How to access a private variable in JavaScript [duplicate]

This question already has an answer here:

• Why is my variable unaltered after I modify it inside of a function? - Asynchronous code reference 7 answers
• How do I return the response from an asynchronous call? 16 answers

I need to access the variable things that is inside the function.

var movie={};
var name = 'The Hangover';

imdb.getReq({ name: name }, function(err, things) {

    movie = things;

    }

  });
console.log(movie); //returns an empty object {}

via melhirech