Buzz

In an entertainment context, "buzz" means the amount of popular discussion about a subject. This discussion is not by movie critics, but by people at large. Therefore, those measuring it cannot point to specific reviews or specific words; they measure "buzz," which is a representation of background noise.

Example: "There is a misconception that buzz will always transfer into sales," says Matt Smith, co-founder of the digital media and marketing company The Viral Factory, responsible for the viral campaign to launch the 2008 film Cloverfield."

Original story re: the next Batman film's viral marketing campaign here. .

We Have A Situation

A  common line in dramas, this cannot be taken literally because everything is a situation. The implication is that we have a bad situation.

This phrase is used as understatement, meant to be said in a way that is not alarming, "loaded" (with panic), or more specific as to the type of situation (accident, incident, crisis). The idea is to instantly get the full and serious attention of the listener while remaining as calm as possible.

Example: "Mr. President, we have a situation. An airplane has been hijacked." The listener is not being bombarded with details (yet) because there is a certain protocol to follow; a President would ask for details about the situation, but that is his choice and his privilege. You do not shout down the President.

This type of line could easily appear in a movie, a television drama, or a novel. It is certainly not limited to presidents, but has been made famous in that context in American English.

"Make My Day"

Doubling as a famous quote, "Make my day" is urging someone else to provide an excuse for a violent confrontation, which will provide pleasure to the speaker. This may or may not be used as a bluff.


More broadly, if something makes your day, it has made the day a good one.

Example 1: "Sure, throw the first punch. Make my day. I'll enjoy hitting you back."

Example 2: "I just got a call from my Uncle Jack. I haven't heard from him in two years. It really made my day! I wish he'd call more often."

"Did You Get Him?"

In American action movies, to "get" someone is to successfully kill or make unable to fight an enemy in a gunfight.

This use was a feature of idiomatic speech in the U.S. Army long before ever seeing the movie screen.

Example: In "Cop Out," the goofy African-American sidekick "Paul" (played by Tracy Morgan) to Bruce Willis' character "Jimmy," successfully shoots "a bad guy" in a gunfight within the corridor directly behind the front door of a house owned by a notorious drug dealer.

"Jimmy" (Bruce Willis) asks, "Did you get him?"

"Paul" (Tracy Morgan) replies, "His head ain't on his body no more, does that count?" [Rough paraphrasing. I only saw the movie because a family member rented it.]

This means, the bad guy's head had been "taken off" by the gunshot so yes, that was probably a fatal shot. (Probably?)