The most central elements of any story, be it a novel, a film, a TV series, or a stage play, are its characters. They are the drivers of the story. They drive the content, they drive the conflict, and ...

Almost from its launch in 1905, Variety has used its own, distinctive slanguage in headlines and stories, words like ankle, which refers to someone leaving (say, walking away from) a job, or whammo, ...