Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily Variety Gotham edition, based in New York City was added. All three have been in continual operation since. Now delivered to 60 countries, Variety presents in-depth news, exclusive reports, trend stories, box office information and reviews.

Variety.com is a paid site and has all the latest news and reviews from the industry, and also offers searchable archives, interactive box office charting, international box office grosses, a credits database, film and television production charts, an in-depth industry calendar and reviews dating back to 1914.

Variety Events target every aspect of the entertainment industry. These events include the Variety Screening Series, held in both NYC and LA showcasing award contenders and Variety's philanthropic "Power of" events, including Power of Youth, Power of Women, Power of Comedy, and Power of Music. Variety also delivers content-driven conferences that provide platforms for industry leaders to discuss and debate the future of the entertainment industry.

The magazine is owned by Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier.

History[link]

Variety has been published since December 16, 1905,^[1] when it was launched by Silverman as a weekly periodical covering vaudeville with its headquarters in New York City. In 1933, Silverman launched Daily Variety, based in Hollywood.

Silverman was the editor of the Variety Inc. publications until selecting Abel Green as his replacement in 1931; he remained as publisher until his death in 1933 soon after launching the daily. His son Sidne Silverman (1901–1950), known as "Skigie", succeeded him as publisher of both publications. Both Sidne and his wife, stage actress Marie Saxon (1905–1942), died of tuberculosis. Their only son Syd Silverman, born 1932, was the sole heir to what was then Variety Inc. Young Syd's legal guardian Harold Erichs oversaw Variety Inc. until 1956. From then Syd took over and managed the company until 1987, when he sold it to Cahners Publishing (later absorbed by Reed Elsevier) for US$64 million.^{[citation needed]}

For twenty years its editor-in-chief was Peter Bart, who worked previously at Paramount Pictures and The New York Times. In April 2009, it was announced that Bart was moving to the position of "vice president and editorial director", characterised online as "Boffo No More: Bart Up and Out at Variety". The current editor is Timothy M. Gray.^[2][3]

Circulation[link]

Paid circulation is currently 61,144 across Daily Variety, weekly Variety, and Variety.com, representing 41,554 individuals (some of whom subscribe to more than one of these) (BPA Worldwide, September 2011).

Editions[link]

• Variety (started in 1905) is a glossy tabloid edition with a broad coverage of movies, television, theater, music and technology, written for entertainment executives. It is published weekly and delivered internationally.
• Daily Variety (started in 1933) is the name of the Los Angeles-based Hollywood and Broadway daily edition.
• Daily Variety Gotham, (started in 1998) is the name of the New York City-based edition which gives a priority focus to East Coast show-business news and is produced earlier in the evening than the Los Angeles edition so it can be delivered to New York City offices the following morning.
• Variety.com (launched in 1998) is the internet version of Variety. It was one of the first online newspapers to charge for access when it launched. While the publication did briefly provide free access, it brought back its paywall in December 2009. At the same time, Variety introduced a new type of subscription; now subscribers receive Variety.com, Digital Variety, Daily Variety and Weekly Variety for one price.
• Variety On-The-Go Variety is also available as an app on the iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone. This app is an interactive content-driven platform providing entertainment industry updates on the go.

^[4]

Variety Foundation[link]

The Variety Foundation focuses on charitable causes in the entertainment space, and facilitates the raising and donating of funds to these charities via the "Power Of" franchise and various other projects. The Foundation uses its position in the entertainment industry to increase public awareness and encourage people from all walks of life to get involved and give back.

Variety's Power of Youth is an initiative that celebrates top young talent and their involvement with philanthropic and humanitarian causes, and encourages their fans around the world to get involved and give back too. The event, now in its fourth year, is an invitation-only afternoon full of fun and festivities, with live performances, interactive games, activities, food, photo opportunities and a special presentation. 2010 honorees include Justin Bieber, David Henrie, Victoria Justice, Shailene Woodley and Bow Wow, each of whom, through their efforts, have made a significant difference to their chosen causes.

Past Variety's Power of Youth supporters/honorees include: AnnaLynne McCord, Corbin Bleu, Keke Palmer, Jesse McCartney, Abigail Breslin, The Jonas Brothers, Miranda Cosgrove, Hilary Duff, Dakota Fanning, Selena Gomez, Taylor Lautner, Miley Cyrus and many more.

Variety hosts an exclusive event celebrating the Power of Women and their impact on philanthropic and charitable causes. Variety honors a select group of women in entertainment who, through their efforts, have made a significant difference to their chosen causes. 400 invite-only guests made up of Hollywood insiders and A-list talent come to celebrate, support and pay tribute to the philanthropic efforts of these amazing women. Variety's philanthropy bizarre provides an interactive area for guests to engage with the participating brand sponsors and the featured charities. The goal of Variety's Power of Women is to inspire and encourage people from all walks of life to get involved, give back and make a difference.

