Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2012 January 7

= January 7 =

Looking for i-IV-VI-V-i progression (unanswered)
Hi, Im looking for any classical composition or a modern piece of music that contains the following progression: i-IV-VI-V-i. Caps denotes major, small letters - minor. Gil_mo (talk) 00:00, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * One by U2 starts off like that, in A minor (but at some points it also has the major third in there, C major). Adam Bishop (talk) 02:08, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but 'One' is i-IV-VI-VII-i. Gil_mo (talk) 21:11, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I find the the "VI" in your notation ambiguous (see the article Minor scale). If the key is A minor, it could mean both F and F sharp. In the former case, we would have the progression A minor, D major, F Major, E major, A minor. This is reasonably close to the progression used in the first line of "The House of the Rising Sun", except that a C major is missing after the first A minor. If you mean F sharp, the progression is a little more exotic. --NorwegianBluetalk 12:52, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * In the case of Am, I meant F not F#. And sorry, The house of the rising sun indeed has a third in between. Gil_mo (talk) 21:11, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Oops, there is an error in my answer. While you may get away with continuing playing A minor at the point where it should change to C major, there is no E major in the first line of The house of the rising sun. However, the progression sounds very familiar, especially if you add a little embellishment:
 * Am D9/F# Fmaj7 E7 (and back to Am, perhaps repeating the progression over and over again)
 * The D9/F# notation means a D major chord with a seventh (C) and a ninth (E) added, and with the third (F#) in the bass. Fmaj7 is an augmented seventh chord. I feel pretty sure that this progression has been used in many jazz/blues/soul songs, but I'm unable to name any. --NorwegianBluetalk 13:48, 8 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Huh? Fmaj7 isn't an augmented seventh chord, it's a major seventh chord (F A C E). An augmented seventh chord would be F A C# Eb; an augmented major seventh chord would be F A C# E. --jpgordon:==( o ) 03:14, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Convert
I'm trying to settle an argument with a friend; I thought I would find the answer in this article, but I'm even more confused for having read it. My friend swears that in NFL football, a blocked PAT attempt can be run back by the opposing team for a touchdown. I figured this can't possibly be true. I thought that since the two-point conversion rule was implemented, a blocked PAT that was run back would result in 2 points for the team that ran it back, as happens in NCAA football. Or is it just a dead ball? Joefromrandb (talk) 04:35, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * In the NFL, a failed PAT is a dead ball, whether it was a kick or a 2-point conversion attempt. So, if the kick is blocked, or the defending team recovers a fumble or intercepts the ball, the play is blown dead. The defending team cannot return a blocked PAT for any points.  In the NCAA and NFHSAA rulebooks (college and high school), if the defending team returns a blocked PAT attempt (or returns a fumble or interception on a 2-point attempt) they get 2 points.  But not in the NFL.  -- Jayron  32  04:50, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * It's a dead ball. The defense cannot score.  This PDF has the rule.  RudolfRed (talk) 04:54, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * For those who are trying to follow along and learn something, could someone define "PAT"? Pass ATtempt?  Thanks, Dismas |(talk) 05:10, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Sorry. PAT = Point After Touchdown.  Click the blue word "Convert" above for more info.  -- Jayron  32  05:14, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * And I apologize for not reading the article. I know what a conversion is, so I didn't think it necessary to check the article.  Thanks, Dismas |(talk) 03:16, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

What's up with the spread of movie release dates
Just happened to see an on TV tonight about the impending release of the The Muppets (film) in Australia in about a week. Now I remember watching an American show publicising it a couple of month's ago just before it came out in the US. Checking the article it is confirmed this happened on November 23, 2011, almost 2mths before here. The article also gives the UK release date as being February 17, 2012, which will be almost a month later than in Aust. OK, I know back in the 'good old days' we used to get movies ages after they came out in America, could easily be 6mths, and TV shows were often up to a year behind, if not more. This thread from 2008 touches on some possible reasons for the old delays, but doesn't really answer my current concerns.

