In the old days of Hollywood, they called it an open audition. Studio titans such as L.B. Mayer or Jack Warner would issue a demand for fresh faces to grace America’s movie screens and their minions would immediately scurry off to scare up new talent. And once the word was out, office boys, auto mechanics and waitresses would flock to the studio gates, all feverently hoping they would have the chance to walk in a nobody and walk out a star.
Well, flush with nostalgia, we at the Tribune are staging our own open audition of sorts. Not for movie stars, mind you, but for movie critics. That’s right, we seek three fresh faces to grace the pages of the Friday section, to be the sixth High School Movie Panel.
What does it take to be a High School Movie Panelist? It takes passion. It takes imagination. It takes drive. And most important, it takes your parents’ permission. But more on that later.
Members of last year’s High School Movie Panel, grizzled vets of the movie trenches who took everything Hollywood could throw at them, from “In the Army Now” to “Schindler’s List,” and still went back to the multiplex for more, have their own opinions on what it takes.
Chrissie Bielinski, who was a senior at Elgin St. Edward and is now enrolled at Northwestern University, advises, “You can’t let people influence your reviews. Some of my friends loved `Mrs. Doubtfire’ and people said I was wrong for panning it. You have to stick to your guns.”
Josh Emanuel, a graduate of Downers Grove North now enrolled at New York University, preaches dedication and a commitment to viewing a movie in its entirety no matter the circumstances. He warns, “With the really long movies, you have to be careful about drinking anything beforehand. `True Lies’ almost did me in.”
According to Sidd Shah, who was a sophomore at Lake Forest High and is spending his junior year as a foreign exchange student in Belgium, you have to be able to adapt and improvise. “The pass book doesn’t always get you in,” he says. “Sometimes you have to pay for one movie, then sneak into the one you really want to see.”
Also on the 1993-94 panel were Kelly Tsai of Fremd and Chris Rizzo of Fenwick.
If you’re selected to join the 1994-95 High School Movie Panel, you will see your thoughts and opinions of potential Oscar winners and out-and-out dogs in the pages of the Tribune.
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 courtesy of Cineplex Odeon theaters and a personalized director’s chair.
But what do you have to do join this elite fraternity? Glad you asked.
Write a review of about 200 words (about one double-spaced typed page) of any recent film you’ve seen and mail it, with your name, age, school, class, home address and phone number (make sure it’s a number where you can be reached between Sept. 28 and Oct. 21) to: The Friday High School Movie Panel, Chicago Tribune, P.O. Box 804013, Chicago, Ill. 60680-4013 All entries must be RECEIVED (not postmarked) by Sept. 28. Late mailings are strongly discouraged. They may not arrive in time.
Tribune editors will select 20 finalists, who will be invited to a daytime screening on Saturday, Oct. 15. Afterward, the finalists will proceed to Tribune Tower, where they will have two hours in which to write a 200-word review of the screened movie. (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 three-member High School Movie Panel for 1994-95 and announce the winners in the Oct. 28 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, courtesy of Cineplex Odeon Theaters.
What we seek is good writing. Winning entries will be clear, concise and original. In particular, the judges are interested in writers who can produce creative commentary from a teen perspective, written for a predominantly teenage readership.
Also be aware that this contest requires a commitment from its winners to write at least three reviews a month. To that end, we’ve made a provision: As a panelist, you receive the use of a computer and modem that are the property of the Tribune. But if you stick to your duties as a High School Movie Panelist through the end of next summer, the computer and modem are yours to keep.
Detailed rules of the contest are printed below, but here are some of the most important requirements.
– Eligibility. To enter, you must be a registered student during the 1994-95 school year at any high school in the Friday section’s 12-county circulation area (Cook, DuPage, 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. 9, 1994, is ineligible. Any finalists in last year’s contest who are still in high school may try again. Teens who already make regular appearances on any non-school TV or radio program or write for any publication besides their high school newspaper, whether for pay or not, are not eligible.
– Parental approval. Finalists 18 or 19 must provide proof of age; those under 18 need a signed letter from a parent or guardian granting permission for the teen to participate in the competition.
– Deadline. Don’t wait until the last minute. If we don’t receive your entry by Wednesday, Sept. 28, 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. 15. If selected as a panelist, you’ll be expected to provide your own transportation to and from any movies and screenings you attend. The Tribune will pay for movies not covered by movie passes.
– For more information. It’s all here. We can’t 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 1994-95 school year at any high school in the Friday section’s 12-county circulation zone (Cook, DuPage, 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. 28 and Oct. 21. Entries should be mailed to: Friday High School Movie Panel, P.O. Box 804013 Chicago, Ill. 60680-4013. All entries must be RECEIVED (not postmarked) by Sept. 28.
Twenty finalists will be invited to attend a Saturday late morning or early afternoon movie screening on Oct. 15 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 and from 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 20 or older on Sept. 9, 1994, 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. 9, 1994. 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. 28 and Oct. 21. The three Friday High School Movie Panelists will be announced in the Oct. 28 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 three finalists selected for the Friday High School Movie Panel will be invited to all regular advance movie screenings during the 1994-95 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 three 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 summer, the computer and modem will become the property of that panelist.
The three 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. Teens who already make regular appearances on any non-school TV or radio program or write for any publication besides their high school newspaper, whether for pay or not, 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.