Variety's Power of Comedy is an annual stand-up comedy and improv show that benefits the Noreen Fraser Foundation, an organization focused on funding women's cancer research and raising awareness of the importance of early detection for the prevention of women's cancer. This event attests that using humor is cornerstone to the mission of many philanthropic organizations, as humor serves to break the ice on important subjects that can be uncomfortable to discuss and reminds people of the healing power of laughter.

Variety plans to add the Power of Music event to their philanthropic line-up in 2012.

Culture[link]

For much of its existence, Variety's writers and columnists have used a jargon called slanguage or varietyese (a form of headlinese) that refers especially to the movie industry, and has largely been adopted and imitated by other writers in the industry. Such terms as "boffo box-office biz", "sitcom", "sex appeal", "payola", and even "striptease" are attributed to the influence of the magazine,^[5] although its attempt to popularize "infobahn" as a synonym for "information superhighway" never caught on. Its most famous headline was from October 1929, when the stock market crashed: "Wall St. Lays An Egg". Another favorite, "Sticks nix hick pix",^[6][7] was made popular—although the movie-prop version renders it as "Stix nix hix pix!" in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Michael Curtiz's musical-biographical film about George M. Cohan starring James Cagney; translated, it means that rural audiences were not attending rural-themed films. Television series are referred to as "skeins", and heads of companies or corporate teams are called "toppers". In addition, more-common English words and phrases are shortened; "audience members" becomes simply "auds", "performance" becomes "perf", and "network" becomes "net", for example.

Facts and figures[link]

• On January 19, 1907, Variety published what is considered the first film review in history.
• On December 7, 1988, Bart's predecessor, Roger Watkins, proposed and oversaw the transition to four-color print. Upon its launch, the new-look Variety measured one inch shorter with a washed-out color on the front. The old front-page box advertisement was replaced by a strip advertisement, along with the first photos published in Variety since Sime gave up using them in the old format in 1920: they depicted Sime, Abel and Syd. (www.simesite.net/roger.asp, 7th paragraph).

A significant portion of Variety's revenue comes during the movie-award season leading up to the Academy Awards. During this time, large numbers of colorful, full-page "For Your Consideration" advertisements inflate the size of Variety to double or triple its usual page count. These advertisements are Hollywood's attempt to reach other Hollywood professionals who will be voting in the many awards given out in the early part of the year.

Location[link]

The Variety Building in December 2008.

In late 2008, Variety moved its Los Angeles offices to a high-rise office building on Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of the Miracle Mile area. The building was dubbed the Variety Building because a red, illuminated "Variety" sign graced the top north and south sides of the building. The 31-story tower can be seen from any direction in Los Angeles, and has totally unobstructed, 360-degree views of the city. The city welcomed the new landmark with a lighting ceremony in December 2008

Reprints of film reviews[link]

This is the short list of English-language periodicals with 10,000 or more film reviews reprinted in book form:

• Variety as Variety Film Reviews (1907–1996) in 24 volumes.
• New York Times as New York Times Film Reviews (1913–2000) in 22 volumes.
• Harrison's Reports as Harrison's Reports and Film Reviews (1919–1962) in 15 volumes.

Film reviews in Variety continued after the dates of the last reprints.

Reprints of obituaries[link]

The complete text of approximately 100,000 entertainment-related obituaries (1905–1986) were reprinted as Variety Obituaries, an 11-volume set, including alphabetical index. Four additional bi-annual reprints were published (for 1987–1994) before the reprint series was discontinued.

Film trailer charts[link]

In 2009, Variety launched a chart showcasing the top performing film trailers ahead of theatrical release in partnership with media measurement firm Visible Measures. An example of these charts can be found here.

See also[link]

	United States portal
	Journalism portal

• The Hollywood Reporter
• Paidcontent.org
• Tubefilter

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up Appendix:Words from Variety in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Variety.com website
• description by the Parisian Bibliothèque du film
• article from Le Monde about Variety's 100th anniversary