In today's world of international travel, digital mastering, instant communications, and the fact that everyone around the world can pretty much know about this stuff as soon as it's released, what's with the delay for different markets? Wouldn't this actually, if anything, encourage piracy? (Note I'm focussing on very similar markets like US, Aust, & GB so that translation, etc, is not an issue. And I'm not worried about a few day's difference in that I can understand the notion of premieres and that type of thing, and also realise there's some unexpected hits that may spread more by word of mouth than major publicity. But I'm talking a difference of months in almost identical markets for a highly publicised movie). --jjron (talk) 13:06, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * There's lots of possible reasons. Most involve sales or marketing. It's common to test a film (or other product) in one market before rolling it out to a wider release. This means the makers can get an idea of how to promote it, how well it's going to do, how many theaters to show it in, etc.  And sometimes if a film does well in one market you can then sell it for more money elsewhere.  There may also be a desire to avoid competitive films, which again may be released at different times, and in the UK etc there may be local films not getting a US release.  With 3D movies (is the Muppets 3D?) there can be a shortage of screens.
 * With Muppets there will be a lot of promotional tie-ins, which may take time to arrange, or the sponsoring company may want a delay (to wait for another offer to clear, to get to a time when they'll sell more, etc). Also (maybe less important with Muppets) if you're going to have the stars promoting the film on TV shows, you can't release everywhere at once.  There are also reasons about time of year, different holidays, etc (e.g. in the USA it's common to release films at Thanksgiving while in Europe they may aim for May Day, kids movies will often be timed for school holidays which vary worldwide, Americans seem keener on going to the cinema at some times).
 * Regarding piracy, The Muppets isn't likely to be pirated much, as it's aimed at small children, so the makers can afford to wait for the best release date; piracy is more of an issue with science fiction or superhero movies which tend to be released almost simultaneously worldwide. (Sources: lots of articles, discussion threads, etc, e.g.) --Colapeninsula (talk) 15:16, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * (February 17, 2012 is the UK schools half term holiday in many places.) --Colapeninsula (talk) 15:29, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd agree with the above except the suggestion that it wouldn't be pirated much. It isn't aimed at 'small children' so much as adults who are nostalgic for their own childhood (and their kids). Mingmingla (talk) 16:26, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * My theory about The Muppets (film) and a couple of other big films having "later" releases in Australia is that it's to fill that void towards the end of the six week summer school holiday break. HiLo48 (talk) 18:23, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Cola's reasons are certainly plausible, but I don't overly buy them; in other words, they seem like something the studios would 'spin' us, rather than reflecting reality. For some movies it may hold, usually less prominent titles, but let's be realistic - they're not going to change The Muppets for the UK or Aust. And re the marketing, again that is almost counter-intuitive today. For example we get all the major US talkshows like Letterman, Conan, etc essentially live these days. All the free marketing that movies get on those type of thing is therefore coinciding with the release dates in the US. By the time it gets here it seems old hat and that massive free marketing push is long gone. Are the studios frankly too dumb to realise that? The 3D thing could be valid, but I don't think Muppets are 3D. I also find the promotional tie-ins thing a studio crock - they know these things are coming out months ahead, if they want to organise the promotions they can. This is emphasised by all those movies that have identical or near identical release dates. I guess the most likely reason is to try to time different markets. As HiLo says the late summer holiday period here (but why not xmas itself?), Thanksgiving in the US, and what in the UK (surely not Valentine's Day?), perhaps that school holiday thing you mention, but it does seem minor (would think xmas would be a better choice, but I'm not a marketer I guess). --jjron (talk) 03:03, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * That's a nice and informative summary, Colapeninsula. Thanks.  &#x2013; b_jonas 22:37, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

Award ceremonies
Many award ceremonies were and are held before the year's end, so what about films or songs that were released after some award event (such as those released after 2011 Brit Awards for example)? --188.146.187.205 (talk) 18:14, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * The eligibility criteria for each award will state the dates covered by that award. Any release after the latest date for consideration will fall into the next award year. --TammyMoet (talk) 19:10, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * But the reality is that a movie so released has little chance of winning, due to the recency effect. StuRat (talk) 17:29, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

Jenny Lind Polka
Which 1980s computer game (if any) used the Jenny Lind Polka as its background music? I know lots of music was utilised for various games at the time, and this tune seems to lend itself well for that purpose. I have a vague memory it was something on the BBC Micro, but am not certain. Any ideas? Paul MacDermott (talk) 21:40, 7 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Sounds familiar to me too. I think it might have been one of the early Repton games. 81.151.55.67 (talk) 15:53, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Hollywood High School famous alumni
Since Ricky Nelson (singer, song writer, actor) is on the famous alumni list, why not his brother David Nelson who also acted and directed "The Nelsons" TV show, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson? signed Judith Hagen Carey, a Hollywood High Alumni, [redacted email]. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Breede (talk • contribs) 22:12, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * What do you mean? He's there. The alumni are listed oddly in alphabetical order by first name. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:34, 7 January 2012 (UTC)