Now that ”Batman Returns” has taken wing and ”Lethal Weapon 3” has fired its last round, the ”serious” fall movie season is under way. And Friday is doing its part by looking for a few serious film buffs.
It`s time for the fourth annual Friday High School Movie Panel. If you`re a high school student, this is your chance to spend a year at the movies and share your opinions with about a million people each week.
Like our retiring panelists, you could find yourself on local television or radio or even gracing the pages of national magazines. (This year`s teen critics appear in the September issue of Premiere magazine.)
And how did the outgoing teen panel cope with fame, fan mail and flicks that never should have seen the light of a movie projector?
Sunni Schulz, a senior at Elgin High School, has continued to offer opinions throughout the summer and will continue writing until the new panel is installed in late October.
Schulz says her stint on the panel opened her eyes. ”I didn`t know there were so many bad movies out there. . . . I don`t want to be a critic. Everyone disgrees with your opinions.” Still, her visibility helped land her a job at the Cineplex Odeon Stratford Square. Schulz found a degree of fame, appearing with fellow teen panelists Tim Harms and Eugenia Sidereas on WBBM-Ch. 2`s
”Different Drummers” as well as having her movie reviews read in her English class.
As for the others:
Kent Garneau, a 1992 graduate of Hinsdale Central, has landed at Rice University in Houston, where he plans to study philosophy and physics. Garneau says, ”I had my 15 minutes of fame. I like that people read what I wrote and reacted.”
Harms, a 1992 graduate of the Illinois Math and Science Academy, is attending Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Brian Shipkin, a 1992 graduate of Deerfield High School, is attending Tulane University in New Orleans, where he is thinking of studying English or music and is planning to work on the college newspaper. ”(Being a panelist)
was a good experience. It was good having a chance to have people read your work.”
Sidereas, a 1992 graduate of Good Counsel High School, is entering the honors program at De Paul University and hopes to study political science. She was a finalist in the 1990-91 Teen Movie Panel competition and this year felt the heat of the media spotlight on local and cable TV. Her classmates at Good Counsel went a step further and erected ”Eugenia`s Corner” near the principal`s office where they posted her reviews.
If you`re chosen as a 1992-93 panelist, you`ll be a regular contributor to the Tribune, offering opinions on the year`s movies.
Our panelists also receive use of a personal computer with modem
(enabling them to transmit their stories directly to the Tribune from their homes), invitations to movie screenings, 52 passes good at Cineplex Odeon theaters and a personalized director`s chair.
As the first step toward becoming a panelist, write a movie review of about 200 words on any recent film you`ve seen and mail it, along with your name, age, school, class, address and phone number (be sure it`s a number at which you can be reached between Sept. 30 and Oct. 9) to: The Friday High School Movie Panel, Chicago Tribune, P.O. Box 803884, Chicago, Ill. 60680-3884. Entries must be received by Wednesday, Sept. 30. (Last-minute mailings are strongly discouraged-they may not arrive in time.)
Tribune editors will select 25 finalists. On Oct. 10, those finalists will attend a Saturday daytime screening, then proceed to Tribune Tower, where they will be given their first deadline test: They`ll have exactly two hours in which to write a 200-word review of that film. (Finalists who cannot attend the screening because of a mandatory school activity or for other reasons deemed legitimate by Tribune editors will be provided with an alternative screening.)
Tribune editors then will select the five-member High School Movie Panel and announce the winners in the Oct. 30 issue of Friday. All finalists will receive a special sweatshirt commemorating their status as a finalist in the competition and a booklet of eight movie passes.
What our judges are looking for is good writing: winning entries will be clear, concise and original. In particular, the judges are on the lookout for writers who can produce creative commentary from a teen`s point of view, written for a predominantly teenage readership.
Please note that this contest requires a commitment from its winners-to write at least three reviews each month. To that end, we`ve made a provision: As a member of the panel, you have use of a personal computer and modem that remains the property of the Tribune. But if you stick to your High School Movie Panel duties through the end of the school year, the computer and modem are yours to keep.
Detailed rules of this contest are printed elsewhere on this page. But here are some of the most important requirements:
– Eligibility. To enter, you must be a registered student during the 1992-93 school year at any high school in the Friday section`s 12-county circulation zone (Cook, Du Page, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Counties in Wisconsin). Anyone age 20 or older as of Sept. 11 is ineligible. Any finalists in last year`s contest who are still in high school and meet the rules of eligibilty may try again.