v t e Reed Elsevier Elsevier Imprints Academic Press Anderson Architectural Press Bailliere Tindall Butterworth–Heinemann Cell Press Churchill Livingstone Current Opinion Focal Press Gulf Professional Publishers Hanley & Belfus Masson Morgan Kaufmann Mosby Newness Pergamon Saunders Syngress Urban & Fischer William Andrew Selected journals Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Cell The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology The Lancet Tetrahedron Trends Other Embase ScienceDirect Scirus Scopus LexisNexis Butterworths CaseMap JurisClasseur Martindale-Hubbell Matthew Bender Quicklaw Shepard's Citations Zap Reed Business Information Australia HotFrog Germany DETAIL Netherlands AllAboutFeed Beleggers Belangen Bizz Boerderij Elsevier Meat International Pig Progress World Poultry United Kingdom Airline Business Bankersalmanac Caterer and Hotelkeeper Commercial Motor Community Care Crops Dairy Update Electronics Weekly Employers' Law Estates Gazette Farmers Weekly Farmland Market Flight International Hairdressers Journal International Health & Beauty Salon ICIS Irish Medical Times Kellysearch Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook MIMS Ireland Motor Transport New Scientist Occupational Health Optician Personnel Today Poultry World Totaljobs Training & Coaching Today Truck and Driver Utility Week XpertHR Zibb United States 411 Publishing BuyerZone MarketCast Reed Construction Data RSMeans Variety Category

Tim Minchin
Birth name	Timothy David Minchin
Born	(1975-10-07) 7 October 1975 (age 36) Northampton, England, UK[1]
Nationality	Australian, British
Years active	2002–present
Genres	Comedy music
Spouse	Sarah Minchin 2001–present (2 children)
Website	timminchin.com

Timothy David "Tim" Minchin^[2] (born 7 October 1975 in Northampton, England)^[1] is an Australian-British comedian, actor, and musician.

Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia, Britain and the United States. After growing up in Perth, Western Australia, he attended the University of Western Australia and WAAPA before moving to Melbourne in 2002. His breakout show, "Dark Side", launched him into the public eye, achieving critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.^[3]

Minchin has a background in theatre and has appeared in various stage productions, in addition to some small acting roles on Australian TV. A documentary film about Minchin, Rock N Roll Nerd (directed by Rhian Skirving), was released theatrically in 2008 ^[4] and broadcast by ABC1 in 2009.^[5] He is the co-writer of the Olivier Award winning hit musical Matilda the Musical, based on the Roald Dahl book Matilda.

Personal life[link]

Minchin was born in Northampton, UK, to Australian parents^[1] and raised in Perth, Western Australia.^[6] He was educated at the private Christ Church Grammar School and started learning piano at the age of eight, but gave it up after three years because he did not enjoy the discipline. He redeveloped an interest in the instrument after he started writing music with his brother Dan Minchin, a guitarist, but still describes himself as a "hack pianist... a 'more you practise, the better you get' kind of guy".^[7] Minchin graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, and in 1998 completed an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.^[8]

He currently lives in London with his wife, Sarah.^[9] They have two children: a daughter, Violet, and a son, Caspar.^[10] Minchin often refers to his relationships in his songs and stand-up routines.

Musical comedy[link]

Minchin playing the piano on stage

Minchin describes his act as a "funny cabaret show" and sees himself primarily as a musician and songwriter as opposed to a comedian; his songs, he says, "just happen to be funny."^[11] His reasoning for combining the disciplines of music and comedy was revealed in one interview when he said "I'm a good musician for a comedian and I'm a good comedian for a musician but if I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno."^[12]

He draws on his background in theatre for his distinctive onstage appearance and persona.^[6] In his performances, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair and heavy eye makeup, which is juxtaposed with a crisp suit and tails, and a grand piano. According to Minchin, he likes going barefoot in his shows because it makes him feel more comfortable. He considers the eye makeup important because while he is playing the piano he is not able to use his arms and relies on his face for expressions and gestures; the eyeliner makes his features more distinguishable for the audience.^[7] Much of his look and persona, he says, are about "treading that line between mocking yourself and wanting to be an iconic figure. Mocking the ridiculousness and completely unrealistic dream of being an iconic figure."^[13] The eccentric appearance removes Minchin from reality somewhat, allowing him to make outrageous statements onstage "without annoying (most) people." ^[14]

The shows consist largely of Minchin's comedic songs and poetry, with subjects ranging from social satire to inflatable dolls, sex fetishes, and his own failed rock star ambitions. In between songs, he performs short stand-up routines.^[11] Several of his songs deal with religion, a subject with which Minchin—an atheist and a fan of Richard Dawkins—says he is "a bit obsessed."^[15] He argues that as one of the most powerful and influential forces in the world, religion should never be off-limits to satirists. He says that his favourite song to perform is "Peace Anthem for Palestine", which reflects his feelings about religious conflict.^[16] In October 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. His comedy also deals with taboos more broadly.^[17] A prime example of this is the song "Prejudice" which parodies the power awarded to something as simple as a word.

