

15. THE “FEED THE BIRDS” SNOWGLOBE WAS ALMOST TRASHED.

Wondering what happened to the “Feed the Birds” snowglobe from the movie, Disney archivist Dave Smith hunted through company storage to see if he could dig it up. He located it in a janitor’s closet. The janitor told Smith that he had spotted the snowglobe in a trash can, but felt it was too pretty to throw away.

16. THE CHERRY TREES ON CHERRY TREE LANE WERE REAL—BUT THE BLOOMS WEREN’T.

To create the effect of blossom-laden branches, artists hand mounted thousands of twigs and paper blooms.

17. DISNEY WON FIVE OF THE 13 ACADEMY AWARDS FOR WHICH MARY POPPINS WAS NOMINATED.

The company had never experienced such a successful night at the Oscars—and hasn’t since. (Poppins didn’t win Best Picture, however; that prize went to My Fair Lady.)

Fun fact: Mary Poppins has been running in Madách Theater in Budapest for a few years. Their Hungarian translation for Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is „szuperfenofrenetikoextrakapitális”. Good translation, isn’t it?

Try to find the words in the text that mean the same.

1. The girl or woman who is getting married.

2. Aperson who takes care of a building.

3. Making a sound by forcing air through your lips.

4. Asubstance that protects people from a disease.

5. To accept something after resisting first.

6. To start a legal case at court against somebody.

7. Apowerful emotion.

8. Asmall, thin branch from a tree.

9. To try to persuade somebody.

10. Rudely, disrespectfully.

Key:

1. bride

2. janitor

3. to whistle

4. vaccine

5. to relent

6. to sue

7. passion

8. twig

9. to woo

10. cheekily

It’s hard to imagine attending the latest blockbuster without a jumbo bucket of excessively buttery, salty popped corn. (Or, at least, getting a whiff of it.)

Popcorn was hugely popular at fairs and carnivals in the mid-1800s. Street vendors were able to easily make and sell the delicious, aromatic snack food by the bag when the first steam-powered popcorn maker was created in 1885. However, movie theaters wanted to stay far, far away from the pungent, crunchy grub.

They strove to associate themselves more with the latter half of their name: the theater. A real theater would refuse to be associated with food that would be noisily chomped on and messily strewn about by consumers during showings. Before talkies, literacy was a necessity for film-goers, and movie theaters strove to target a well-educated crowd.

In 1927, with the dawn of talkies, movies were no longer just geared towards a “sophisticated” and literate audience. Going to the movies was an activity anyone could enjoy. This coincided with the Great Depression, and Americans wanted cheap entertainment that would help them to get lost in a new reality. Movies fit the bill.

Although early theaters weren’t equipped to handle popcorn machines, independent vendors were quick to jump at the opportunity of selling directly to consumers. Corn kernels were cheap, so popcorn was inexpensive (ranging from five to ten cents a bag) and patrons who were not well-off could enjoy a bag of the goodness. Vendors began selling popcorn to people outside of the theater, allowing for a double profit of simple passersby and film-goers alike. The snack was everywhere. Soon, vendors could, for a small fee, sell popcorn in the lobby directly to people entering the theater.

Movie theater owners began to cut out the street vendors and sold popcorn themselves. Theaters that refused to change with the times and have their own popcorn makers suffered, as the cheap snack became in-demand. For theater owners, the way to stay alive during the Depression was to give the people what they wanted.

During World War II, the sales of popcorn in the United States really hit off. Sugar was sent overseas for the military, so there were not as many resources for the creation of candies and soda. Meanwhile, there was no salt or kernel shortage. The food’s popularity continued to grow, and the rest is movie history.

Vegyük át újra a pattogatott kukorica történetét – ezúttal magyarul. Válaszolj a kérdésekre!

1. Hol árulták először a pattogatott kukoricát?

2. Mi könnyítette meg az elkészítését később?

3. Miért nem kedvelték először a mozik?

4. Mikor változott meg a hozzáállásuk?

5. Miért jelentek meg a mozik előtt az árusok?

6. Miért nőtt a II. világháború alatt a pattogatott kukorica népszerűsége?

Válaszok:

1. Vásárokban és karneválokon.

2. A gőzhajtású pattogtató gépek.

3. Mert a művelt rétegeket akarták elérni és a zajosan rágcsált és mindenfelé szétszórt pattogatott kukorica ehhez nem felelt meg.

4. 1927-ben a hangosfilmek megjelenésével már nem kellett olvasni a feliratokat a moziban, a mozi olcsó szórakozás volt a gazdasági válság idején és már nem csak a művelt közönséget célozták meg.

5. Mert így a járókelőktől is és a mozi közönségétől is bevételhez jutottak.

6. Kevés volt a cukor, mert a külföldön harcoló katonáknak szállították el, sóból és kukoricából viszont nem volt hiány.

Solar-Powered Cinema Is a Mini Marvel

Welcome to the world’s smallest solar-powered mobile cinema – built from a rusty old caravan. A team of four spent a year creating the unique eight-seat picture house, which has now toured to more than 300 locations.They mainly used recycled materials, including an LED projector housing from a 1920s theatre light and antique curtains, in the 20,000-pounds project. Two of the group created the usherette outfits, the upholstery and the art deco paintwork. The caravan was transformed using old carpets from a wedding company, fake brick, a canopy and roman pillars.

Thousands of people have enjoyed 100s of films inside the 2.7m converted caravan, complete with plush seating, surround sound – and lots of popcorn. It’s played everything from movie parodies, 1940s dance films, sci-fi adventures, music videos and comedy to environmental documentaries. And audiences get in free – because events hire the cinema. 

Artist Jo Furlong came up with the idea for Sol Cinema after spotting an old Euro-Camper caravan from 1965 rusting away in a hedge. He had previously converted a small caravan into a touring human-sized juke box for his band, which became a festival cult favourite.

Paul O’Connor, projectionist and co-founder of Sol Cinema, said perfecting the solar power system was the biggest task. "I had been seeking out a unique way to show short films at festivals and Jo’s brainwave was the perfect solution. We wanted to find a way to present short films which went beyond YouTube. We wanted to give an enjoyable experience to honour all the hard work and dedication which video makers put into creating short videos. Our solar panel receives enough sunlight to charge the batteries ensuring that we always have power, whatever the weather. It means we can perform just about anywhere."
Now on its fourth touring season, the cinema has appeared at community and music events in Scotland and Wales and a street festival in Ireland. Mr O’Connor said: "Everyone loves the cinema and amazement is the most common reaction from our viewers. When audiences leave – people outside can’t believe so many people can comfortably be seated inside.”

solar-powered – napenergiával működő
rusty – rozsdás
unique – egyedi
to tour – turnézni
recycled materials – újrahasznosított anyagok
housing – ház (gépeknek)
theatre light – színházi reflektor
usherette – jegyszedő
outfit – öltözék, szerkó
upholstery – kárpit
fake – mű, hamis
canopy – előtető
roman pillar – római oszlop
plush seating – plüss ülések
audience – közönség
event – esemény
hedge – sövény
juke box – pénzbedobós zenegép
co-founder – társalapító
task – feladat
brainwave – szuper ötlet
to honour – tisztelegni valami előtt
dedication – odaadás
to charge – feltölteni
to ensure – biztosítani
whatever – bármilyen
amazement – ámulat

Match the words with the definitions.

answers: 1-d 2-a 3-e 4-c 5-b

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
table.MsoTableGrid
{mso-style-name:”Table Grid”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-priority:59;
mso-style-unhide:no;
border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-border-insideh:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-border-insidev:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}