Money shot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A money shot (also called a "money-making" shot[1]) is a provocative, sensational, or memorable sequence in a film, on which the film's commercial performance is perceived to depend.[2]
[edit] Origin
The term originates from mainstream feature filmmakers, who used the term "money shot" as slang for the image that costs the most money to produce.[3] For example, in an action thriller, an expensive special effects sequence of a dam bursting might be called the "money shot" of the film. Or, in The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror VI, Bill Oakley has referred to a key shot where Homer steps into a 3D world as the "money shot".
A money shot has also been used as another name for a cum shot in pornographic films. The shot was so named because if a male actor could not provide this shot he would not be paid. It has also been argued that this is the filmed moment the audience has paid to see.[3] According to Stephen Ziplow, author of The Film Maker's Guide to Pornography , "...the cum shot, or, as some refer to it, 'the money shot', is the most important element in the movie and that everything else (if necessary) should be sacrificed at its expense."[4] Linda Williams has argued that, "The money shot is thus an obvious perversion -in the literal sense of the term, as a swerving away from more "direct" forms of genital engagement- of the tactile sexual connection."[5]
The term has gained acceptance in pop culture and is sometimes used in conversation. Borrowing the meaning from the pornographic film industry, the term is used to refer to a highly anticipated or satisfying end, but in a non-pornographic context.
[edit] References
- ^ From the "Filmmaker's Dictionary" by Ralph S. Singleton and James A. Conrad, edited by Janna Wong Healy, (2nd edition, 2000, Lone Eagle Publishing Co., Hollywood, California).
- ^ "Money Shot". Oxford English Dictionary Online.
- ^ a b Extract of The Money Shot by Jane Mills.
- ^ Jane Mills, The Money Shot: Cinema, Sin and Censorship. Pluto Press, Annandale 2001. ISBN 1 86403 142 5.
- ^ Williams, Linda (1999). Hard Core: Power, Pleasure and the "Frenzy of the Visible". University of California Press, LTD.. pp. 101. ISBN 978-0-520-21943-4.