Early career (1998–2007)[link]

After completing an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music in 1998, Minchin started out composing music for documentaries and theatre. In 2000 he wrote and starred in the musical Pop at the Blue Room Theatre in Perth.^[18] He released a CD titled Sit with his band Timmy the Dog in 2001, but achieved little success.^[19] In 2002, after only one professional acting job, he moved from Perth to Melbourne to pursue work.^[20] Minchin struggled initially; he could not get an agent for a year and had been unable to find any acting work.^[19] While several record companies gave him positive feedback, they were not sure how his music—a mixture of satirical songs and more serious pop songs—could be marketed. He decided to compile all of his humorous songs into a single live show to "get the comedy stuff off [his] chest" before going back to more serious music.^[21]

Minchin says he entered into comedy "naively", having never even attended a live comedy gig before performing one himself.^[15] His break-out show, Darkside (co-produced by Laughing Stock Productions), achieved critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it won the inaugural Festival Directors' Award and attracted the notice of Karen Koren, the manager of the well-known Gilded Balloon venues.^[22] Koren backed the show's run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Minchin received the Perrier Comedy Award for Best Newcomer.^[6][23] His 2006 show, So Rock, was nominated for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's top prize, the Barry Award, and in 2007 he was given the award for Best Alternative Comedian at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.^[11][24]

Live recordings of his 2005 and 2006 shows, Darkside and So Rock, have been released as CDs. In 2007, he released a DVD entitled So Live, featuring a live recording in the Sydney Opera House Studio with material from both of his previous shows.^[13] As this DVD was only released in Australia, he released a DVD in 2008 entitled So F**king Rock Live in the UK, containing largely the same material as So Live.

[edit] Ready for This? (2008–2010)

In August 2008 Minchin debuted his third solo show, Ready for This?, at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently took it on tour across the UK. During the Edinburgh run, he contributed to The Guardian newspaper's podcasts,^[25] despite his new show containing a song about a Guardian critic who once gave his show a negative review.^[26][27]

A recording of this show, recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London was released as an album for download via iTunes on 20 July 2009. An Australian recording was released on DVD, solely in Australia on 9 September 2009^[28] and a UK release in the second half of 2010.^[29]

In December 2009, the track "White Wine in the Sun" was released as a downloadable single online. Fans on Minchin's official forum launched a campaign to get this festive track into the UK Christmas charts by purchasing it from various online download retailers.^[30] A Facebook group was also launched to support the campaign^[31] as well as a drive on Twitter in which celebrities were contacted about the campaign and a succession of e-mails to radio DJs in a bid to get them to play the song. It was later announced that 50% of the December profits from the song would be donated to The National Autistic Society.^[32] The bid was ultimately unsuccessful.^[33]

It was announced at the end of 2009 that one of Minchin's beat poems, Storm, was to be made into a short animated movie to be released in 2010.^{[dated info][34]} A blog was launched to accompany the film-making process and a short trailer was released on 8 January 2010.^[35] The full movie was launched on YouTube on 7 April 2011.^[36]

He performed Ready for This? for what he envisages as the final time on 27 February 2010 in Sydney.^[37] He did however perform a set at The Big Libel Gig on 14 March 2010 in protest at Britain's libel laws, along with other performers including Dara Ó Briain, Marcus Brigstocke, Shappi Khorsandi, Robin Ince and Ed Byrne. As well as this, he performed at Camp Bestival as part of the Jestival Sessions in July 2010.^[38]

Minchin was the subject of the winning entry in the 2010 Archibald Prize, Australia's most important portraiture competition. The winning entry was painted by Sam Leach.^[39][40]

[edit] Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra (2010–2011)

Minchin embarked on a new arena tour starting with Birmingham on Wednesday 8 December 2010. A departure from the structure of his previous live shows, his act has been scaled up to be performed with the Heritage Orchestra. It contains a mixture of material: there are new songs on the subject of prayer and of rationality — themes which often appear in his previous work. Minchin has stated that the aim of incorporating the orchestra into his act is to create a comedy show that would not be ruined by being performed in arenas, as stated in the special features of the DVD and Blu-ray. The show is touring the UK and Australia. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for a Blu-ray and DVD that was released in November 2011.^[41]

Television and radio[link]

Tim Minchin has made appearances on Australian TV shows, including the ABC's Spicks and Specks,^[42] and The Sideshow,^[43]. He has also made appearances on Network Ten's panel shows Good News Week (February 2010)^[44] and Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (March 2010).^[45]

Minchin has also appeared on various British radio and television shows, including the BBC's Never Mind the Buzzcocks (four times, once as guest host),^[46] BBC Radio 4's Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better^[47] and two specials on BBC Radio 2. He often performs on his TV appearances, such as his spots on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in October 2009 and July 2010.^[48] He performed a specially-written song entitled "Five Poofs and Two Pianos", a parody of the show's house band, 4 Poofs and a Piano. Minchin also appeared as a special guest on the 2009 edition of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year performing a song written for the show ("It's Like 1984") in reference to a question regarding Google Street View.^[49] On Saturday 13 August 2011 Minchin hosted Prom 40: the first BBC Comedy Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He appeared on Desert Island Discs on 6 May 2012.^[50]

