SEARCH FOR SCREEN STAR.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18895, 10 January 1927, Page 13

SEARCH FOR SCREEN STAR.

FIRST NATIONAL'S COMPETITION. TESTS AT GREATER CRYSTAL PALACE. Believing that there is a potential screen star to be discovered in Australia or Now Zealand, an interesting competition has been promoted by First National Pictures with that object in view. The winner will be given a trip, to Hollywood, a prominent part in a motion picture directed by that world-famous artistic genius, Cecil B. de Mille, and a ten week's movie contract at £'2o per week. Mr W. A. Malone, who is in Christchurch representing First National Pictures and is making preparations for the Canterbury elimination tests at Greater Crystal Palace, explained to a representative of The Press the manner in which the competition is to be conducted. How to Enter. To enter the contest, the ambitious girl simply has to fill in an entry form and forward it,-together with a head and shoulders portrait, to First National Pictures, Ltd., Bo:: IO'JS, Wellington, before January ITt'u. Suitable screen types will be selected from the candidates by a casting director from overseas, and the chosen girls will appear for one week at a picture theatre in ; he centre nearest their homes. Elimination tests wi.l be conducted, and when the winners of the local contests have been found, they will proceed to Auckland, where ihcv will apne.ir in the Dominion final. The" New Zealand finalist will 5:0 to Melbourne at the expense of the promoters, and she will compete at the Green Mm Palais wilh the finalists of the Austi.i.i.m State ccnUsts. The Final Tests. At present a huge stage and lighting : ; ft is being constructed at Hie Palais, under the supervision of ilr Caync Dexlev, win recently arrived from Amer'ca, and here tns final tests will be conducted to decide upon the girl who will proceed to Hollywood. She will be assisted there by Le?tr.c<j Jov, Vera Reynolds. Marie Prevost and other film "celebrities surrounding Mr <e Mille, and she need have no fear 01 teeimg alone in the film colony. "It is indeed' a wonderful ch»uc» lor >ew Zealand girls," said Mr Malone, "and every girl should grasp the opportunity, "'hetiier she ias had stage experience or not. iney

mtißt remember that such well-known stars a-s Vera Reynolds and Gloria Swanson had never eoen the stage before they launched upon their motion picture careers. "Vera Reynolds wae discovered by Mr Cecil B. de "Mille, who has on more than one occasion expressed the opinion that he would much rather have raw material to train after his own methods than experienced actresses and actors. New Zealand Girlß Wanted. "While such Australian girls as Enid Bennett and Sylvia Breamer have attained screen prominence in the past, there is a singular absence of Antipodean girls from the screen to-day. "Year by year the task of getting into movies grows harder, because of the constantly increasing numbers of applicants at the studios. Naturally, distance is the first obstacle a New Zealand screen aspirant must face. To travel thousands of miles in the hope of entering films is an adventure that cannot be undertaken lightly. Nevertheless, in every studio there is demand for new faces, particularly with Mr de Mille's companies, which in the past year have brought many hitherto unrecognised players to the front. Natural Talent. "A younger generation of stars is gradually eclipsing the old. Our search is undertaken in the belief that we will find a New Zealand girl with sufficient natural talent to place her among the new moving picture luminaries. "Indicating that Australia and New Zea- ' land are coming more and more into prominence as fields of photo-play fiction, Cecil B. do Jlil'e has purchased a story entitled 'White Gold,' written around the wool industry. Rod la Rocque will take the leading role. ' Film Personalities. ''The girls themselves will be interviewed and studied to decide their motion picture possibilities,' and the kinematograph will be brought into use to ascertain their film personalities by actual screen tests. Beauty alone cannot be the deciding factor. The most popular star to-day possesses no beauty at all in real life, but she ha 3 personality, wiusomeness, poignancy, and zest. Thousands 01" giris have gone to Hollywood, relying only upon beauty for success. Inevitably they have failed, because the lens looks deeper than grease paint, and demands the indefinable something called screen personality. That may be an ability to make people laugh or "cry, but in most c?ses it is simply magnetism end charm. The Chance. "For the first time a girl from this part of the world will go to Hollywood backed by the influence and active interests of a huge film producing organisation, 'ihe technical experts will take her under their tuition, and on the ability she sho.v3 under actual studio conditions will depend the renewal uf her engagement at the end of her first contract. It is a chance that ought not to bo missed, and there U no reason

whatsoever why a New Zealand girl should not gain a place for the Dominion in the long list of movie celebrities. First National Pictures are out to find her." Salary and. Contract. The girl selected for Hollywood is to receive a ten weeks' contract with Cecil B. de Mille, the producer-director of "The Ten Commandments" and "The Volga Boatman," to appear in a leading part in at least one production, and providing she reveals the average talent, she will, if so desirous, be offered a long contract. Her salary for the ten weeks' contract will be £2O per week, and all her expenses and those of her chaperon, to and from America, will be paid by tho company. One girl will be selected from New Zealand and one from each State in the Commonwealth, the final adjudicating to take place at the Green Mill Palais, Melbourne, during the week commencing March 20tb, 1927. Passages have been tentatively booked by tho s.s. Sonoma, and if the winner cannot be ready by that date they will be changed to the s.s. Ventura, sailing from Sydney on April 30th. If the winner is a New Zealand girl she will sail direct from the Dominion. The committee to judge the finalists will comprise representatives of First National Pictures and the Press, on artist, a doctor, and a professional photographer. It is to be understood that the decision of the Casting Directors is to be accepted by the candidates as final. Further particulars may be obtained from the manager of the Crystal Palace Theatre, where the entry form is to be filled in. Entries close on January 17th.