– Parental approval. Finalists must provide proof of age; those under age 18 need a signed letter from a parent or guardian granting permission for the child to participate in this competition.
– Deadline. Don`t wait until the last minute. If we don`t receive your entry by Wednesday, Sept. 30, it doesn`t matter when it was postmarked. All entries must be sent by U.S. mail; hand-delivered entries will not be accepted. Only one entry per person is permitted.
– Transportation. If selected as a finalist, you`ll be expected to provide your own transportation to and from the screening site on Oct. 10. If selected as a panelist, you`ll be expected to provide your own transportation to and from any movies or screenings you attend. The Tribune will pay for any movies not covered by movie passes.
– For more information. It`s all here. We cannot answer inquiries by phone or mail.
The rules:
The Friday High School Movie Panel contest is open to teenagers who are registered students during the 1992-93 school year at any high school in the Friday section`s 12-county circulation zone (Cook, Du Page, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Counties in Wisconsin).
Entrants must submit a review of approximately 200 words (about one double-spaced typed page) on any recent motion picture they`ve seen. Entrants must list their name, age, school, class, address and phone number(s) where they can be reached between Sept. 30 and Oct. 9. Entries should be mailed to: Friday High School Movie Panel, P.O. Box 803884, Chicago, Ill. 60680-3884. All entries must be RECEIVED (not postmarked) by Sept. 30.
Twenty-five finalists will be invited to attend a Saturday late morning or early afternoon movie screening on Oct. 10 in downtown Chicago. After the screening, the finalists will return to Tribune Tower where they will have two hours to write a 200-word review of that movie. Finalists are responsible for providing their own transportation to downtown Chicago.
Finalists who are under 18 will be required to bring to the screening a signed letter from a parent or legal guardian stating that the parent or guardian has read these rules and permits his or her child to participate in this contest. (Finalists who are 18 or 19 must provide proof of age; high school students who are over 19 on Sept. 11, 1992 are ineligible.)
In both stages of the contest, entries will be judged by Tribune editors on the basis of writing ability, originality and style, with a special emphasis on how well they present a teenager`s point of view on the film. Finalists may be interviewed by Tribune editors, whose decisions will be final.
The contest begins Friday, Sept. 11, 1992. All entries must be submitted by U.S. mail. Only one entry per person, and contestants must enter in their own names. Finalists will be notified by phone between Sept. 30 and Oct. 9. The five Friday High School Movie Panelists will be announced in the Oct. 30 issue of Friday.
All finalists will receive a custom Chicago Tribune sweatshirt plus a set of eight movie passes to Cineplex Odeon movie theaters.
The five finalists selected for the Friday High School Movie Panel will be invited to all regular advance movie screenings during the 1992-93 school year; they will be given a passbook good for 52 movies at Cineplex Odeon movie theaters. With prior approval, The Tribune will pay for admission to movies not screened in advance or not covered by the pass. Panelists are responsible for their own transportation.
The five panelists will receive personalized director`s chairs plus the use of a computer and modem (which will enable the panelists to write and transmit their weekly reviews) for the school year or as long as the student remains on the panel. If the panelist continues on the panel through the end of the school year, the computer and modem will become the property of that panelist.
The five panelists will consult with the editors of Friday on a weekly basis to consider possible movies for coverage. Each panelist will be expected to submit 200-word reviews of current movies at least three times each month during the school year, with reviews due on Mondays. The Tribune reserves the right to replace panelists who do not meet these obligations. In addition, The Tribune will be the sole determiner of which reviews to publish, based on normal editorial considerations and availability of space.
The Chicago Tribune will not be responsible for entries lost or delayed in delivery and reserves the right to disqualify any mutilated, altered or illegible entry, or entries that do not comply with these rules.
The winners (or the winners` parent or guardian, if winners are under 18) agree to allow the use of their name and picture by the Chicago Tribune for publicity purposes.
The contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws, and is void where prohibited by law. The winners also assume any tax liability for the contest prize. Chicago Tribune employees and their families are not eligible. Members of previous panels are not eligible.
By entering this contest, all entrants agree that the Chicago Tribune has the sole right to decide all matters in disputes arising from the contest and that the Chicago Tribune`s determination of the winners shall be final and binding.
No entries will be returned. All become the property of the Chicago Tribune.
In fairness to all, the Chicago Tribune cannot discuss this contest by phone, mail or in any other way with contestants.
Copies of the Chicago Tribune are available at the Chicago Public Library. No purchase is required.