A heavily cut-down version of the show released on DVD as So F**king Rock Live has aired several times on British TV channel E4, first on 23 July 2009.^[51] It aired at the turn of 2011, forming E4's New Year's coverage.^[52]

On 8 May 2010, Minchin's musical sitcom pilot Strings was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. Minchin plays the protagonist Jonny, who leaves Australia to live in the UK.^[53] Well received as it was by Radio 2, he decided against creating a full series. ^[54]

In January 2011, Minchin made his American television debut on TBS's Conan, where he performed "Inflatable You".^[55] On 12 May 2011, he performed "If I Didn't Have You" on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and on 7 June 2011 Minchin made his second appearance on Conan, singing "Prejudice".^[56] Minchin made his third appearance on Conan on 9 April 2012, singing his "3-Minute Song".

In December 2011 Minchin performed a specially written song called "Woody Allen Jesus" ^[57] on The Jonathan Ross Show. However, despite the show's producers and ITV's lawyers approving the composition for broadcast it was removed at the last minute. Responding on his blog, Minchin stated:^[58] "[...] Someone got nervous and sent the tape to ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham. And Peter Fincham demanded that I be cut from the show. He did this because he's scared of the ranty, shit-stirring, right-wing press, and of the small minority of Brits who believe they have a right to go through life protected from anything that challenges them in any way."^[59]

Acting and theatre[link]

Minchin's background is in theatre and he has appeared in various stage productions. His most recent dramatic theatrical performance was in the title role for the 2006 Perth Theatre Company production of Amadeus, a fictional play about the downfall of Mozart at the hands of the reigning court composer.^[19] His other stage acting roles have included the title role in the 2004 Perth Theatre Company / Hoopla production of Hamlet, and The Writer in the original PTC production of Reg Cribb’s The Return. He has also acted for The Australian Shakespeare Company (Twelfth Night), the Black Swan Theatre Company (Cosi, One Destiny) and in various other plays, short films and TVC’s. Roles from his days in musical theatre include Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha and Pontius Pilate (and understudying Judas twice) in Jesus Christ Superstar. He has also appeared playing small parts on the ABC telemovie Loot and on the show Comedy Inc..^[60]

Minchin also plays the role of Tom, in the contemporary family drama Two Fists, One Heart,^[61] released 19 March 2009.^[62] He also wrote the song Drowned for the film's soundtrack.^[63]

He co-wrote an Olivier Award winning musical version of Roald Dahl's novel Matilda – entitled Matilda, A Musical – with Dennis Kelly and the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is produced by the RSC. It showed at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon running from 9 November 2010 to 30 January 2011^[64] and began its West End run at the Cambridge Theatre on 25 October 2011 to great critical acclaim.^[65][66]

Minchin has been cast to play Judas in the Summer 2012 UK tour of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.^[67]

Atheism and skepticism[link]

In an interview with IIG member John Rael, Minchin explains that what upsets him most about paranormal beliefs is "special pleading" by people who say vague things such as "there is no harm in it". Minchin states that there is very little harm in something like reiki, but asks "where do you draw the line?" when it comes to needing real evidence if a therapy works or not. He states that he is an atheist as well as a skeptic, and cannot understand how someone can call themself a skeptic and still be religious. "If you apply doubt to anything...the whole religion thing is obviously a fantasy." ^[68]

In his beat poem, Storm, which centres on Minchin having an argument with a "hippie" who believes in various New Age alternatives in lieu of pharmaceutical medicine, he states: "Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation, so that belief can be preserved." ^[69]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Sit (with band Timmy the Dog) (2001)
• Darkside (2005)
• So Rock (2006)
• Ready For This? (2009)
• Live at the O2 (2010)
• Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra (2011)

Singles[link]

• "Drowned" (2008)
• "White Wine in the Sun" (2009)
• "The Pope Song" (2010) - As a free download from his website^[70]
• "The Fence" (2011)

Compilations[link]

• Laugh-a-poolooza (featured artist) (2005)

DVD[link]

• So Live (2007) Australian DVD
• So F**king Rock Live (also known as So Fucking Rock Live)^[71] (11 October 2008)
• So F**king Rock Live (Special Edition) (also known as So Fucking Rock Live (Special Edition)) (5 October 2009)
• Ready For This? (29 November 2010)
• Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra (14 November 2011)

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

• 2008 – Two Fists, One Heart – Tom^[72]
• 2010 – The Lost Thing – The Boy (Voice)^[73]
• 2013 - Californication - Coked-up Rock Star(Guest)^[74]

Awards[link]

