"Word Hunt: Find the Right Meaning!"

  Feature-length movies are expensive to make and must compete with other forms of entertainment—television, video games, sporting events, concerts—to attract and retain the large audiences.

• keep, continue to have

• hire for a fee

  Many of these special effects (FX) started out as “gimmicks” but proved to be genuine advances that are now essential components of most big-budget movies.

• small mechanical parts

• elements that make up a whole

  Rather than launch Smell-O-Vision as the next evolution in entertainment, the film flopped.

• fell or collapsed suddenly in a loose or heavy way

• failed completely or was unsuccessful.

To attract audiences to his low-budget horror films, William Castle (1914-1977) tried various schemes to convince people that his movies were scary.

• tricky or secret plans

• ways of arranging things

In practice, most of Castle’s gimmicks were only marginally successful and often got more giggles than screams.

• along a side border

• slightly

Advertising for the 1975 movie Earthquake highlighted Sensurround Sound, promising sound that was powerful enough to “crack ribs.”

• emphasized

• marked with a special color

Since more and more theaters were multiplexes‘, the vibrations bothered patrons in adjacent theaters watching different films.

• people who use a particular service, especially regularly

• wealthy individuals who financially support artists or institutions

And in recent years, with better technology, 3-D has enjoyed a resurgence.

• a sudden increase or rapid growth in numbers

• a revival or comeback of something that was popular before