Film at 11

The idiom "Film at 11" originates from television news broadcasting. Traditionally, it follows a promotion aired earlier in the evening for a particular (and often a breaking or sensational) story to be detailed on a later local news broadcast at 11 p.m., a traditional timeslot for local news broadcasts in the Eastern and Pacific time zones of the United States.

Practical implications

Television news gathering originally involved crews using 16 mm film which would be processed at the station, and edited before it could be aired. The time taken for this process meant that the pictures of an early evening event would only be available in time for the late newscast.

Popular culture

The phrase has since entered popular culture, often describing ordinary or mundane events with a sarcastic implication that these events are somehow earth-shattering, such as "ITS crashes; Film at 11." "Bug found in scheduler; Film at 11." In a more general (but less common) usage, "Film at 11" means that more information will follow in the future.

1977's The Kentucky Fried Movie turned the phrase into a running gag. The movie opens with a "newscaster" announcing "The popcorn you're eating has been pissed in. Film at 11."

There exists a well-known joke based on (the more general usage of) "Film at 11", which goes:

"News flash: The American Dental Association announced today that most plaque tends to form on teeth around 4:00 p.m. Film at 11:00."

This joke demonstrates the idiomaticity of "Film at 11", using the irony of the separate literal and non-literal interpretations of "Film at 11:00": Someone unfamiliar with this idiom might interpret "Film at 11:00" (in the context of this joke) literally, as the film that might develop on teeth several hours before full-blown plaque.

Another version of the joke has the breaking story usually depicted as a life threatening and time sensitive issue. For instance, "A common product in your home can kill you while you sleep. Film at 11," or "Russia launches nukes at the United States. Global War is upon us. Film at 11." The joke is a play on the often sensational promotions for news casts that could just as easily warn its viewers. The purpose of these promotions is usually to over sensationalize the story so that a fearful public will tune in and increase the program's ratings. This is a later interpretation of the idiom, as news broadcasts were not counted in ratings during the time 16mm film was used in newsgathering and hence promotions typically took the form of "newsflashes" or "special reports" which simply conveyed the facts of the story.