• 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Directors' Choice Award for Dark Side^[75]
• 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Perrier Comedy Award, Best Newcomer^[23]
• 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Groggy Squirrel Critics' Award^[76]
• 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Best Alternative Act^[77]
• 2009 Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer ^[78]
• 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Original Songs^[79]
• 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Artiste^[79]
• 2010 Chortle Awards, Best Music or Variety Act ^[80]
• 2012 Olivier Awards: Best New Musical for Matilda The Musical ^[81]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim Minchin

• Official website
• Rock N Roll Nerd – The Tim Minchin Documentary website
• Tim Minchin's channel on YouTube
• Tim Minchin on Twitter
• Tim Minchin on Myspace
• YouTube Interview on Australian Sceptics vodcast, The TANK Vodcast, 2007
• Tim Minchin's song 'If I Didn't Have You' (Secret Policeman's Ball)
• Storm Movie Production Blog

David Henrie
David Henrie in 2010
Born	David Clayton Henrie (1989-07-11) July 11, 1989 (age 22) Mission Viejo, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, professional rally driver, musician, film producer, television writer
Years active	2002–present
Website
http://www.davidhenrie.com

David Clayton Henrie^[1] (born July 11, 1989) is an American actor, television writer, and producer. He is noted for playing Ted Mosby's future son on How I Met Your Mother, Justin Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place and Larry on That's So Raven. He is the elder brother of the actor Lorenzo Henrie.

Early life[link]

Henrie was born in Mission Viejo, California, the son of Linda (née Finocchiaro) and Jim Henrie, and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona.^[2][3][4] He is the brother of actor Lorenzo Henrie. Henrie was raised as a Roman Catholic^[5] and, according to his website, comes from a "large, loud, Italian family".^[6] Henrie is an avid hockey fan.^[7] In a video chat, Henrie stated that he is "a Christian and always will be."^[8]

Career[link]

By age 13, Henrie got his first big break, landing a regular role as Petey Pitt on the Fox sitcom The Pitts. Henrie next landed a leading role in the Hallmark movie, Monster Makers, with Linda Blair and George Kennedy, and was asked to come back for another Hallmark movie, to play a role in Dead Hollywood Moms Society.

At the age of 18, Henrie got the role of Justin Russo in the Disney Channel Original Series, Wizards of Waverly Place. The show premiered on October 12, 2007. Due to his involvement with Disney Channel, Henrie competed in the 2008 Disney Channel Games. He was team captain of the Green Team, also known as the Cyclones. He has a role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Dadnapped. Before his present role on Wizards of Waverly Place, he had a recurring role on That's So Raven as Cory's friend Larry. Henrie also has a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother, and made a guest appearance as himself in 2 episodes of Jonas L.A.. According to Reuters, Henrie was officially named the Grand Marshal for the 2009 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.^[9]

Henrie is credited with writing two episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place, Alex's Logo,^[10] and the special, Meet The Werewolves.^[11]

Henrie is currently filming a movie Little Boy and plays the role of London Busbee.^[12] He is also part of the cast of Grown Ups 2 opposite Taylor Lautner and Adam Sandler.^[13]

On April 6, 2012, which coincides with Holy Thursday, Henrie accompanied Eduardo Verastegui in a speech addressing life issues at the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the city of Piura. ^[14]

Filmography[link]

Henrie at the Movieguide 2012 Awards Gala Red Carpet.

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• David Henrie at the Internet Movie Database
• David Henrie Social Pages
• David Henrie

Jennifer Stone
Stone attending "The 6th Annual Hollywood Style Awards" Beverly Hills, CA, Oct. 10, 2009
Born	Jennifer Lindsay Stone (1993-02-12) February 12, 1993 (age 19)[1] Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present

Jennifer Lindsay Stone (born February 12, 1993)^[1] is an American actress best known for playing Harper Finkle on the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place and Harriet Welsh in the Disney Channel film Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars and Abby Hanover in "Mean Girls 2"

Life[link]

Stone was born in Arlington, Texas. She began acting at the age of six in local theaters. She signed with an agency at the age of eight.

Career[link]

Stone's break came when she was cast as Martha in New Line Cinema's Secondhand Lions. She received a Young Artist Award nomination for her role in Secondhand Lions^[2] as well as a nomination for her 2005 guest appearance on House, M.D.^[3] She guest appeared on Line of Fire and Without a Trace. In February 2007, she joined the main cast of Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place as Harper. She has made YouTube videos with Wizards co-stars Selena Gomez and David Henrie, and created her own YouTube channel.

In 2009, she had a voice role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Dadnapped. She also lent her voice to Phineas and Ferb as the voice of Amanda, Candace's daughter in the future in 2 episodes. In 2010, she played the main character in the film Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars. In 2011, she was in the film Mean Girls 2 playing Abby Hanover.

