Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 January 8

= January 8 =

Are horror films the most watched?
Or what other thing? Kyxx (talk) 12:46, 8 January 2013 (UTC)


 * By whom (age groups, male/female, other demographics)? In which country or region?  On TV, at the cinema, on CD, downloaded, pirated, what?  When (currently, and going back how far; or since the invention of film)?


 * Sorry, but if you can pin your question down to some specifics, we might have a ghost of a chance to help you. --   Jack of Oz   [Talk]  19:28, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Nice pun! --BDD (talk) 22:07, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Probably not, regardless of how you define it. Horror films tend to attract cult followings, but mainstream genres such as action films and romantic comedy films have much broader appeal (for one, people who are easily scared or have weak stomachs are likely to avoid horror). Scanning the list of Academy Award for Best Picture winners and nominees, horror films are almost entirely absent, with The Exorcist being the main exception. Not that Academy Award honors always have much to do with popularity. --BDD (talk) 22:07, 8 January 2013 (UTC)


 * The nightly TV news should qualify as a horror film. Almost every traffic accident is described as a "horror smash" these days.  --   Jack of Oz   [Talk]  22:20, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Scanning the list of highest grossing films shows a lack of horror films. The exceptions being Psycho and The Exorcist which did well in their year of release but not overall. Rmhermen (talk) 21:52, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
 * @BDD &mdash; Aren't you forgetting something? ;) Kurtis (talk) 01:23, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedians on Jeopardy!
I aspire to be on Jeopardy! one day, and I think being a Wikipedian is tremendous practice. So I was wondering if any known Wikipedians have been Jeopardy! contestants before, or if any contestants have mentioned Wikipedia as a study aid or hobby. --BDD (talk) 22:39, 8 January 2013 (UTC)


 * What do you mean by "known"? I was one, though I didn't win anything other than a week in Miami Beach (which I turned down due to not wanting to pay the tax). Clarityfiend (talk) 00:03, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Not that this addresses your question, but being on Jeopardy! is nothing like editing wikipedia, and being a contributor won't help much unless you cover a huge swath of broad subjects. A thirst for knowledge and an ability to retain information is great, but as much as knowing the stuff is important, knowing the game is more important.  Lots of smart people have bombed out. I've read a few books by Jeopardy! contestants, especially Ken Jennings and Bob Harris.  Knowing the buzzer, the little word games they play to leave clues within each answer and how to wager intelligently are vital.  I haven't been on Jeopardy!, but I did participate in a televised quiz program in high school, and it's those tricks (and dealing with the pressure.  It goes very fast) that get you the win.  Plus Jeopardy! is wide knowledge, not so much deep.  Watching religiously is great practice. Mingmingla (talk) 00:12, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
 * One important key on shows like that is never buzz in if you don't know. The successful ones don't guess. Of course, you have to get there first. I understand Jeopardy! has a difficult preliminary written exam. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:23, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
 * The written exam isn't any more difficult than the online exam, at least when I took it. The key to that part of the audition is to be interesting and telegenic (I am neither). Adam Bishop (talk) 12:11, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Agreed. In the UK, contestants seem to be chosen for their entertainment value rather than their intelligence. The only exception to this could be Mastermind. Alansplodge (talk) 16:46, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Indeed. I had to get 35 of 50 written questions right. Those who passed (about 10% or less in my group, although they told us about one group, in Calgary I think, where no one did) were then put into a mock game with two others for a couple of minutes of questioning and answering answering and questioning to see how you came off. I passed the written exam twice, years apart. After I didn't get a call back the first time, being soft spoken, I made sure to speak more loudly the second, and also have a few amusing anecdotes prepared to use for the "get to know you" bit after the first commercial break. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:59, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * They travel around the country, and even to the Great White North, to recruit, so you might want to check their site to see if or when they'll be in your neighborhood. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:16, 11 January 2013 (UTC)