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} Jennifer Stone's official website. Accessed 2009-06-12.^{[dead link]}
2. ^ 25th Annual Young Artist Awards. YoungArtistAwards.org. Accessed 2008-11-11.
3. ^ 27th Annual Young Artist Awards. YoungArtistAwards.org. Accessed 2008-11-11.
4. ^ Big Time Rush (2012-02-29). "Kids Choice Awards 2012 - Nominees - KCA 2012". Nick.com. http://www.nick.com/kids-choice-awards/2012/nominees. Retrieved 2012-03-31. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jennifer Stone

• Jennifer Stone at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennifer Stone on Twitter

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2010)

Audio-Animatronics (shorthand AA) is the registered trademark for a form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, generally in speech or song. An Audio-Animatronic is different from android-type robots in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than processing external stimuli and responding to them. In 2009, Disney switched to an updated version of the technology called Autonomatronics.

Animatronics has become a generic name for similar robots created by firms other than Disney.

History[link]

Audio-Animatronics were originally a creation of Walt Disney employee Lee Adams, who worked as an electrician at the Burbank studio and was one of Disney's original Imagineers. One of the first Disney Audio-Animatronics was a toy bird Walt Disney got in New Orleans. It was a simple mechanical bird, and Walt decided to improve the device that moved it. Another was a "dancing man", created by Roger Broggie and Wathel Rogers.^[1]

The term "Audio-Animatronics" was first used commercially by Disney in 1961, was filed as a trademark in 1964, and was registered in 1967.

Perhaps the most impressive of the early Audio-Animatronics efforts was The Enchanted Tiki Room, which opened in 1963 at Disneyland. It was (and is) a room full of tropical creatures with eye and facial actions synchronized to a musical score entirely by electromechanical means. The "cast" of the musical revue uses tones recorded on tape to vibrate a metal reed that closes a circuit to trigger a relay, which sends a pulse of electricity to a mechanism that causes a pneumatic valve to move a part of the figure's body.

The movements of the attraction's birds, flowers, and tiki idols are triggered by sound, hence the audio prefix. Figures' movements have a neutral "natural resting position" that the limb or part returns to when there is no electric pulse present. Other than this, the animation is a digital system, with only on/off moves, such as an open or closed eye.

Other early examples were the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln exhibit presented at the State of Illinois Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Also at the fair were three other pavilions featuring Audio-Animatronics, including Pepsi/UNICEF's "it's a small world", General Electric's Carousel of Progress, and Ford Motor Company's "Magic Skyway".

Technology[link]

Pneumatic muscles were not powerful enough to move larger objects, like an artificial human arm, so hydraulics were used for large figures. On/off movement would cause an arm to be either up over the artificial man's head (on switch), or down (off switch), but no movement in between. To create realistic in-between movement in large figures, an analog system was used. This gave the figure's limbs and parts a full range of in-between motion, rather than only two positions. The digital system was used with small pneumatic moving limbs (eyelids, beaks, fingers), and the analog system was used for large hydraulic human or animal moving limbs (arms, heads).

To permit a high degree of freedom, the control cylinders resemble typical miniature pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, but mount the back of the cylinder on a ball joint and threaded rod. This ball joint permits the cylinders to float freely inside the frame, such as when the wrist joint rotates and flexes.

Disney's technology is not infallible however; the oil-filled cylinders do occasionally drip or leak. It is sometimes necessary to do makeup touch-up work, or to strip the clothing off a figure due to leaking fluids inside. The Tiki Room remains a pneumatic theatrical set, primarily due to the leakage concerns; Disney does not want hydraulic fluids dripping down onto the audience during a show.

Because each individual cylinder requires its own control/data channel, the original Audio-Animatronic figures were relatively simple in design to reduce the number of necessary channels. For example, the first human designs (referred to internally by Disney as series A-1) included all four fingers of the hand as one actuator. With modern digital computers and vast data storage, the number of channels is virtually unlimited. The current versions (series A-100) now have individual actuators for each finger, and similar improvements have spread throughout the figures.

Compliance[link]

Compliance is a new technology that allows faster, more realistic movements without sacrificing control. In the older figures, a fast limb movement would cause the entire figure to shake in an unnatural way. The Imagineers thus had to program slower movements, sacrificing speed in order to gain control. This was frustrating for the animators, who, in many cases, wanted faster movements. Compliance improves this situation by allowing limbs to continue past the points where they are programmed to stop; they then return quickly to the "intended" position, much as real organic body parts do. The various elements also slow to a stop at their various positions, instead of using the immediate stops that caused the unwanted shaking. This absorbs shock, much like the shock absorbers on a car or the natural shock absorption in a living body.

Cosmetics[link]

The skin of an Audio-Animatronic is made from silicone rubber. Because the neck is so much narrower than the rest of the skull, the skull skin cover has a zipper up the back to permit easy removal. The facial appearance is painted onto the rubber, and standard cosmetic makeup is also used. Over time, the flexing causes the paint to loosen and fall off, so occasional makeup work and repainting is required.

Generally as the rubber skin flexes, the stress causes it to dry and begin to crack. Figures that do not have a high degree of motion flexibility (such as the older A-1 series Lincoln) may only need the skin to be replaced every ten years. The most recent A-100 series human AAs (such as for Barack Obama) also include flexion actuators that move the cheeks and eyebrows to permit more realistic expressions, but the skin wears out more quickly and needs replacement at least every five years.

The wig on each human AA is made from natural human hair for the highest degree of realism, but using real hair creates its own problems, since the changing humidity and constant rapid motions of the moving AA carriage hardware throughout the day cause the hair to slowly lose its styling, requiring touch-ups before each day's showing.

Autonomatronics[link]

Autonomatronics is a registered trademark for another form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering. It is an advanced form of Disney's Audio-Animatronics technology.

The original Audio-Animatronics technology used hydraulics to operate robotic figures according to a pre-programmed show. The new Autonomatronics technology uses an electrically driven figure and can include sophisticated cameras and sensors to give the figure the ability to make choices about what to say and do.^[2][3] Disney unveiled the first-ever interactive figure, "Otto", that can hear, see and sense actions in the room. The figure can hold conversations and react to the audience, according to Scott Trowbridge, Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering.^[2]

In December 2009, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln returned to Disneyland using the new Autonomatronics technology. Imagineer Scott Trowbridge is hopeful that the Indiana Jones Adventure will be similarly updated.^[3]

Variations[link]

The technology of the AAs at Disney's theme parks around the world vary in their sophistication. They range from the blinking and mouth movements at Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room to full body movement, from the mouth to the tip of the fingers at Stitch's Great Escape! at the Magic Kingdom. Current technologies have paved the way for more elaborate AA figures, such as the "Ursula head" at Mermaid Lagoon Theater at Tokyo DisneySea, the Indiana Jones figures inside the Indiana Jones attractions at both Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the "swordfighting" pirates inside Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Park (Paris), the "lava/rock monster" inside Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea, the dinosaurs inside DINOSAUR and the "Yeti" inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, or the Roz figure inside Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! at Disney California Adventure Park.

The Roz figure is able to "interact" with guests with help from an unseen ride operator who chooses pre-recorded messages for Roz to "speak", thereby seeming to "react" to individual guests' unique appearances and clothing. Mr. Potato Head outside of the Toy Story Mania! attractions at the Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios parks does the same as Roz does. One of the newest figures comes with changes to the classic Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, both now featuring characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

The Jack Sparrow figure is based on the actor that portrays him, Johnny Depp, even featuring his voice and facial mold. So far, the newest and most advanced Audio-Animatronic figure is Abraham Lincoln at The Disneyland Story: Featuring Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. Lincoln can move his lips to form words, can make very dramatic movements, and can portray emotions to match the words he's saying.

The Audio-Animatronic Indiana Jones figures inside Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull at Tokyo DisneySea resemble actor Harrison Ford, unlike the original figures found at the Disneyland version, Temple of the Forbidden Eye. In 2010, some of the Audio-Animatronic figures at the Disneyland version were replaced with more technically advanced figures that also look more like Ford. However, neither version features Harrison Ford's actual voice.

In popular culture[link]

• Animatronics also gained popularity in the 1980s through use at family entertainment centers such as Showbiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre. They are also used in film and television special effects.

• Several passengers and the crew of a Pioneer Zephyr are represented in a display of this historic train at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Neatly dressed in the proper style of first class passengers of their era, one remarks upon the casual dress of the visitors.

• The George Washington Masonic National Memorial features an animatronic George Washington.

• John Wardley is often said to have brought animatronics to the United Kingdom, utilizing a concept called Ramped Movement, which allowed for smoother movements of the figures. John appeared on Tomorrow's World in the 1970s showing a guitar playing animatronic programmed to music. His first project was the creation of the animated show "50 Glorious Years" for Tussaud's "Royalty and Empire Exhibition" at Windsor.

• Scissor Sisters member Ana Matronic named herself after animatronics, as an homage to her love of The Bionic Woman.

• The Pennsylvania Lottery uses an animatronic groundhog named Gus (who refers to himself as the "second-most-famous groundhog in Pennsylvania", after Punxsutawney Phil) as the mascot for television commercials for their instant scratch-off games.^[4]

See also[link]

• List of Disney attractions using Audio-Animatronics

References[link]

External links[link]

• DizTech: The Disney Technology Blog at DizFanatic.com
• How Animatronics Work at HowStuffWorks.com
• Masters of Puppets: Rock-afire Explosion